Canter help please

[Dexydoodle]

Ok, this is probably a bit long winded so hope it makes sense!

I bought my mare in October last year and she came to me with serious issues with bending/ balancing etc., likely to have been caused by being ridden for a long time in a saddle a number of sizes too small. She's had physio and is tonnes better, has a new saddle and teeth done. To be fair to her she's come on such a long way i'm really pleased with her but i'm now a bit stuck.

When I first got her she couldn't bend round corners/ canter in the arena and we've had a couple of lessons and are now happily trotting circles and working on the canter. Before I got her I had 2 share horses who the owners had schooled and so I don't know how to resolve the ongoing issues as i'm sure its me - I will be getting more lessons but am rather skint currently so won't be able to for another month or so.

Basically, her 'good' rein has always been the left rein, and we've done work on the lunge in canter and she seems to have the hang of it now. And we have thanks to my instructor managed to do some nice canter (including around corners without motorbiking, or the wall of death as she called it!). However a few weeks ago we were doing canter transitions on a circle and the left rein was lovely, however right rein she was getting very muddled up about the correct leg, and I guess I wasn't using enough outside leg when asking as we just ended up going sideways rather than forwards into canter. Last night it was the other way round, right rein was lovely and left rein she was struggling working large, and when we went onto a circle to help her get the correct leg, we had the going sideways thing again. Someone at the yard has suggested putting a pole in the corner to help her strike off with the correct leg which I will try. But any other suggestions? I am convinced its my riding rather than her, so I have a much more competent friend lined up to ride her this weekend and see what she thinks. Any suggestions of exercises I/ we can try to get past this problem cos I'm getting really down on my riding because of it

 

[nikCscott]

My boy did/does similar and left was fine after time but right is still a struggle and it was becoming an 'issue' so I've taken him out of the school and have been working on the transitions whilst hacking in the woods and he is so much batter and is even now starting to grasp changes so even if he strikes of wrong i can change him over straight away- also his love of jumping helps as if we go to a show he's landing on the correct leg so gradually it's getting better.

It's easy to get hung up on the small thing that don't come as quickly rather than see how much good you have achieved. Could you share lessons to bring the cost down?

N

 

[Dexydoodle]

Thank you - I will try that. Yes the plan is to share some lessons but still not going to be possible right away. Would be good for me to try cantering out and about but due to the previous loss of confidence it terrifies me! Have cantered her out a few times now but still working up to it, she does seem to find it a lot easier though so another thing for me to work on (me as in my issue not hers!)

 

[Dexydoodle]

hmmmmmmmm so we did some lunge work last night, and she was tonnes better on the right rein than the left. any more suggestions of stuff I can work on please?!