Can you make the canter more balanced?

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Jenni&Ditty

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Soon my 13.2 will be coming back off loan, which I'm really excited about!! I've got this crazy idea that I'm going to school her, which I know won't happen, she's 20, does what she likes, and I'm 5'10, but anyway..
Her trot is lovely but her canter is very unbalanced, she'll go round at 1 million miles an hour in wrong bend or she'll break
Is there any way to help make it more balanced?
 
I find lots of transitions, or trot circles just prior to a canter transition helps engage the hocks. Most horses do a couple of decent strides just after the strike off, the trick is to take those and go back to trot. The good canter strides will get more and more as she gets more balanced generally. If she's rushing she is probably on the forehand, it just shows up more in canter than other paces..
 
Yes you can and I have done with my 25 year old mare in the last year. Lots of lateral work (leg yield, shoulder in and quarters in) and slowing to almost collection her walk and trot and a bit of rein back as well have all helped to get her off her forehand and got her more balanced. I have also learnt how to use my seat and weight aids a lot more effectively with the help of a fabulous instructor. We have now gone from her pulling herself along from her front end and racing round to getting a nice upward feeling slower canter which is much more balanced. We still can't keep it up for long but have been practicing and can now do around 4 x 15 metre circles without breaking. It is hard work but well worth it,
 
Jenni&Ditty said:
Soon my 13.2 will be coming back off loan, which I'm really excited about!! I've got this crazy idea that I'm going to school her, which I know won't happen, she's 20, does what she likes, and I'm 5'10, but anyway..
Her trot is lovely but her canter is very unbalanced, she'll go round at 1 million miles an hour in wrong bend or she'll break
Is there any way to help make it more balanced?
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Yes find a trainer and pay them to school the horse once or twice a week for you if you are finding it hard too or don't know how. My mare is 5 and does not know the aids to canter and also goes round wrong bend, I am bhs qualified but running my yard and not riding for 3 years due to no horse and broken humerus sees me weak armed so trainer is riding her 2 x a week and much improvement is being done.
 
A good exercise to teach is then turn about the forehand .
You then ride a square in walk using a quarter turn at each 'corner ' once they got that both ways, Start making a transition to trot just after the turn then back to walk quarter turn next corner back to trot and so on it takes time to get four downward and four upwards and four quarter turns in one square it doesn't matter if you do one or two per square it's about the quality of what you do not how many .
You then ask for canter from walk after the quarter turn and teach them the exercise using canter rather than trot .
The turn about the forehand puts the horses quarter gets the inside hind under it that helps develop the canter .
 
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