Micklem - love it! But canter transition exercises please

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MagicMelon

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So I bought a Micklem bridle and my mare seems much more settled in the mouth/head in it, she's always been very sensitive in the head and I've spend months getting her relax and not motor off while going like a giraffe. She's a lovely mare who really tries but I'm still struggling with our canter transitions. Canter has NOT come naturally to her, she couldn't even keep canter on the lunge for more than 1/2 a circle without falling disunited for a long long time. She still runs into canter, I just cannot get her settled and confident enough to just pop into canter casually. She runs into canter on the lunge also so not just under saddle. She's a bit better jumping.

It's a shame as obviously this then means the transition is rubbish but also that the first few strides of canter aren't pretty until she regains her balance again which when its in a dressage test scenario - I run out of room pretty quick! Does anyone have any handy exercises / tricks to try with her? (BTW, I have had everything checked - back, saddle, teeth etc. and no issues).
 
I did months and months of just popping into/out of canter. Literally just getting the trot we needed then into canter, back to trot just long enough to rebalance and then into canter again. At first this sometimes took an entire 20x40m school, but he's now fairly reliable- can sometimes run like a giraffe on the left rein if I haven't got him straight enough.

In between that I did loads of transitions in walk and trot, just practising baby mediums, trot/halt/walk/trot. We also did a lot of leg yielding and turns on the forehand and attempting towards walk pirouettes.

Obviously don't drill the canter transitions- just keep going until you get one better than the last session, and then go do something different.

Once the canter was more established we then started asking at different points on a circle, and then adding poles at the four compass points, picking up canter either over a pole, or between two poles and keeping it sweet for so many poles.

Saying all of this, my horse is an ex ride and drive (now solely ride!) and has never had anything done with his canter, despite being nearly 8! He does have a fairly good walk and trot though.
 
They often find it easier to pop into canter from walk, this helps them stop the panicking/ rushing, allows you to ride those first few strides and will usually improve the transitions from trot when you go back to them, I will often just do canter from walk for a week or two until they find it easy then introduce it from trot again but still mix them up to ensure they don't go back to running.

Other exercises, trot a 10m circle and ask for canter just as you come to the end so they are almost facing the school fence, that helps stop the rush as they are "held back" by the fence, continue on a 15-20m circle once they are in the canter so you are using the circle to help you remain in rhythm.
Leg yield into a corner and ask just before you get to the end, again the fence will help keep them from running away and if you turn onto a circle as soon as you can it helps with control.

Ride a 20m circle in the middle of the school and stay on it while you do lots of transitions to canter, short canter, don't always wait until the canter is good plan on just a few strides and come back to trot, repeat numerous times without leaving the circle, you need the transitions to improve so they help her balance in canter and the quality of them and the canter generally will get better, at the moment you are probably doing them less than you should as they are rubbish they will never improve until you start to use them to help the canter, at the moment you are slightly doing it the wrong way round but I do understand why.
 
I've realised I don't do enough transitions. Millions are needed to improve a horse without a problem and trillions for one with lol. Also walk to canter would be a good one to teach her I reckon.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I've realised I don't do enough transitions. Millions are needed to improve a horse without a problem and trillions for one with lol. Also walk to canter would be a good one to teach her I reckon.
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I second this. I read somewhere that Carl Hester will do hundreds of transitions in one schooling session to see improvements.

I tried counting transitions when I was schooling, and by the time I had got to 30 I was getting better results already.
 
I do a fe canter - trot - canter transistions, then do some walk pirouette to canter transistions and then walk to canter and this really helps us - improvement is happening lol!

Another way if found was to set poles out either singually or in short bursts (we have a field to school in so plenty of space), trot over them and canter away
 
I establish canter on hacks in straight lines before asking for it in the school. Once in the school I only ask on the long side and trot again before the horse becomes unbalanced. Once balanced in the school on a straight line I would start cantering on the lunge without a rider, then with, before finally cantering circles in the school. I also find walk to canter transitions are brilliant to stop the horse rushing and becoming unbalanced.
 
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