PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Gosh, you’re nice aren’t you! How embarrassing for you to be so unnecessarily rude ?
New horse - pacing! ? All tips for canter welcome please!
- Thread starter PatchyBabyHorse
- Start date
Gosh, you’re nice aren’t you! How embarrassing for you to be so unnecessarily rude ?
ester
Not slacking multitasking
IHW has to be one of the least rude people here! Reads like good advice to me.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
Thanks, but I can be blunt sometimes - not my strongest characteristic ?
But having just made the connection as to who this poster is it all makes sense. Anyway I wish them and the horse well and will bow out now ?
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Oh behave, you made the connection before and that’s why you were so rude; you’re just not keen on me for some reason.
Each to their own, I’m not going for universal approval luckily ?
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Unless you are wanting to do serious dressage there's nothing wrong with a horse with extra gaits you just need a new mindset.
Treat yourself to this book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Gaite...words=gaited+horse+book&qid=1594327588&sr=8-5 which has some really good advice and ideas in it. If you have trot and you have pace you should be able to work on getting the four time gaits in between and see what he has in there. My pony there in my profile is a 5 gaited pony with trot and pace. He can canter quite well but has to be kept relaxed and round to keep a good 3 time canter, if he hollows he goes pacey. In the UK apart from Icelandics and a few other people who are fans of other breeds there isn't the tradition of having gaited riding horses, but I'd hate to have anything else now. I hope you can learn to bring out what he has in him, and that you do get your canter. In my opinion there is nothing nicer to ride once you get a good smooth 4 beat gait going which hopefully you will whether it is a rack, stepping pace or foxtrot or something or his own design.
When you do your cantering start off uphill or in long grass which will discourage the pacing, and make sure he doesn't go hollow.
Treat yourself to this book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Gaite...words=gaited+horse+book&qid=1594327588&sr=8-5 which has some really good advice and ideas in it. If you have trot and you have pace you should be able to work on getting the four time gaits in between and see what he has in there. My pony there in my profile is a 5 gaited pony with trot and pace. He can canter quite well but has to be kept relaxed and round to keep a good 3 time canter, if he hollows he goes pacey. In the UK apart from Icelandics and a few other people who are fans of other breeds there isn't the tradition of having gaited riding horses, but I'd hate to have anything else now. I hope you can learn to bring out what he has in him, and that you do get your canter. In my opinion there is nothing nicer to ride once you get a good smooth 4 beat gait going which hopefully you will whether it is a rack, stepping pace or foxtrot or something or his own design.
When you do your cantering start off uphill or in long grass which will discourage the pacing, and make sure he doesn't go hollow.
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PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much that is so helpful!!
I’ll go have a look at that book now!
From my limited research they seem to usually be very brave, kind horses and good jumpers, and he’s certainly that. He’s a project but not one I’m ever wanting to sell, so there’s no rush at all.
If you’ve got a gaited horse, do you know of any Facebook groups where I might get tips? I’ve had a search but no joy.
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Try the Icelandic groups, they are usually pretty friendly and used to canter problems,
Do you know his breeding, I was thinking maybe some standardbred pacer in him.
I find the biggest problems I have is when I have lessons with people. None of them have experience with gaited horses and come up with the most odd ideas on what to do when schooling. You have to accept that and make your own way really. I love them though and wouldn't have anything else now.
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
No, it’s unrecorded. But yes standardbred was my thinking too, based on my limited pacer knowledge..! He’s from Ireland.
ester
Not slacking multitasking
I think his head is fairly standie
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
I think his head is fairly standie
Yes having looked at a few now I agree!
I don’t mind too much. Just want to do the best job with him. It’ll be very satisfying (hopefully!) to get him going well, more so if you’ve a bit more to surmount.
And I can’t say enough how kind and genuine and willing he is. It’s not something he’s doing wrong or being naughty, it’s his little quirk and lets be honest, they all have one!
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
REALLY luckily my trainer used to work with Standardbreds by coincidence, so that’s really fortunate.
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
You'll find a lot of useful videos on youtube too
The way of moving you were talking about with the cantering in front and walk/trot/pace strpping behind is a pretty common thing in green gaited horses and is called variably 'wicky-wack' in the US and valhopp in Icelandic. It is a common thing in young unbalanced horses and he should get better as he learns to balance and take more weight on his hind end
The way of moving you were talking about with the cantering in front and walk/trot/pace strpping behind is a pretty common thing in green gaited horses and is called variably 'wicky-wack' in the US and valhopp in Icelandic. It is a common thing in young unbalanced horses and he should get better as he learns to balance and take more weight on his hind end
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TPO
Well-Known Member
Did your trainer see the video before you purchased???
