Canter leads for the newly broken!

[cclark123]

Need some advise for a newly broken horse, we've got canter more or less 95% of the time on the right leg both on the lunge and ridden. But, on the left leg I can get the correct lead on the lunge all the time but when I'm on board he doesn't always strike off on the correct leg. Any advise or exercises to help him out would be greatly appreciated! I've tried putting my weight on both sides, asking and standing in my stirrups....
The only way I can get it that seems to work is to go sitting into a corner for a few strides then ride the transition more like a change.

 

[pennandh]

You should be sitting a few strides before the canter transition anyway, especially on a green horse.

If he finds left canter more difficult than right, that's because he's a bit of a baby and needs to build coordination and muscle tone. Ask in a corner and make the aid nice and obvious for him: sitting trot with your weight nice and central, inside leg on the girth, outside leg behind the girth, and use your voice too if it helps.

If he picks up the wrong lead, quietly bring him straight back down to trot, rebalance, and ask again in the next corner (you can turn across the school to make the next corner closer if need be). It's very unlikely to be naughtiness; he just finds it difficult to balance both his own weight and yours on his less favoured lead. He'll get there, given time.

 

[cclark123]

Thank you very much, Yeah I get what you mean about the sitting instead of a couple of strides Ive found he needs 4/5. I don't think its naughtiness at all, he's not throwing anything else in like a buck etc. I just wondered if there were any exercises I hadn't thought of.

 

[pennandh]

Other than general straightness/flexibility/fitness stuff, not really. If you have any good hilly hacking, he may find it helpful to do some steady hill-work, and carrot stretches are always good, but it really is just something you'll have to take steady.

 

[tristar]

time, patience and quiet practice, if he can do it some of the time you are going in the right direction, try not to make a fuss when it goes wrong and worry him.

make sure you are sitting correctly yourself.

save canter strike offs until the horse is well warmed up and worked in properly.

in a big field get trot going forward well then make a nice big curve and sit but not too heavily and ask.