New horse wants to canter on roads! Need advice

[lauraea]

Ok.. my lovely forward going happy hacker has tried one too many times to try and canter on the roads whilst out hacking, so to save his legs/hooves and my sanity, I am looking for some advice/suggestions as to things I can try!

He is relatively new to me (less than 2 months) and we have been walking out with no issues at all. When I ask for a trot he is more than happy to oblige, but on occasion can speed up and break into a canter (usually more so when he is behind another horse, as he is desperate to get in front) - I can bring him back down to a trot within a few strides and he does not go bombing off, but I am wondering if there is something I could be doing to cause this?

He is extremely forward going which I enjoy but also very sensitive and I'd like to nip this in the bud before he starts to learn that it is ok to canter and we run into problems.

He has had his teeth, back and feet done (no problems) and has just had the saddler out and there are no issues here either so I am almost sure this is not a pain issue.

I have read through thread after thread but find all the advice is not suitable for out hacking (such as circling to slow him down) and he is not a problem in any other way when we are out and about. As I say, he is capable of a nice steady trot so it may be that he is simply full of energy, feeling cheeky and rushing but if anyone else has experienced this it would be great to hear how they dealt with it.

I realise it is impossible to advise on my riding without seeing me, but just mentioning some things I could look out for next time would be extremely helpful......... now i'm off to run and hide while I wait for any answers!

 

[Northern Hare]

Well it certainly is lovely to have a forward going horse but it does need to be on your terms and I would suggest that you always need to ensure your horse knows who is boss! I have a lovely tb x wb horse who would just love to canter everywhere - he has such a lovely steady, balanced and round canter that tbh sometimes it is tempting to let him just get on with it, but that is only around the tracks round the fields. But, he would also give cantering on the roads a try if I gave him half a chance!

So, how to overcome this? Hacks are a great place for schooling - it doesn't just have to be in a school. Do lots of transitions as you ride along the lanes or tracks. Make sure he is really obedient to your aids. When you go from walk into trot, set the pace you want to go at in the first stride of trot, and ensure you make sure he doesn't go any faster. If you feel he is getting faster and faster, you can bring him back to walk again, before trotting slowly again.

It does take a lot of concentration but your horse will really benefit from this discipline. You can also do lots of changing within the pace as well - ask him to really stride out in walk followed by some much shorter walk strides - and on quiet lanes, you can leg yield from one side of the Lane to another and back again - in walk and in trot as well.

When you are following another horse try to keep your distance behind the lead horse and make sure your friend does not trot off too fast - ask them to take it easy so that your horse does attempt to rush off into canter.

If your horse puts his head up when he's trying to canter on the roads, perhaps try a running martingale to give you a bit of extra control?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Don't trot at all on the road til he learns that's not what we do. Think heavy..slow your breathing and exhale deeply,,relax shoulders and half halt thinking walk or even keep up a dialogue with pony."no we walk on roads..its slippy...just walking.." you know the type of thing. Dont hang onto mouth - hands low and half halt half halt and eventually pony will get the idea. (lots of folk have similar problem with ponies who "know" or have been allowed to canter at the same spots on a ride - Im a big believer in never riding a ride in the same way if I can help it. I imagine lots of people will have other well tried methods to share with you.

 

[lauraea]

Don't trot at all on the road til he learns that's not what we do. Think heavy..slow your breathing and exhale deeply,,relax shoulders and half halt thinking walk or even keep up a dialogue with pony."no we walk on roads..its slippy...just walking.." you know the type of thing. Dont hang onto mouth - hands low and half halt half halt and eventually pony will get the idea. (lots of folk have similar problem with ponies who "know" or have been allowed to canter at the same spots on a ride - Im a big believer in never riding a ride in the same way if I can help it. I imagine lots of people will have other well tried methods to share with you.

Hi Midlifecrisis, thanks for your response.

I am constantly keeping up a dialogue with him, to the point where my friend that I hack out with thinks I talk to my horse more than her! It does reassure him however and it works for us so I will continue to chat away to him and discuss what I would like him to do out loud.

He has a very soft mouth and is extremely responsive so I ride with quite a loose rein, I'm definitely not one of those you see hanging off the horses mouth! I strongly agree with never riding a ride in the same way too, and the rides where he has been breaking into canter are actually new places that we have never been before (or have been to only once or twice in a walk) so I'm afraid he doesn't have that excuse.

As much as I would love to encourage a nice steady canter (as Northern Hare said) the road and lanes round here are just not the place to do it. I will certainly give practising the walk and steady trot transitions a go. I suppose after being made to do this several times he will become bored and hopefully just get on with it. Thank you.

 

[EstherYoung]

Transitions are key. You've not just got the walk/trot transitions to play with, though. I used to throw lateral work at my old boy if he was feeling that way out. Also variations within the gait itself. Then once I felt him start to really listen to me, we'd try for a relaxed walk again.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

If you ride barefoot you will be much safer on the road, and will minimise concussion: trotting on the road is for fit horses, slow steady and for short distances is OK, but fittening racehorses, we only ever walked on roads, in order to minimise injury.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Hi Midlifecrisis, thanks for your response.

I am constantly keeping up a dialogue with him, to the point where my friend that I hack out with thinks I talk to my horse more than her! It does reassure him however and it works for us so I will continue to chat away to him and discuss what I would like him to do out loud.

He has a very soft mouth and is extremely responsive so I ride with quite a loose rein, I'm definitely not one of those you see hanging off the horses mouth! I strongly agree with never riding a ride in the same way too, and the rides where he has been breaking into canter are actually new places that we have never been before (or have been to only once or twice in a walk) so I'm afraid he doesn't have that excuse.

As much as I would love to encourage a nice steady canter (as Northern Hare said) the road and lanes round here are just not the place to do it. I will certainly give practising the walk and steady trot transitions a go. I suppose after being made to do this several times he will become bored and hopefully just get on with it. Thank you.

Keep on doing what you are doing - EstherYoung s advice is sound if your horse will work laterally - just getting his mind onto something other than cantering on road ..time and patience..let us know when he gets the idea.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have a very strong horse, who when in company will try to get stronger and stronger at trot. I ride her in a NS Universal with 2 reins. I half-halt frequently and change the trot diagonal to settle her down.