Fast striding horses

sandi_84

sandi_84

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I had a wee ride on my mum's 14.2hh (I'll always think of her as a pony :o) today while my neice rode my lad.
Loki is generally quite "lazy" and slow but Pippa has exceedingly fast strides, particularly in her canter work, she always has. When I got round to the canter today at first she was rushing off with me but after a bit of persuasion and transition work she came back quite nicely.

The only problem is mum is very unconfident when it comes to canter, she rode a couple of days ago and point blank refused to even try :( I feel sorry for her as I know she just feels completely out of control and I can see where she's coming from but I know that's just how Pip goes.

Is there anything I can do that will help slow her down a bit to make her feel a bit more manageable for the mothership?

I don't mind letting her build confidence on my boy but I do want her to get to the point where she feels able to cope with the fast canter her mare gives :o
 
Transitions, transitions, transitions and transitions. In all gaits, before your mum canters ensure Pip is listening to her completely in the walk and trot. Lots of transitions within the pace too in the trot to ensure she can ask for more and bring her back, she needs to be using her seat to collect and extend though and not hanging on the mouth.

Once in the canter, I would only canter on a circle to start with and only do 3-4 strides before bringing back down to trot, repeat and repeat until she is coming back easier. Then start to ask for a few moree strides but as soon (or preferably before) she starts to run off, bring her back down again.
 
when i got my ex racer her canter was ridiculous she would go like a steam train round the arena with head down. the only thing i could do was as much as she was pulling me forward i would sit right back and deep and play with the reins. just because there is speed dont take the leg off as this usually encourages them. it takes patience but gradually you will get more and more slower strides each session untill her canter is generally slow:) its usually balance but even as a 14.2 fast stride and quick is a pony thing! just hold her up and sit deep ad it should come:)
 
This may not be the problem at all but I'd say it's all down to balance, my boy's canter strides are generally pretty fast and he can be strong when being asked to slow down. However if I work on being in absolutely perfect balance from the very start of schooling in walk, thinking about being completely aligned with his movement, I find that when we move onto canter he has a lovely steady but powerful stride that feels completely controllable. It sounds stupid but it's a really radical change, it seems that even just *thinking* about balance physically puts you in a better position and the horse doesn't feel the need to compensate for the rider's unbalance by rushing. Sorry if that doesn't make sense or if I wasn't of any use :p
 
i would personally give your mum a ride on a lunge line, as then she can just sit and get used to the fast center without having to worry about steering, while she builds her confidence.
 
Thanks everyone! Brilliant suggestions as always, HHO rocks :D

jjflash, unfortunately she does this with everyone, I'm way more balanced than my mum and she does it with me and one of my friends is an ex jocky with amazing skills/ balance and she does it with her too :o
 
sandi_84 said:
Thanks everyone! Brilliant suggestions as always, HHO rocks :D

jjflash, unfortunately she does this with everyone, I'm way more balanced than my mum and she does it with me and one of my friends is an ex jocky with amazing skills/ balance and she does it with her too :o
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Ah, fair enough! In that case I'd just suggest lots of half halts and transitions which I'm sure is what you're already doing :o
 
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