French riding - voltige

[frenchfancy]

So as not to highjack the other thread I thought i'd start a new one.

We were talking about "round the world" and I mentioned that my daughter does it at a galop during her voltige class. So I thought I'd show you what voltige is.

It is considered as a standard disipline by the French equine federation, it is not just for circuses - even the mititary consider it an essential part of their training.

see

note that is not my daughter - it is just a good example I found on you tube.

Do they do anything like this in the UK?

Oh,that's vaulting isn't it? Yes,they teach it at Pony Club here in the UK.

Yes we do vaulting although I don't think it is quite as popular here as in France.

I think people were surprised on the other thread because the English word gallop means to move with all 4 feet off the ground - like a racehorse. What these horses do is "canter" which is a when they always have one foot on the ground.

In France horses have 3 "allures". Walk, Trot and Gallop. Canter does not exist.

Canter doesn't exist?

How can canter not be different to gallop. Totally different. Canter is 3 time and gallop is 4 time. I'd like to see someone 'galloping' a 20 or 15 m circle in dressage. That would be hilarious. Mind you - it has probably happend unintentionally to some poor unfortunate rider.

Yes,marge2,I was wonerding what happened in dressage too.I just can't get my head round there being no canter.How? Why?

Booboostoo is in France isn't she.I wonder if her horses canter?

It must just be called gallop but be canter? Like the lope .

Canter and gallop are totally different! Different footfalls and there's no moment of suspension in canter.

The "gallop" the French talk about must be canter - but then what do they call gallop?

Yes canter is called a gallop, but so is a full gallop. There are definately only 3 speeds in French. Just checked up on Wiki, and on the French version there is no talk og a gait in 3 time.

Just got back from DDs lesson, at the end they we supposed to be galloping round the manege - (I think this is what in English would be called canter). DPony decided that gallop meant full gallop.

Pony is from Belgium originally so perhaps they have canter and gallop separately there.

It's the same kind of system in Germany. There's a walk, trot and gallop (Gallopp), which is what is called cantering in English. An English gallop is called a Vollgallopp (full gallop), but is relatively unusual (at least at my DDs' riding school).

It took ages to convince my DDs that when they're talking about a Gallopp they should translate it as a canter not a gallop.

And vaulting is quite popular in Germany as well, but I remain to be convinced that it's anything other than circus tricks (sorry!).

The one other speed that exists is that weird trot that the Icelandic ponies do. In German it's called 'Tölt', don't know what it's called in English or French.

According to French Wikipedia that is called a Tolt in French as well.

I've never heard of it though.

Yes it's tolt and some can also pace aswell x

"Galop" is the French word for canter, the three beat pace and it's exactly the same pace as for English horses, it just happens to be similar to the English word for galloping, the four beat pace.

The other weird thing is that leg yielding to the left is "la cession a la jambe a droite (right)" which always throws me!

I work with a lot of French racehorse trainers and know when they say their horses are going for a "Galop Chase" (sorry not sure of spelling) them mean what we call a hack (slow) canter.

Oh sorry forgot to say, the English gallop, 4 beat pace, is called "grand galop" or "galop de course".

While:
working canter galop de travail
collected canter galop rassenble
medium canter galop moyen
extended canter galop allonge

Bored yet?!!!

No but it does seem rather long-winded! Do they have abbreviations when teaching, like my old driving instructor who couldn't be bothered to say "accelerator" and would just bark "GAS!"

- I always understood that there was a moment of suspension in canter:

NH - OH & NF together - OF - moment of suspension.

In gallop the OH and NF land sequentially rather than simultaneously (NH - OH - NF - OF - moment of suspension) giving the 4-beat gait rather than the 3-beats of a canter - unless you've got a horse with a "disunited" gallop, who'd swap the front feet over (so NH - OH - OF - NF - moment of suspension)...

Pixel I suppose if you are already in working canter and the instructor shouts "allonge" you get the message! :)

Tangle yes this is how I understand it as well, although for years I thought the leading leg was the first one in the movement! I have seen riders turn the canter into a 4 beat pace, especially through misunderstanding the collected canter, but in dressage terms that is quite an error.

Tangle - you're probably right, re: the moment of suspension. I haven't been actively involved in horses for ages (used to teach) and it's amazing and disheartening, the little things you forget

hehe..it's so confusing. I once taught a boy who went along to a racing academy with a French instructor to be told their is no such thing as canter??? What a load of hogwash! All horses have 4 gaits (except those that have 5), the French just call everything after trot 'Gallop' which creates a bit of confusion (unless you are actually French I suppose!).