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
No, I only just started going to her, would have been useful though!
Have watched a lot of videos etc tonight and I’m not so worried about it now. It will be a fun little hill to get over, something I’ve never done before anyway. I’ve never even sat on a pacer before now.
Merry neddy man
Well-Known Member
If he is micro chipped will it show his breeder as 1st owner? or anyone you can contact.
paddi22
Well-Known Member
I've one that was a pacer and she turned into a super little eventer.. we had huge issues getting her into canter at the start and the easiest thing to do was just to skip that schooling in the arena part and take her out on fun rides when she would naturally offer a canter and associate it with fun. when she was in arena she would get tense and too over focused on it. so I just kept it fun for her and used that time establishing the canter to get her used to the different stuff she would meet xc.
she still goes back into trot the odd time around courses when she feels she needs to balance herself, but she is a powerhouse jumping and I just trust her to sort herself out. the canter does come to them and they usually kind of just click into it one day and understand it. so until then its just a case of having bad dressage scores but clear jumping!
she still goes back into trot the odd time around courses when she feels she needs to balance herself, but she is a powerhouse jumping and I just trust her to sort herself out. the canter does come to them and they usually kind of just click into it one day and understand it. so until then its just a case of having bad dressage scores but clear jumping!
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Thank you that’s lovely to hear!
I’ve never had good stressage scores on normal horses so that won’t be anything new ?
I’m learning loads tonight it’s like a whole new world!
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Yes that’s a good idea, I’ll look into it
paddi22
Well-Known Member
she was such a project! I never had one like her before. she was SO stressed about canter, she couldn't get her head around it at all, it really panicked her
it worked best just to take the pressure off her and not have her worry about correct legs and stuff or worry about balancing around corners. I literally just took her out and had the other horses gallop off and then we got a canter. we did have a few 40 mile an hour trots at first but half way through the first fun ride she just clicked the canter. I just did a few of those and half way through the second one she just would automatically canter. I kept the jumps tiny for them so the whole idea idea was just 'we canter and it's fine'
once I felt she enjoyed the canter and was offering it up I took her into the school for it. we had a few weeks of 'wall of death' canter and we kind of hit a wall with that. the only way I got over it was to find a steep hill, go from walk to canter and then stop her after three or four strides and give her a treat. then repeat it. it was the only way she kind of halted herself in canter in her brain. before that all she had programmed in her brain was canter is a full on speed thing. the hills taught her to take weight behind and the treats taught her to pull herself up into halt and learn she didn't have to rush. when I get any pacers in now I think thats the way I'll teach them slow canter. we are working now on getting gears in the canter and she's slowly realising that. but she is a pure powerhouse jumping and even when we had the worst canter in thew world we still had great fun eventing.
it worked best just to take the pressure off her and not have her worry about correct legs and stuff or worry about balancing around corners. I literally just took her out and had the other horses gallop off and then we got a canter. we did have a few 40 mile an hour trots at first but half way through the first fun ride she just clicked the canter. I just did a few of those and half way through the second one she just would automatically canter. I kept the jumps tiny for them so the whole idea idea was just 'we canter and it's fine'
once I felt she enjoyed the canter and was offering it up I took her into the school for it. we had a few weeks of 'wall of death' canter and we kind of hit a wall with that. the only way I got over it was to find a steep hill, go from walk to canter and then stop her after three or four strides and give her a treat. then repeat it. it was the only way she kind of halted herself in canter in her brain. before that all she had programmed in her brain was canter is a full on speed thing. the hills taught her to take weight behind and the treats taught her to pull herself up into halt and learn she didn't have to rush. when I get any pacers in now I think thats the way I'll teach them slow canter. we are working now on getting gears in the canter and she's slowly realising that. but she is a pure powerhouse jumping and even when we had the worst canter in thew world we still had great fun eventing.
Lintel
Well-Known Member
Not read the full thread sorry.
But I would ditto what Auslander said.
My Hipo did crazy things with his legs in canter up until he was roughly 5/6.
He would disunite all the time which was horrendous to sit to in canter, but it was all through being and baby and being weak. He is also pretty backward which didn't help, but point him at a little cross pole and he would sort the legs out!
We abolished the schoolwork and did hacking and lots of hillwork which set him in good stead and stopped the wild disunited cantering!
