Change of leg through trot

[Sprat]

I need your collective help, HHO. I appear to have broken Bean’s canter ?

I was running through elementary 45 (which is a lovely test to ride actually) and got to the movement where you cross the diagonal in canter, change of leg through trot into the right canter. Well. I fluffed it up a couple of times (it has never been our strong point to be honest), but now I’ve gone and faffed about with it so much I cannot for love nor money pick up the right canter from anything but a corner now ??‍

Right to left is sweet as a nut! I am 100% sure this is a training issue rather than a physical one, but I am drawing blanks on how to fix it.

I’m seeing Super-Instructor at the weekend, so I will absolutely speak to her about it, but there are clearly some gaps in education here so I would welcome any nifty exercises that I can work on in the meantime to help. Or, should I just leave well alone before I break the canter to the point of no return?!

Tonight’s schooling was a bit hair raising which I’m sure didn’t help, I was in the outdoor and we had low flying geese, a couple of noisy chinooks overhead and a rogue shavings bag flapping at our ankles so she was wired to the moon, it didn’t make for a particularly relaxed session. Though I did get some cracking mediums from her due to the excess energy ?

 

[rara007]

Make it a figure of 8 of 20m circles with the transition back up in the corner where it’s easy, then bring it back towards the spot where you change bend, and then straighten it out to a diagonal?

 

[Michen]

Ha can’t help but this happened to me in walk to canter the other day in a lesson. Nailed it twice then fluffed it up and horse and I got in such a tizz we must have done 20 wrong transitions. Backed off and when he was next schooled he was then getting trot canter one wrong too. Was fine the next day but dare not try walk to canter again ?

 

[Sprat]

Thanks Rara will give that a go.

Michen, it’s really frustrating isn’t it. We are fine with the w-c, but the t-c is what’s doing us in.

 

[Renvers]

Do the transition in another part of the school or on a circle or over x. I think the mental block just becomes bigger the more you pressure yourself until you think you never will get canter again!

Or even put a pole on the ground where the transition happens. For some reason (for me anyway) it is really easy to get the correct canter lead if you get canter over a pole.

 

[mini_b]

Thanks Rara will give that a go.

Michen, it’s really frustrating isn’t it. We are fine with the w-c, but the t-c is what’s doing us in.

I completely lost my t-c for what felt like months and could only do w-c. Couldn’t pick up correct lead and I was making it worse. I had to forget about it and come back to it.

Your horse is working at a higher level than mine, no help but I am sending sympathies!

 

[j1ffy]

Like mini_b, I've lost t-c transitions at various times. I wouldn't overthink it, just put it down for a couple of days and come back to it - often something clicks when you / the horse is having some down time.

My trainer thinks the c-t-c on the diagonal is one of the hardest movements, if that makes you feel any better We went from getting an 8 for it in a Novice test last Autumn to being completely unable to do it a couple of weeks later, we'd been working on counter canter and lateral work and I think Danny just got confused. A week later it was back again.

Also I do need to really think about my position from t-c, I have quite a curved spine and my pelvis naturally tilts forward (bum sticking out) so we also did a lot of work in a lesson to get me to tilt my pelvis the right way during the transition, which helped. Walk to canter is a lot easier! Maybe worth doing lots of t-c transitions elsewhere in the school, making sure you have it very fluent, then back across the diagonal.

Another thought - I often do a 'lazy' c-t-c across a diagonal while warming up on a long rein. We get it every time! So perhaps taking the pressure off can also help and just pony around for a bit

 

[ycbm]

Whenever I get left/right issues like this in any movement I concentrate very hard on what feelings I am getting from my body on the good and bad side and comparing the two. I usually find that it's me, and I'm simply not positioning myself the same on the bad side as on the good one.
.

 

[Sprat]

Thanks Jiffy, it does make me feel better! Interesting that you lost yours after the counter canter and lateral work, as that is what we have been working on recently. I am sure it is my position / aids that are causing the issue and confusing my long suffering mare.

We tend to lose a bit of straightness in the left canter, which I'm sure isn't helping things either.

 

[Michen]

I feel so much better seeing these posts tbh! I had an SJ lesson last night and did a bit of W-C and it was fine, but the minute it's a "dressage" walk to canter I seem to over think it and am getting it wrong.

Weird!

 

[Roxylola]

Don't over flex, don't over think it.
Work lots of trot canter trot canter transitions at various places on circles - as rara said make it more a figure 8 than a diagonal as well. Just get the horse really thinking canter so you can sit and let it happen. If you over ride or they dont just pop in to canter where you ask there is a far greater chance they will go crooked / unbalanced and end up not getting the right lead

 

[tristar]

i .always think about what i am doing first, how i am sitting and mainly if i can relax myself, because the horse will reflect me and follow the direction i am pointing in and thinking in and looking in.

so if its a not so good canter i try till i have a good canter and until i feel unity between me and the horse and balance which is control and good not too clutching rein contact for communication, then trot until i feel ready to get a good strike off successfully then reduce the number of trot strides between c t c with practice and gradually work towards canter walk canter

so i canter, ride well into trot, so ive got some impulsion, ride forwards quietly, ask for slight flexion to the left say, look to the left, position myself in that direction, remember to breath and let go of the thought of failure and relax and ask

 

[palo1]

Such an interesting thread as this has happened to me a number of times and as I haven't competed that horse in dressage I tend to give up and forget about it lol!! Now I know that it is 'tricky' I do feel a bit better. No idea what to suggest other than possibly a combo of w-c in the spot that you want and possibly more trot strides towards the corner before asking for canter then bringing that 'spot' back again. I am sure your trainer will help you think it through and I will be interested to hear the solution. Thankfully I am still mastering ordinary t-c on my youngster and the older chap is more or less allowed to do what he likes!!