Canter Leads

[tonitot]

My pony goes into canter beautifully on the right rein and pretty much always goes on the correct leg. On the left rein however, he goes into canter nicely but always on the wrong canter lead ... Ive tried lunging him and he still generally goes on the wrong leg although occasionally he will go on the right lead, when he does I give him lots of vocal praise but it doesnt seem to be working :/ when I'm on him I put my outside leg right back and sometimes give him a tap to let him know to take off on that leg but its not working. I keep him on a circle and today I was there a good 10mins going from canter - trot - canter - trot to try and get him on the right leg and not once did he do it .... anyone have any suggestions??

 

[eggs]

Sometimes it is easier to go walk direct to canter in a corner.

You can also try trotting a small (10m) circle and asking for canter as you exit the circle.

Your pony may not be straight on the left rein and be throwing his shoulder out of the circle.

Make sure you are not putting your outside leg too far back, that you have a little more weight on your inside stirrup and that you pony's neck is not pulled too far to the inside. Scooping your inside seatbone forwards in the transition can also help.

 

[spike123]

have you ever had him checked over to see if there is a physical reason as to why he struggles to get the correct lead? the fact he does it on the lunge as well as under saddle points to the possibility of there being a problem which would be why he finds it so difficult.How old and how long has the pony been under saddle if he is young? How well schooled is he generally? It could be a balance issue although you would think he would find it difficult to canter a circle on the wrong leg if balance was the issue. Have you tried placing a pole in the corner of the school where you want to ask for canter as this will help him to get the correct lead.

 

[Flight]

Don't want to sound patronizing but do you have an instructor you could have a lesson with? They might be able to give you some ideas and will be able to see exactly what is going on. Does you pony work nicely in trot and bend the correct way on the circle? Something I am guilty of is not sitting evenly in the saddle which throws horse off balance a bit and makes it difficult for them to get correct lead. There are various exercises with poles you can use but I would recommend having a lesson first and making sure everything else is going right to give your pony the best chance of doing it in canter. I am assuming all normal back teeth checks done etc?

 

[tonitot]

Have tried walk to canter and he still goes on the wrong leg ... but I will try the smaller circle

I'm willing to try anthing

 

[soph21]

[ QUOTE ]
Sometimes it is easier to go walk direct to canter in a corner.

You can also try trotting a small (10m) circle and asking for canter as you exit the circle.

Your pony may not be straight on the left rein and be throwing his shoulder out of the circle.

Make sure you are not putting your outside leg too far back, that you have a little more weight on your inside stirrup and that you pony's neck is not pulled too far to the inside. Scooping your inside seatbone forwards in the transition can also help.

[/ QUOTE ]


^^^^^^^^^^ What she said

 

[tonitot]

Havent had him checked over but he is young (around 4-5ish) and has been broken about 6 months now I think (not too sure, only had him 2-3months) so I think its just a balance issue.He does find it difficult to keep his canter on the wrong lead on a circle so he's easy to bring back and ask again but he just keeps taking off on the worng leg.
At the moment, no I dont have an instructor, but I am thinking of finding someone as he is young and he's the first pony I've had that hasnt been broken that long so I dont want to ruin him in anyway. He does trot nicely (for a little pony as their legs always seem to go 100miles an hour! ) and as far as I can tell he seems to bend the right way on a circle.

 

[blc111]

Hi
I used to have this problem with my 5 year old but he had trouble cantering on his right leg. He would lean really badly on my inside leg so he wasnt balanced well for the canter instead when approaching the corner to ask for canter, i had to ask for a little leg yield to the left to get him off leaning on my right leg and then ask for canter, every time he would strike off on correct lead. if i didnt ask for the leg yield he would get it wrong. i have lessons once a fortnight and they are the best thing ever as we are learning so much together. its worth the extra expensive.