I have two older friends. One has health issues but both are a little fearful of cantering their horses so when they came over to my house for a schooling ride, I got on each horse and cantered them for their owners. One of the horses is a young draft Hackney cross. I also trim him so it's neat to ride the result! His canter depart was better to the left than to the right where I got a taste of his Hackney trot. The other horse is a Standardbred and has some joint adaptation on one of his front feet where the DDFT and joint has dropped down into a coonfoot conformation. But he had a comfortable canter that was kinda like a gaited horse canter.
The next day was hunt school. We had a great turnout (35-40 people) and I met some nice young folks that rode behind me. The young girl is an eventer that is starting her business training and teaching a high school riding program. Both their horses were keen to go. Dewees was perfect as usual. She eased over the trails, creek crossings and jumps like a been-there-done-that horse should. Took care of her moma dispite the antics of Chris's horse's leaping and lunging in front of her and the snorting goings on behind her. She's fat and out of shape but she was a good girl. Got to get her back into condition though.