How do you train a horse to be consistent and adjustable for equitation courses?

An equitation course is designed to test the rider's ability to manage distance, pace, and adjustability, and a horse that is consistent, rideable, and easily adjusted between fences gives the rider the best possible platform to demonstrate those skills. Training an equitation horse for this level of consistency requires extensive work on pace regulation — teaching the horse to maintain a specific canter rhythm and to lengthen or shorten its stride on command from subtle aids. This work begins on the flat, where the rider practices collecting and extending the canter within a gait without changing the tempo. A horse that can lengthen and shorten its canter stride readily on the flat will transfer that adjustability to related distances and lines on a course. Riding related distances in schooling with specific stride counts — asking for a steady five strides in a line, then a forward four strides in the same line — develops both the horse's adjustability and the rider's ability to manage it. The horse must also learn to wait at the base of a fence when the rider asks for a shorter distance and to move up to a longer one when the rider opens the stride, without becoming anxious or resistant in either direction. Horses that only jump comfortably from one pace and one type of distance are limiting for equitation riders, who must be able to show adjustability as part of their competitive score. Rewarding the horse for responding correctly to subtle adjustments, rather than requiring strong aids to produce any change, trains the level of lightness and responsiveness that allows equitation riding to look quiet and effortless.