We’ve all experienced it : a canter that flattens as the session goes on, a horse leaning on the forehand, or rushing as soon as you try to rebalance. You try to fix it with your hands, but the result is often the same: loss of fluidity and a tense horse.

The issue doesn’t always come from your aids, it often stems from a lack of vertical propulsion. For your horse to truly rebalance, they must learn to convert horizontal energy into upward lift. That’s where cavaletti come into play, especially when paired with your sensor.

Why Does It Happen? The Science Behind the “Falling” Canter

Biomechanically, a horse that is unbalanced in the canter “falls” onto the forehand. The hind legs stay out behind the body, pushing forward without actually carrying weight.

On your Equisense app, this imbalance shows up clearly in two key indicators:

A drop in Impulsion (Rebond):
The movement lacks elevation, and the strides become flat and ground-covering rather than springy.

An unstable Cadence:
The horse rushes to avoid losing balance, increasing the number of strides per minute (bpm) without improving impulsion quality or power.

Working over cavaletti forces the horse to flex the joints (hips, stifles, hocks) and engage the hindquarters under the body to clear the poles. It’s deep muscle strengthening, without the joint strain of traditional jumping.

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Analyzing the Impact with Equisense’s Indicators

The goal isn’t just to go over poles. It’s to observe how the exercise transforms your horse’s locomotion over time.

Impulsion (Rebond): Your ultimate benchmark
As you ride over cavaletti, you’ll see your impulsion score increase on the graph. The real objective? Maintaining that elevation once you return to flatwork.

Cadence: Stability over speed
A horse that charges through cavaletti will see cadence spike. What you’re looking for is regularity. If your curve stays stable despite the effort, it means true balance has been achieved.

Symmetry: Revealing hidden weaknesses
Cavaletti often expose asymmetries. If your horse shifts the haunches or pushes less with one hind leg over a pole, your sensor will detect it immediately.

Practical Exercise: The Fan Setup

This is a go-to exercise for improving adjustability and lateral balance.

Setup:
Place 3 or 4 cavaletti (15-20 cm high) in a fan shape on a circle.
Space them about 3 meters apart at the center (average distance for working canter).

The advantage?
The inside track shortens the stride, while the outside track lengthens it.

Execution:
Approach the fan in a balanced canter, aiming for the middle of each pole.
Focus on staying centered and straight between your aids.

What you should feel:
If your horse falls inward after the last pole, they are avoiding engagement. Support with your inside leg and rebalance.

Pro tip:
After your session, compare your Time Spent at each hand. If your impulsion score is higher on the left rein than the right during this exercise, you know exactly which side needs more gymnastic work next time.

Welfare at the Heart of Performance

Cavaletti work is physically demanding. It’s intense for the abdominals and topline.

If you notice cadence increasing abnormally toward the end of the exercise, it may signal fatigue. Know when to finish on a positive note.