Instructions
Preparation
Train in a confined area such as an arena or round pen. Initiating a faster gait in the open is an invitation to a runaway.
Saddle the horse and prepare for a training session, including lunging or ground work on the long reins if that is how the horse has been worked previously.
Mount and warm up both the horse and the rider with a sequence of changes in gait from walk to trot and back again until communication is established.
Aids
Signal a transition to the canter by releasing contact with the horse's mouth while it is trotting smoothly. For some horses, this is enough.
Add a weight change if the horse continues to trot. If posting to the trot, sit down and shift your body weight slightly forward by rolling the pelvis as if rising to the two-point jumping position. This is a very subtle cue and the horse may not understand it immediately.
Amplify the signal by squeezing with both legs or touching the horse's sides lightly with your heels if the horse continues to trot.
Add an encouraging audible cue, such as clicking the tongue or making a "kissing" sound with your lips.
Transition
Let the horse continue for a few strides to find its balance if it moves into a canter, but the gait is ragged and uneven.
Come back to the trot by releasing leg pressure, resuming contact with the horse's mouth and shifting body weight down into the saddle.
Repeat the transition from trot to canter until the horse responds readily to the aids.
Follow-Up
End the training session by asking it to do something it already knows how to do well, such as walk and turn, if the horse cannot or will not canter.
Follow failure with success to create a pleasant overall experience.
Praise the horse lavishly and give it treats (if it responds to this) at the end of the session so that it understands that it has performed correctly.
How to Make a Horse Canter or Lope
Teaching a novice horse to go faster, but not too fast, under saddle is best done with clear signals ("aids") from an experienced rider. Once the horse has understood the basic aids, these cues can be refined to produce more complex results such as speed control, lead changes or cantering from a standing start. Force should never be used, and negative correction (punishment) is seldom helpful. Patience and persistence are far more productive.