cantering...

S

SarahRicoh

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Hey all..

Well ponies coming along very nicely atm. Need to get some pictures up soon :)
Hes a 14.3hh ish that i had on loan
with view to buy for a few months then lucky me got him after a few months for a very good price!
Hes done bsja in past & been roughly ridden/handled. Very sensitive to ride (only have to.move legs,seat,shorten reins & he shoots off), very speedy & tense.

So is taken a while for his schooling to come on. His walk is good now & after a while he'll do long & low. Trot is much much better & hes working in an outline,maintaining a steady trot & starting to do long & low
BUT his canter is awful!
On a hack its fine cz he can bowl along at own speed/generally straight lines but schooling its awful.
No matter how quietly i ask he launches into canter,motorbikes round corners,is unbalanced,on forehand & so fast its scary!
I want him to be much more collected/on his bum & able to canter nicely.
I know itl take work & before anyone says it im getting lessons as soon as i can afford it...
Hes just so hard as hes difficult to ride.

Anyone have any ideas/exercises etc to help us improve his canter? Get him off his forehand?
Om the lunge he launches into it but is steadier & can manage a circle...

As many ideas/advice as poss apreciated :)

*sorry for essay!!
 
His canter will improve once his trot has become more established, you just need to continue as you are and not expect too much. Keep cantering on hacks, get him doing more on the lunge, gradually extend the time he stays in the canter he will then become more balanced and slow down.
The main reason for the speed is a lack of balance and confidence when riding him you need to remain calm and just do a very short canter then quietly trot before he gets too fast then canter again and trot, keep it short with lots of variety so he is less able to bowl on and get speedy.

The rushing away from you moving can also be worked on, when he is relaxed just give him a pat as you shorten your reins or move your leg so he is less reactive. I would always finish a ride by giving him huge pats and lots of fuss, once off flap the stirrups around against the saddle as you would with a young pony that you are desensitising it will all help as long as he does not get a fright so do these things gradually and assess his reaction before doing more.
 
I was having this issue with my young horse but she is improving loads since I started using a Pessoa when lunging.

It has helped her find her balance and her canter transitions are a million times better
 
Why not get someone to video you cantering - from both sides back and front. You can then check you are balanced and level, hands are good, you are sitting back, etc. If you are on an unbalanced horse it can emphasise any of your faults!! (Sure you are already brilliant, but it makes you more conscious of your position). If you still flumoxed, post it on here, there are some brilliant people who will help you find an efficient way forward!
 
Thanks guys for all your advice. Il try get my friend to take a video and il post it on here...
Im.getting my ym to ride him as shes a lot better than me to see if its partly me unbalancing him..
I dont have a pessoa but if a lot of people suggest it i may look into getting one
 
I can understand completely. When I first bought Pinto, "canter" was a real hair rasing experience. Like riding an avelanche.

My boy is awful for anticipating the canter when he gets going, so I just do circle after circle after circle until he calms down and relaxes, pop him up into canter, then after three or four strides of nice calm, balanced canter, back to trot and praise. I call it dressage avec ennui (training with boredom).

It has taken a loooong time (mainly due to my traitorous nerves), but we can now canter a full 20m circle without tanking off.

I hope you make faster progress than I, and good luck :)
 
I'm only now in the camp of trot does not improve canter. Canter improves canter. Yes a certain amount of legging up, but having had my own mare struggle with canter who has a beautiful big trot, I admit my thinking of better trot was off the mark with her.

Some things I did that helped us. Figure 8's in which a pole was in the middle of the arena. Asked for canter on the bend coming off pole. Gave her a few strides as long as she maintained a balanced rhythm we continued. When she started to become unbalanced resulting in rushing, downward transition into trot, circle to pole and strike off the other way. Rinse and repeat. Transitions and more transitions. But always working towards balanced canter. And the canter part is what makes it better. It takes time and you have to be happy for the small things. 3 strides of happy balanced canter turn into 5 strides turns into 10 strides and so on. When I got my first 20 m circle of a balanced canter I was over the moon. But as they get stronger you need to concentrate more on canter, not trot. Canter transitions from walk, canter downward to walk.

Here's the thing. I sent my mare away for training as I didn't want to screw her up and it had been awhile since I did jumpers. Enough work wasn't put into the canter from the start and it was one of the reasons the trainer client relationship soured. Then I noticed my mare becoming panicky for canter and before you knew it, it was just getting worse. So I'd had enough. FWIW I had a big vet work up just to make sure there wasn't an issue that way. Nope, just a big weak girl who needed to learn to canter properly. Some horse's are blessed and it is more natural than for others. Does not mean they are useless and at the end of the day with proper training they end up fine.

Terri
 
yep agree with all the above, transitions and a few more transitions!
have had the same issue with my new lad, have found pole work really helps to slow him down and make him *think* about what hes doing with his legs. keep it quite simple to start off with, and use poles to bend around and through, not just going over.
also lunging in a chambon on the lunge so he can learn to balance himself without the complication of having a rider.
i know its obvious, but give it time .
it wont happen overnight, but it will come. when your having a bad day just take 5 minutes to think back to when you first got him, and im sure youll realise how far hes come :) that what i do when my horse just wants to run around, legs everywhere!
good luck
 
I used to think improving our other paces was required to improve our canter. However I think it made me avoid the issue, I did a lot of work in walk and trot and not enough in canter, unsurprisingly our canter didn't improve! I'm now actively working on our canter, asking for frequent transitions eg 6 strides canter 6 strides trot. Also I used to over ride the canter which put S on her forehand. I have to concentrate on doing less.
 
In relation to the leaning in on the corners make sure u have an equal contact though both reins. A common mistake is to worry about bend and over using the inside rein which then causes u to lose their outside shoulder. Imagine u are guiding both shoulders around the bend supporting her well with your outside rein. Think inside leg to outside hand. Also ensure ur inside leg stays on the girth (and isn't slipping back) to allow her hindquarters to come round your inside leg. Hope that helps an good luck!

Would definately get a Pessoa (can get them from decathlon for £35) And work on transitions on the lunge.
 
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