Cob cantering help

[canteron]

I have been riding my young cob for about a year. A bit of hacking, some schooling, etc and all going well. Even won at intro dressage. Her lateral work is quite good and established and although low level (leg yield, turns around the forehand)

But canter is a problem. She is ok out on a hack - but can’t hold it in the school.

The ground is too hard to canter out so I thought I would try again in the school - but she bucks when going into canter and is clearly hating it!
i thought I would try on the lunge - but again she finds getting her balance an issue and it’s really hard for her.

Do I preserve with the canter lunge work, little and often, or what!
And yes, she is level, seen by a physio/massage person every month and generally bright eyed and bushy tailed!

We are in no hurry to sort it!

 

[AmyMay]

What type of surface is the school?

 

[View]

How old is she, and when was she started under saddle?

 

[Widgeon]

First off I'd probably just assume she's still quite unbalanced - arena work is hard with the relatively tight corners, and certainly our surface has been riding very deep recently with the lack of rain. Could you find an instructor who's good with young horses and get some eyes on the ground? They might be able to spot some clues. She might just need more time.

 

[Barton Bounty]

If your cob is still young I would imagine she is still learning, so may take a little while for her to get the hang of things

 

[SEL]

How big is the school? They tend to need a lot of space when they're unbalanced.

 

[Carrottom]

Does she jump at all? Sometimes a small cross pole, approach in trot and then canter away, even a few strides, then build gradually to half a circuit.

 

[Melody Grey]

I’d consider the following:

-can the horse maintain canter on the lunge without rider?
-is the school surface suitable and is there enough space (aim for straight lines along the long side first)
-can the horse canter with a bareback rider (if safe enough to try!)
-what does movement look like from the ground in canter?
-is the horse being allowed forward? Weak horses often canter fast as they grapple for balance.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Start lateral work in walk, possibly in hand before moving on to ridden. Cobs need a lot of strength built up to canter well and in balance in a school. Correct gymnastic schooling will help build that strength. It will take time. Hill work and canter work on hacks if she is happy with that. Walking over raised poles. All that good stuff.

The canter will come, when she's strong enough.

Cobs Can is worth a look for the in hand work.

 

[Pippity]

Have you tested for PSSM? My cob could manage a canter out hacking but in the school, she'd just go into turbo trot under saddle. On the few occasions I tried it on the lunge, she bucked and bronced and tied herself in knots. Since I discovered she was PSSM and started treating it, she's been completely different, and we're now working towards our first prelim dressage.