Hunters & Their Effortless Movement and Flatwork with Bobbie Reber

In any equestrian sport there are trends and evolutions to the standard of excellence, and the hunter discipline is no exception. The influx of warmbloods to the hunter ring brought with it a shift away from the hunter ideal of the past; the loose rein, poked-out nose was replaced with a more balanced and put-together package. It is a common misconception of those unfamiliar with the sport that hunters go merrily around the ring on their forehand with hindquarters trailing out behind. The reality is that counter-canter and lateral work are just as likely to be part of the warm-up for the amateur owner hunter as the grand prix jumper.

The right type

Bobbie Reber of Langley, BC, has had a hand in producing some of the most successful hunters to set foot in the show ring. Her formula for success is simple: focus on the basics and perfect them. She stresses that no matter the level of dedication you devote to flatwork, a horse must also possess the quality and type sought by a hunter judge. “I think the most important thing is always going to be the type,” she says, “What I mean by type is that the ideal hunter is a beautiful horse more towards the Thoroughbred in terms of lightness of bone, with good movement and a long, natural stroke both at the trot and the canter. They must have natural balance without a lot of movement from behind. The front end can always be marginally helped with aluminum shoes, but if the horse is “hocky” in behind, there’s not much that can be done. A lot of the warmbloods who are beautiful movers at the trot have more action in behind, because they are bred to be powerful.

“It’s very important to evaluate the canter to see if the horse has natural qualities that will make a good hunter, because all the flatwork in the world is a losing battle if the natural qualities aren’t there.”

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Reber, who prefers a lighter-type hunter to that of the thick warmblood, comments on the changes she’s seen come through the hunter ring. “I think with the warmbloods being so popular, you see horses that go into a hunter under saddle with more of a frame, and some that are even overbent. To me, the interesting thing about warmbloods is that there are many that have great trots, but when they canter there is immediately a great divide between the good movers and the bad.”

“A lot of the time with the Thoroughbreds, if they were good movers at the trot, they were good at the canter. I have a judge friend who won’t even write a number down until he sees them canter, because it changes everything. I’ve judged at the biggest horse shows with the nicest movers in the country and I’ve thought, ‘oh my God, how am I going to judge this … and then they pick up a canter.”

The right equipment

Getting the naturally-balanced horse on a soft rein while staying straight to the jumps and making invisible stride adjustments is one of Reber’s specialties. “Getting this balanced movement with a slight frame and light contact is the end result of really extensive work on the flat,” Reber explains. “I like flatwork to be done in hollow-mouth snaffles, because they are soft and light in the horse’s mouth. At the shows you can move to a D-ring or full cheek, even a short-shanked pelham if absolutely necessary. In the right circumstances I am not against the use of draw reins if they are attached to the side of the girth, but I much prefer the chambon as a training tool, because I think it gives more of a natural head carriage and doesn’t rely on the effectiveness and education of the rider’s hands.”

The right exercises

Reber utilizes simple exercises that create the foundation for any sport horse: frequent transitions, lateral work, and poles. Something almost always set up in her ring at home is a line of poles set 72′ apart. “I add poles on the flat, because it helps the horse lighten up and balance. We go back and forth, balancing the horse to fit six strides in what would normally be a five. Eventually they learn to comfortably balance themselves.” She adds that work over poles also benefits the rider, as it provides a feeling to reference of what a balanced stride feels like.

The “stroke” of a canter stride is one of the most important characteristics of a successful hunter; that is, the inside foreleg should reach forward from the shoulder in a ground-covering step. “Canter work is most important to me, because the division is won in the over-fences classes and we canter the jumps,” Reber explains. “They have to show that they have step and scope, and that needs to come through their shoulders, not just by “daisy cutting” and straightening their legs.” Reber encourages the stroke of the inside foreleg with lots of haunches-in: holding for three or four steps before straightening and going to haunches-in again. “I love the haunches-in, because it really picks up and lightens the inside shoulder, which encourages that stroke at the canter.”

Balance and self-carriage are recurring themes in the development of hunters, and making it look easy is a direct result of these two principles. Riders have to work towards their hunters remaining light and balanced when they are in a lighter seat, says Reber. “With the hunters, I want to see a rider lightly out of the tack and showing the horse can lengthen beautifully into a long, rhythmic canter and stay balanced. Counter-canter is really excellent for working on balance, and transitions are great for working on invisible adjustability and lightening the front end. As a rider, you want to achieve subtlety and invisible aids.”

Another of her favourite tools is to make use of an often under-utilized gait: the walk. “I’m a firm believer that everyone should get on and walk for ten minutes, really spend the time to establish a good gait. The reason I like the walk is partially because I find people are always in a hurry. The walk is the horse’s time to relax and you can do a lot of softening work at the walk, including lateral exercises. After the walk work, it’s a simple routine for my horses: lots and lots of transitions, haunches-in, and poles to develop balance and self-carriage. Everything you do well on the flat, or poorly on the flat, will show up over the fences.”