Feeling demotivated! Is it time to give up?

[trickivicki]

Feeling #dramatic this morning!!

Does anyone have a horse that just wont canter on the right leg?

I have at least 2 lessons a week and he has had all of the usual checks done recently (other than saddle which will be done soon) and we just aren't progressing. His walk and trot is pretty good, he is super flexible and lateral work is coming along nicely just this stupid canter block that is stopping us.

He is a 6yo section D and our canter has been stuck from day dot, i'm not cinvinced it's a physical issue as out cantering and when jumping he will happily pick up either leg as he see's fit.

Please help!! I think he could be a super pony but at the moment we can't even go and do a prelim'.


Whinge whinge whinge!!

 

[ycbm]

I had one who wouldn't canter on the left until a couple of months ago. Then I got a saddle with a smaller seat and he couldn't shift me to the outside, and suddenly he has left canter

Is your horse putting your weight over to the left as you ask for the transition like mine was? Try concentrating on keeping your weight into your inside stirrup and your right hip bone pushed forward, if your trainer hasn't already told you that.

 

[trickivicki]

Thank you, I will try that.

He feels like he is trying to bump me up the fence on the right rein which I'm sure doesn't help.

 

[trickivicki]

Also, I can get the right lead if I take a huge amount of outside bend which is hideous (to look at and ride).

 

[Goldenstar]

other things to try .
Teaching the transition only from walk for a while .
Making the transition in counterbend ( bent to the outside ) if this works it means the issue is based in a lack of staightness in the horses work and it's falling out the right shoulder . You would therefore have to work hard on straightness in all the gaits to help this as the horse straightens and the canter develops on the correct leg on the crooked side .
As the he gets straighter you of course begin to teach the transition on correct flexion .

 

[Goldenstar]

Cross posted
If counter bending works your horse is not straight that's the issue to solve .
Make the transition in counter bend from walk and teach the horse a voice command for canter .

 

[trickivicki]

Thank you so much for responding.

I will stick to walk to canter with outside bend for now and do lots ot straightness work.

 

[FfionWinnie]

You need to do more transitions. My welsh C couldn't canter on the right leg when I got her and I struggled for a year getting nowhere. Took her as a substitute for a lesson with my SJ coach who showed me how to flex her to the outside. This allows the shoulder to come through and them to strike off on the correct lead.

However you then need to work on them being straighter and straighter.

Millions of transitions later my pony will strike off on either leg in a straight line from walk or trot.

Both canter and straightness is a challenge with a Welsh. For some reason they appear to prefer being wiggly snakes!

Rather than him choosing whichever leg out hacking, make a conscious effort to always ask for one or the other. Clear aids, make sure you are sitting straight and repetition.

 

[JillA]

Sometimes I find that trying on a circle cramps their inside shoulder so that leading with it becomes all but impossible. As you transition, on the bend just ask for an outside flexion. That should open his shoulder and allow him to strike off in the inside lead. And try a walk/canter transition, your seat and aids might be more secure at walk (a pole on the ground might help if you can't get canter strike off from walk)

 

[be positive]

Cross posted
If counter bending works your horse is not straight that's the issue to solve .
Make the transition in counter bend from walk and teach the horse a voice command for canter .

Also try a different trainer, if your current instructor is not able to help you fix it then a new pair of eyes may make all the difference, ideally someone that will get on and ride the horse, I have come across this many times and they all need a different approach to sort out, usually if there is no physical problem it should be relatively easy to deal with and have then 99% correct within a few lessons once the trainer has found the key.

 

[honetpot]

Have you tried the trick with the small jump? You put a small jump on the inside track coming up to the corner, come up in trot to the jump as they go over they flex to go round the corner and the correct leg pops out and you continue in canter.
We had a NF that found this difficult. If you are not careful you are practicing getting it wrong, so anytime they canter on the 'wrong leg' go back to trot even if its in a straight line and only canter on the other leg, try not to lean forward onto the leading leg you want but free up the shoulder so the leg is allowed to come out, not too much bend. But the jump trick has almost 100% success rate

 

[trickivicki]

Thank you all so much.

I will look into finding a ridden instructor too (any Worcestershire recommendations?)

 

[trickivicki]

Right - I had an emergency lesson this morning, spoke about what I feel and she agrees that his straightness and not listening to my left leg (really weak due to a previous break) are the issues at the forefront.

She has given me a few exercises to work and told me to crack down on him (I am not very strict!), so lots to work on this week even out hacking before my Friday AM lesson. She has also offered to give me a lesson on her own horse on Friday night, hopefully that will help me get a better feel for what is right/ what I'm after .

Thank you all!

 

[naza]

Does he get it on the lunge/ with no rider on?

 

[trickivicki]

50/50 on the lunge so no better or worse really (with no gadgets or in side reins or in pessoa or on 2 lines)

 

[honetpot]

I may be completely wrong but does your instructor have ponies?
Ponies, you said yours was a Welsh D have a different mindset, do too much and they switch off. Most natives need very little work to get them fit, but you need to keep them interested, if your instructor rides TBs or warmbloods she may think your soft and he needs more work when actually he needs a way to make it easy. Natives tend to be more naturally on their forehand so it takes a little more time to get them to carry themselves and work from behind. Go too fast and they end up running and falling on their forehand, so you have to bring they back to walk and use your rising to get a good steady rhythm with transitions up and down. Just do not do too much and make him sour, its supposed to be fun for both of you. He will get it.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

My young mare finds the canter lead on the right rein trickier. I have found a pole on the ground helps her.

