anyone come across this??

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lilym

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My young cob has started to insist on cantering in front on the left rein when i ask him to step under in trot....this is a new thing that has started in the last couple of days! trots up sound all usual checks etc.......am i right in thinking its a balance/strength thing, although he's 6 he's still needing to get the right muscles in the right places, and i'm prepared for this to take time, he doe's it out hacking too, it's nice that he's forward but needs to trot when he's told, any ideas???
 
my tb does this when he is under pressure for a better trot,it is an argumentative thing with him,he finds it easier,however with perserverance he has learnt that is not the way to go and not what i am asking for,trot is smashing now,he will still have his moments when he strikes off but very few and far between...how does he feel in canter??i only ask as my lads canter has gone belly up since his trot work improved 100% and am getting his back checked before i pressure him
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, posted the other day about it!
I am thinking your lad is finding it difficult and evading by cantering as it is easier
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Cantering is alot easier than trotting nicely so i'm thinking its an evasion. Whether its justified or not I can't tell without seeing him. Jakey is just 4 and has been broken to drive for a few months and now he's starting to do more demanding work for longer periods. We're now asking him to be in his traces all the time (well when he's meant to be pulling anyway) rather than relying on mags to do all the work, but getting over the threshold of getting the muscle to do it and having him forward is difficult, at the moment when pulling uphill in trot he breaks to canter regularly, we've been settling for it as long as he's forward and pull but now, after a little while of being allowed to do this, we're asking him to trot nicely and he's managing it for short periods.
If he's not very well musculed and you done the usual back/tack/teeth checks maybe just concentrate on the forwardness and refine it when he's filled out. Doesn't work for all but worked with our slow maturing chunkies.
 
When riding my boy in the school or jumping field, he will trot brilliantly when warming up. As soon as he's done a couple of canters, he always tries to evade trotting and goes straight into canter. He does not take a pull, but is very difficult to bring back to a nice trot (or any trot sometimes!) and he can almost canter on the spot if I put any pressure on him.

I had his back checked, did lots of schooling and had lessons on him, and this was always a problem I had. tbh, it's not so much of a problem now becuase he's 30yo, and although he's quite fit, we're mostly happy hackers now.

Think you could be right about his muscles, he could improve as he fills out and builds up strength, although it's difficult to say without watching him.
 
I had a dressage lesson yesterday and was working on getting my horse to be more forward. He kept going into canter but instructor said no probem - it is easier for the horse to canter as he starts to work harder in the trot and come more round.
 
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