baby pony not cantering on correct leg

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Annette4

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Once my arm is better (still not 100%...can't put my own saddle on coblet). He's done a bit more lunge work since I've been off games and a friend has schooled him a few times. Both on the lunge, loose and under saddle he only ever canters with his left leg leading.

If he's on the right rein I bring him back, rebalance and try again. He is a 4yo coblet so he does naturally go onto the forehand if given the chance.

Any tips of exercises or anything I can do to help? Once I can ride again we'll be hacking and doing some hill work to build him up but I don't want him to form any bad habits early on.
 
I apparently can't type legibly on my phone....first sentence should read...

Once my arm is better (still not 100%...can't put my own saddle on coblet) I want to really crack on with Sam coblet.
 
Yes, don't reward the wrong leg by stopping. It is far harder for him to continue on the wrong leg, so carry on until he breaks of his own accord and then canter again. Pretty soon he will realise how much easier the correct leg is, and choose it for himself so long as you are asking on a circle or corner.
 
Where as I always correct and ask again. So two different approaches. I do not see the point in them learning to go round unbalanced on the wrong leg and they need to learn the correct aids. If they give it to you, then huge amounts of praise. I sometimes find being a bigger open space like a field will give you better results as they can be more forwards. I also will really exaggerate the aids and use a schooling whip on the outside hind to try and get it to step under on the initial strike off.
 
Im with LEC wrong leg then come straight back to trot and ask again. Ive been told many ways to get correct lead and have used them all on diffrent horses.

1. ride into canter lift inside hand up put weight on outside hip and ask.
2. teach to canter over a pole on the lunge then transfere to ridden.
3. bring head to outside and ask in corner. Used this only on a very stubborn older pony. Not an elegant way but did work till he learnt to stay on the correct lead on his bad side
 
I am with LEC on this, if unbalanced they do find it hard but I cannot see that it will transfer to them understanding how to get it correct next time. I bring back and rebalance before asking again, making life as easy as possible giving them every chance to succeed, then praise when they are right, rather than punishing for getting things wrong.
If it is difficult for them using a pole on the ground or tiny x pole can really help get them started off correctly.
 
Try flexing him to the outside when you ask for canter on his difficult rein; I have found that this can help by 'freeing up' their inside shoulder making it easier for them to strike off on the correct lead
 
As be positive suggested, I find a pole in the corner helps most youngsters that have this problem. Push up for the canter as you meet it. :)
 
I always corrected, until I heard Francois Lemieux de Ruffeau at a clinic say not to, for the reasons I gave above. Worked on every horse there and has on mine - mine asks to break but I keep him going another stride or two before I let him. It was his choice to opt for the wrong lead, let him accept the consequence, he sometimes changes in front making it even more uncomfortable - I can almost hear him thinking "whoops, wish I had done it right straight off". If you let them stop and then restart, they may always opt to do that, or mine have in the past - I would always have to be careful with the aids. Letting them feel the discomfort means if at all possible they will learn to choose the correct lead given half a chance.
 
I think it depends on the horse. Mine got very stressed when left on the wrong leg because he could not really balance himself, it would result in a lot of tension and generally was unpleasant for horse and rider. A lot of his issues was he was not strong enough to cope with his size and the need to balance so stopping and asking again was a better choice for him.
 
I agree with LEC- i have always brought back to trot and asked again again again until i get the right lead then i have given huge amounts of praise and allowed to canter for 1 min, then bring back and repeat again.

I have also found putting a pole on the ground or very small cavelletti and asking over it with bend to the inside. The again lots of praise etc.

I guess it justs likely to be a baby thing- ie lack of muscle strength and finds it easier on a certain rein but you shouldnt let him get away with it now else it will be twice as hard later down the line.

You'll get there- it will just take a bit of time and consistence! :D:D
 
I think it depends; on the lunge I let them sort out their own legs as they quickly get it that the correct leg is easier. Under saddle I stop and correct as I want them to respond to the correct aids. I don't ask for outside bend as that is incorrect.

Trotting up to small cross pole is a good start and also asking in the corner as they are already in the bend. But I try to limit the amount of cantering under saddle in the school until they are happy cantering on hacks in a semi-balanced way otherwise I find you just get a lot of tension and resistance which isn't fun.

In terms of getting him off the forehand also try lots of walk/trot transitions making the intervals shorter until he just does one or two steps of walk and then straight into trot - this normally gets them more engaged to be able to pop into the canter rather than just letting them run around faster and faster until they break into canter (which is the way we had to teach one of my youngsters which was so not pretty).
 
Annette4 said:
Once my arm is better (still not 100%...can't put my own saddle on coblet). He's done a bit more lunge work since I've been off games and a friend has schooled him a few times. Both on the lunge, loose and under saddle he only ever canters with his left leg leading.

If he's on the right rein I bring him back, rebalance and try again. He is a 4yo coblet so he does naturally go onto the forehand if given the chance.
Click to expand...

To clarify, do you mean he NEVER canters on the right lead or he prefers the left but when you correct and restart he will pick up the right one? What about when he's loose? On hacks?
 
LEC said:
Where as I always correct and ask again. So two different approaches. I do not see the point in them learning to go round unbalanced on the wrong leg and they need to learn the correct aids. If they give it to you, then huge amounts of praise. I sometimes find being a bigger open space like a field will give you better results as they can be more forwards. I also will really exaggerate the aids and use a schooling whip on the outside hind to try and get it to step under on the initial strike off.
Click to expand...

me too but did learn today that the best way to balance the pony is to put your weight down the inside leg and shift the weight to the inside which gives correct bend and the correct lead with quarters in (international dressage trainer) was the source. Apparently there is a tendency in many riders to bring their the inside shoulder forward and out side shoulder back and shift the weight to the outside in an attempt to balance the horse It is quite a weird feeling like they were going to fall in and over to the inside
 
I would correct a young horse, an older horse who chooses the wrong leg because its lazy and prefers to trot would be better left to find out its hard work cantering on the wrong lead ;).

