"Dear H&C, I can walk, trot and canter quite competently. My friend said she'd take me out for a gallop on her horse, and I don't want to admit that I don't know how to do this. Please can you explain how I ask the horse to gallop and how I stop? Thanks, Amy."

H&C's Jenny Rudall BSc BHS Int SM replies: "Dear Amy, thanks for your question. I've made a video on how to gallop, which you can watch by clicking below. There's also some handy hints beneath the video. Now, galloping is something that should not be done by novice riders, and can be incredibly dangerous if it isn't done in a controlled way. If you are in any way unsure about your canter, you should not move up into a gallop.

Galloping should also never be done in an arena. A horse needs a lot of room to get up to speed, but he also needs a lot of room to slow down; so, it should be done on a slight hill or in a field and never towards home."

Step one: First of all, you ask the horse to canter and then, when you're in the canter, you need to come off the horse's back in a light seat position, you may wish to shorten your stirrups to do this.

Step two: From this position, when you are holding your own weight off the back of the horse, and the arms are in a position where you can move them forwards and backwards with the horse's head movements, you can then squeeze or nudge the horse faster with your legs. In the gallop, he needs to stretch his head and neck forwards, so you may have to allow his nose to stretch out but without losing control.

If in an emergency you need to slow down, you can then use your body weight to sit back down on the horse and ask him to slow down. Galloping, is not something that should be done often as it puts a lot of stress and strain on a horse's legs.

Galloping should only be done on sensible horses in a place where you know that you will be in control. To learn more about the correct gallop position check out the video above.