 

[FelixPatches]

I had exactly the same issue with my Welsh D cross. And it is so true about natives getting bored easily. I found I'd got myself into such a flap about it that he picked up on that which compounded the problem, meaning he became really squint and uptight whenever I tried to ask (and so making it even less likely we'd get the correct lead). I tried not to focus on it, and to calm down generally and over time (months) we are now at the point where I can be pretty sure he will take the correct lead. For ages, if we got the correct lead, I'd just canter eg a circuit of the arena and then go back to trot and not ask again that session. He also struggles with straightness which I agree will not have helped. Now, his right canter is probably a nicer canter than his left. So don't despair, it will come right.

 

[milliepops]

I've got a sec D who needs a lot of work to get fit, and the more she works in the school the better her mindset, so take your horse as an individual, I say!

Mine had a terrible canter and we really struggled getting the correct lead. I've done lots of work on straightness and insisting she is in front of my leg all of the time. And loads and loads of repetition of the transitions, from walk and from trot. I now give the canter aid with my seat more so than my leg and her canter is her best pace - agree with other posters, don't lose heart. It will come together with practice, but it might take a lot of patience and work. Good idea to ride other horses, they will all teach you something.

 

[itroteverywhere]

A few more ideas...

- sometimes, if the rider is to blame ie. Not sitting straight, tipping forwards, generally unbalancing the horse, then taking stirrups away and asking can help although horse needs to be strong enough through the back for this
- try by coming out of the saddle and asking (especially handy with mares who don't like tight legs on their tummies)
- using a pole on the ground to ask over/ change over
- ask out hacking and try looking over your shoulder in the direction you need the leg to land as you ask so that you're slightly changing your weight to ask for that particular lead leg but not dramatically unbalancing the horse

Otherwise, if it were me I'd forget about canter for a while and get the trot really forwards and supple both ways - horse probably finds one leg easier than the other because he'a not completely straight in the first place.

 

[tda]

Some really great ideas there! I had the same with my dales mare, more I flapped, worse she got.

You could also try Walk to Canter

 

[FlashyP]

If he does the same on the lunge, it suggests a balance/weakness problem (could be a more fundamental physical issue too, but cantering on a circle can just be demanding for weak muscles). I'd probably want to get him 100% striking off correctly on the ground before cantering on a circle ridden, just to build up his strength and confidence. Keep up with straight line cantering to build up stamina but don't get too hung up on not having the correct lead if he can't even do it without your weight on his back.

 

[tristar]

get it right on the lunge first is what i would do.

i would never ask for counter bend for canter, i would always do whats natural, ie bend in the direction i wanted canter, and make sure to give with the hands so to encourage the horse to jump forward into canter, and do not tense the legs, and if asking to the right, move the the right seat bone forward.

i only ever saw one horse rider combo trying to get canter lead to the right with counter bend and the horse just got so hot and frustrated, so be calm and sit without tension, kind repetition at the end of the long side works for me, i then let the horse go forward on the outside track to go on a bit, if you get wrong lead, allow canter not to dissapoint the horse, he has done whats been asked just come back to trot calmly and try again, or another day even.

try to think of it all flowing forward freely and avoid frustration and tension.

 

[dressage_diva]

You have my sympathy as I've been there before! My horse did it purely as an evasion - he found canter (including counter canter) really easy. I didn't find exaggerating the inside bend helpful - this just encouraged him to fall through the outside shoulder. I found it more helpful to do lots of sitting trot with him on a circle and keep him as straight through the neck as I could - I was weak in the sitting trot and just trying to go sitting for a few steps before the canter just led to us loosing the engagement and him using it as an opportunity to be cheeky when I then asked for the transition! So I practiced doing lots of transitions in/out of canter using sitting trot with no rising m and asking for the transition very quietly by thinking of stepping down with my inside stirrup. Eventually this worked. Good luck - I know how frustrating it can be!

 

[milliepops]

get it right on the lunge first is what i would do.

i would never ask for counter bend for canter, i would always do whats natural, ie bend in the direction i wanted canter, and make sure to give with the hands so to encourage the horse to jump forward into canter, and do not tense the legs, and if asking to the right, move the the right seat bone forward.
.

If the horse is no better on the lunge then it's going to be difficult for the OP to improve the horse without riding it, where she can hopefully give him useful aids. (IMO ) If they lack balance it can be harder to prevent them from just scrabbling off into whatever canter lead they select on the lunge.

I don't think counter flexion is needed in the extreme, but many horses find it helpful to have more of a feel down the outside rein to correct their balance, assist with straightness and stop them falling onto the outside shoulder. I didn't let my horse continue on the wrong leg when she struck off incorrectly as i don't want to train in the wrong response.

 

[BBP]

My horse has had issues with sustaining a canter to the right. Fine out hacking or when adrenaline is up but not on a circle. He was also inconsistent in the contact in trot and would constantly flex out, raise his head and banana along. After 8 years of the same issue (and being told numerous times it's not my riding causing it) I finally changed saddles. He is improving every day now. His trot has instantly improved so he is working through from behind into a consistent contact, the banana shaped pony has gone and he is now able to maintain a canter (even if it isn't as strong as his trot yet) My previous saddle had been fitted and checked every year for 8 years, often twice a year, but clearly the new saddle has made a massive difference to his comfort and ability to use himself.