Canter Strike Off problems

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nedzy

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Morning!

I have had new horsie for almost two months now, and as he had not been worked for 6 months before I got him, have taken my time with him. He is 8 and in the past has done SJ and baby XC. When I viewed him he cantered fine, but now neither instructor or myself can get a decent strike off. He tends to run and violently shake his head about and if you can hold on long enough, will strike off. Hi is so good in walk and trot, happily canters when is spooked, and canters around the field no problem. It feels like a communication problem. Any ideas please?
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My new boy doent have issues like that but can be a bit of a pain to strike off from trot to canter (has a perfect walk to canter but that is not what i want!), he falls in or out, wobbles around and shakes his head, then runs into it, so not awful but still annoying and will get me maked down in dressage. My instructor makes me collect him up to almost a collected trot coming into the corner just for 2 strides, then leg yield in the corner for a stride or so and then ask. Because he has had to concentrate for a few strides before the canter he doesnt run into it or wobble or shake his head, it really worked brilliantly which i didnt expect! Hope that helps, everything is worth a try even if it doesnt work for you
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Have had teeth and saddle checked. Will try and get a back person in to check. He kind of paddles along with his legs like he's not sure what order they go in!
 
my instructor helped us by putting a pole just after the corner, like a very small jump but just raised on the outside. then i asked for the canter over the pole, and it worked for us. my mare learnt the canter aids, and having to think about her feet over the pole meant she didn't run through the transition
 
Have you tried on the lunge? Also maybe have a go bareback? You can then see if it is the saddle possibly restricting his movement.

Also i know it sounds really silly but do you know what aids the previous owner gave for canter? If not it might be a case of trial and error. It seems really obvious that everyone would teach the same way but you would be surprised! Sometimes you just need to find the right button.

try not to get to frustrated, if its nothing physical then it's just a case of finding the right way (to him) to ask him and then once you find that you can either stick with that way or re-educate him.

Good luck and let us know of your progress !
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definitely back check before anything else.

If there is a problem he will then need some reschooling time as it is likely to have become a habit and he will need showing he can do it. been there done that!

FWIW life in field is easier, my boy was fine jumping and would strike off correctly if I was aiming for a jump I think because of the addition of a bit of adrenaline. Wouldnt do it flatwork at all. It took 2-3 months to get him consistent again.
 
I have had trials and tribulations getting the correct strike off out of my boy! Turns out it was all in his head!

He has always been fine on the left lead, but when asked to canter right would panic, throw his head up and rush off on the wrong leg.

He has always been able to get the correct leg fine on the lunge, so I did lots and lots of lungeing until he was responding very well to my voice, then used voice alone to ask for canter when ridden, once he was doing it calmly I added in gentle leg aids. Seems to have worked and we can now get the correct leg in a calm manner most of the time using leg aids alone!

Like Ester's Frank, Jack could always get the correct leg if there was a jump involved! So sometimes schooling problems can be psychological rather than physical (but obviously rule that out first).
 
Thanks for all the advice, some good stuff to get us going. I think its definately a case of us asking for canter in the 'wrong' way to what he's used to, as I've only had him a short while and he was fine when I viewed him.
 
I've had similar problems with my loan horse, she hadn't been properly schooled for ages and had become unbalanced, rushed and front legs looked like she was swimming!! My instructor got us doing lots of bending in walk and trot, circles, serpentines etc and lots of transitions then collected trot to get her really working from behind before asking for the canter deep into the corner. The collected trot first really works (as Snowpatrol has already mentioned). Takes a bit of time when they've been out of work a while. I dont canter for long either, concentrate more on getting the transition right first- quality rather than quantity as my instructor says!
My boy used to strike off on the wrong leg and i used to canter him coming off the diagonal, pushed him right into the corner as we came onto the bend and then asked.
 
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