But I would ditto what Auslander said.
My Hipo did crazy things with his legs in canter up until he was roughly 5/6.
He would disunite all the time which was horrendous to sit to in canter, but it was all through being and baby and being weak. He is also pretty backward which didn't help, but point him at a little cross pole and he would sort the legs out!
We abolished the schoolwork and did hacking and lots of hillwork which set him in good stead and stopped the wild disunited cantering!
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
.
It is a whole new world, but it is an interesting one. I will also concur that canter from walk is the way to go.
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much!!
So far I’ve only been cantering on straight lines in hacks, which is why it hasn’t been apparent before - he canters completely normally (albeit babyish) on the left leg. Get on a circle and ask for right leg canter though and all the wheels fall off. We got 2 full laps of the school today though so hopefully that’s promising.
I’d love to see a picture of yours, she sounds really nice!
Yes mine can really jump. I tripped and fell over whilst long reining the other day and dropped the lines, so he cantered off across the field towards home, and popped the metal field gate in his side reins, which is 1m30..! Very scary to watch but very impressive!
Then he just waited for me to catch up, and off we went out again long reining as if nothing had happened.
Ownedby4horses
...
I haven’t read all the replies but he doesn’t sound like a pacer to me, he sounds like a trotter. I bought a trotter a few years back and he was exactly the same in canter, he cantered at the front and his back end was completely disunited (think cantering front end, trotting back end) and legs wider than expected as he tried to work out his balance.
He was a project and we rehomed him due to our own circumstances and he ended up with a wonderful lady and she worked on his canter and it was just time and training and he was cantering fine, he’s been evening for many years successfully as has an amazing jump.
He’s only a baby too, I wouldn’t panic, I think he will come good with some work. I think you’ve been quite lucky buying unseen as there’s a lot of horror stories and I don’t see the owner has been particularly naughty, perhaps they favoured one rein themselves and that’s why he’s better on one rein.
Be nice to see his progress, he looks lovely.
He was a project and we rehomed him due to our own circumstances and he ended up with a wonderful lady and she worked on his canter and it was just time and training and he was cantering fine, he’s been evening for many years successfully as has an amazing jump.
He’s only a baby too, I wouldn’t panic, I think he will come good with some work. I think you’ve been quite lucky buying unseen as there’s a lot of horror stories and I don’t see the owner has been particularly naughty, perhaps they favoured one rein themselves and that’s why he’s better on one rein.
Be nice to see his progress, he looks lovely.
Tally05
Active Member
Pole work, cantering up hills S pattern over poles.. make sure legs and hooves fully booted up as they can sometimes mess their legs trying to correct and connect a front with a back and injure themselves xx
Widgeon
Well-Known Member
FWIW we had a trotter gelding in the riding school I rode at throughout my teenage years; he was an accidental purchase (not the horse the YO paid for - dodgy dealer, don't ask, we were far too trusting) and was a nervous wreck on arrival. He would trot at the most amazing speed, then straight into gallop. Anyway a year or so of kind treatment and regular work and he had cracked cantering and was happily working over (small) cross country fences. With a competent rider and a big enough arena I'm pretty sure he'd have been able to canter in an arena too. So it can be done. He was a lovely natured horse too, I'd have another trotter quite happily if he was typical of his breed.
MiniMilton
Well-Known Member
I haven't read all the replies, but I'd be a little concerned that there might be some SI pain etc and maybe that's why he physically can't canter on one rein. Assuming that the horse is a pacer or a trotter could accidentially miss a subtle injury.
I'd be getting thorough vet and physio check before beginning strengthening exercises. Gorgeous horse by the way and I hope it is just balance issues.
I'd be getting thorough vet and physio check before beginning strengthening exercises. Gorgeous horse by the way and I hope it is just balance issues.
PatchyBabyHorse
Well-Known Member
Thank you very much everyone, lovely to read others experiences!
He’s just passed a 5 stage vet so hopefully no underlying issue, I think it’s genuinely young and unbalanced ??
He’s just passed a 5 stage vet so hopefully no underlying issue, I think it’s genuinely young and unbalanced ??
stormox
Well-Known Member
I think you are being rather unfair on the seller to say they deliberately masked and hid the canter! It isnt really a fault or unsoundness, he has passed the vet, and surely any seller is going to advertise with the best video they can. He looks nice to me, a bit babyish and any weakness can be worked on.
stormox
Well-Known Member
A horse cant pace in trot. Trot and Pace are different gaits with a different sequence of footfalls.