Do you lunge him? I have a pony who struggles with the right canter lead and I just started lunging her and found out she clearly has never been worked correctly as her lunging is appalling. She can't canter on the right leg on the lunge either so I don't think there's much point trying to get it ridden, until she is stronger on the lunge. Incidentally she is older.
 
TarrSteps said:
To clarify, do you mean he NEVER canters on the right lead or he prefers the left but when you correct and restart he will pick up the right one? What about when he's loose? On hacks?
Click to expand...

When he's loose he will pick up the incorrect canter lead, come back to trot and half the time start cantering again on the correct leg. On the lunge it's less common he goes back onto the correct leg and he's only cantered under saddle 3 times (never hacking as we're still working on napping and spooking...I want us both to be confident before I start increasing the speed ;) ).

I don't doubt 90% of the issue is his lack of muscle and balance with being such a baby.

My logic is once my shoulder is healed I want to ignore the canter....build up his muscle and strength (we can only hack alone so try to do as much as I can but will be about half and half schooling/hacking) then come back to it on the lunge and build from there but it's the do I push through or restart. I'll have a play and see what works best. I've had horses before but only where they've done it under saddle not on the lunge as well. He's had a stop start education with one thing and another so time to crack on I think!
 
Scared of being the poor advice poster...but I would be tempted to do a lot more walk and trot work, really getting him muscled up, when you can ride again spiralling circles, leg yielding, shoulder fore, work overpoles to ensure that he is strong enough and then try the various different approaches suggested. Another approach is to ride along the long side of the school, get a good inside bend, make sure you are not collapsing, support with the outside rein and then ask at the very last moment so that the horse's natural balance as he turns the canter helps through him on the right leg. That was the key with my albeit older horse and I really really have to make sure I am asking him properly and not collapsing.
 
I really wouldn't worry about it - you've cantered him 3 times. Let him get stronger and be clear in how you ask him. Also cantering on hacks will help.
 
I'm a back to trot and ask again person. Your aids asked for (as an example) left leading leg but horse gives you right instead. I think if you kept cantering on you're reinforcing the incorrect leg, plus I don't think it's fair on a young horse to do tons of cantering, possibly on a tight circle to force a change.

ETA just seen comment above, if it's still really early stages just stick to cantering in straight lines out hacking and down the long side until he's a bit stronger/more balanced.
 
My girl was exactly like this as a 4yo and I wasn't sure if a scar on her right shoulder had any influence (probably not I now think). I ignored right canter for a while until she was stronger. She would also try to rush into canter so I introduced walk to canter on the left rein and then once she got the hang of it on the right rein. She never went on the wrong leg from walk.
I then asked from trot after leg yielding and then started trot/canter transitions. This all probably took 2 months.
Good Luck
 
The other thing I've found helpful is to time the aid when the outside hind is about to take a stride, i.e if asking from trot, by asking when the outside shoulder is coming forward, in order for them to smoothly lead off on the on the outside hind. I find if you ask at the right point, it makes it harder for them to lead off incorrectly - particularly if you gently back up the leg aid with a tap from a schooling whip to reinforce the quick response from the leg aid, it is then a lot more difficult for them to lead off incorrectly.
 
There is a difference between a horse that often gets the 'incorrect' lead (horses don't differentiate) and one that significantly prefers one lead in all situations. The former is an understanding issue, the latter almost always has a physical component although not necessarily a medical one. I would leave the canter for now, work on his strength and flexibility, then come back to it. If you do start on hacks make sure you don't fall into the trap of letting him think 'canter' always actually means 'left canter' though.
 
I agree with Tarrsteps - my pony finds left lead canter much easier and if unbalanced will always chose the left lead. Probably due to the fact he is young and growing and generally one sided. He also finds it difficult to do right handed corners without falling in through the shoulder. If I tried to get him to canter on the right lead by circling or asking in the corners or trying to bend him round my inside leg he just got more unbalanced and would throw himself onto his left lead. I left him for a while - concentrated on cantering in straight line on hacks and balance and rhythm in trot and corners and now reintroduced canter but with very exagurated aids - open inside hand, weight to inside ask firmly with outside leg - this results in him drifting in again through his shoulder but at least he is getting the right lead more consistantly now so I guess once we have established the right lead I will then go back to trying to solve the drifting :-)
 
Hi Annette, baby pony looks like a sweetie and you sound like you're working to build up a partnership with him. I'm sure that as others have said it's a case of immaturity, but I thought I'd post a tip given to me when I used to ride race horses off the track who usually favoured one lead. It's to start your canter work on the "bad" rein, as if you start on the good one then that leg sequence sort of sticks in their brain! And also to canter earlier in your session before baby muscles get tired.
 
My horse was the same up until a few months ago, she'd strike off on the wrong leg (always on the left rein) and I'd bring her back to trot and ask again but all this did was wind her up. Even though she got wound up she started to click what was being asked of her and one day she picked up canter on the left leg first time, after that day she hasn't struck off on the wrong leg since! So with her it was asking her to come back to trot and canter on again and ignoring her getting wound up about it, when she got it right she was allowed to canter on and got loads of pats.
 
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