improving the canter?? - suppling exercises?

L

lilym

Guest
right-ho, the lessons are paying off and the trot work really getting there, we have mastered shoulder in and leg yeild! now just the canter to really get up to scratch, horse in question is a short coupled cob, she used to run into canter, but now we are asking her to slow down she can't go into canter without bucking!!! it feels worse than it looks but i'm not the most confident person!! she canters fine out on a hack or if i let her have her own way.. i.e scrabble into it...but asking her from a collected trot we get buck then canter... not ideal! teeth back and saddle are okey dokey.
i was wondering if some lunge work in a pessoa will help her get the idea of sitting back on her hinds a little?? any input appreciated!
 
The idea of lunging is good as it will give you the idea of what your horse does to get into canter but also give him the chance to find out about the balance required.
I worry a little when you talk about collection to canter which sometimes as horse that has a habbit to running into the canter you end up holding back and then kicking into canter and i think that that may have some thing to do with the bucking into canter. you really need to make sure your horse understands the relationship between the tap, and activate aid at the the girth with the inside leg and the outside rein. Be careful that in your desire to get into canter that you dont throw your shoulders foreward and down over the inside shoulder, this will compromise the balance and a 'down ' inside shoulder makes it difficult for the inside hind leg to engage. When you ask for the canter sit up and let your belly button lift as you ask also make sure the outside leg is behind the girth to hold the outside leg leg on so that all the energy from the hind legs jumps through to the hand.Connection is so important in canter but it needs to be from the hindleg to the hand not held by the hand. Try and time the ask with the hind leg as his inside hind in the trot comes to the floor so that he can jump off the ground into the canter, therefore giving him the exact moment to jump into the canter. You say you have leg yield make sure you do this by moving off the inside leg AT the girth. Sometimes people are taught to pull the leg back to move away from but this doesnt have such value in terms of teaching him to connect forward to the outside rein. So leg yield just a couple of steps say turn down the 3/4 line just before you get to the track feel the outside rein a little on the shoulder and back then relax it a little and at that moment as the inside hind leg comes to the floor tap sharply at the girth lifting uo your belly button to 'look' over and between his ears. If he doesnt react dont 'throw the reins at him and kick and chace him or hang on him, REBALANCE and ask again . Keep repeating this leg yield to canter exersice until he gets it , the important thing is to keep the same ask when you dont get what you want the first time repeat it again and again you may even have to tap with the whip at the leg , but TAP dont smack!
I find this exersice good as it encourages up and forward and to the outside rein. Some times on the circle it is all to easy to loose that outside shoulder and get down on the inside shoulder and then cause some of the problems that you are describing . There must be room for the hind leg to jump through so it is important that the shoulders are up and open and this is something cobby types find difficult. Sorry this is a long post but these things are inthe 'detail'. I so hope this helps. X
 
Wow Partoow ... can I come to you for a lesson
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Think you may be able to put me right on a few things
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Where in the world are you by the way ? (if you dont mind me asking)
 
Yes, this exercise helped me and my boy (Or something extremely close to it).

I had a nasty habit of dropping forward in to canter.

I find taking a big breath in helps me to stay sat up.

I also find a deep breath in for downward transitions also keep me sitting where I should be. (I am a so and so for leaning forward, habits? Who'd have em)!!
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Thankyou very much Partoow, that was very helpful, i think i will be trying that with my ex racehorse who finds canter very hard. Thankyou, all your posts are so helpfull!
 
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