New temporary trainer

[eahotson]

All is going very well.Worried in case Hattie (cob) would be upset by the move.Not a bit of it.You would think she had never lived anywhere else.
I have widened the trainers remit as we were struggling with her canter.Watching someone else try to get a canter out of her I thought that she didn't really understand what was being asked of her.Trainer started off by lunging her and he said that IHHO she had had chunks of her backing omitted and didn't really understand what he wanted.In short, that someone had just put a saddle on her and ridden her away.She is very quiet so I can imagine that while she might have thought this very odd she wouldn't think it was worth worrying about.
Amusingly he had to run with her round the school to get her going (he is very young and fit).When he had exhausted himself doing that he turned her out with her new friend and then watched her in the field going "Canter canter canter".He thought !!!!!!!!!!!!!!. She is now just starting cantering under saddle and is doing well but still a work in progress.

 

[sport horse]

If it is any help, we start all our young ones cantering out hacking or in a field following an older horse. They often find the tight confines of a school difficult especially if they are not naturally desperately well balanced.

 

[paddi22]

sport horse is 100% spot on.. find a gentle hill, put them behind a good lead horse and they naturally pick up the canter. I find teaching young horses canter in arenas impossible - there too many corners and it's harder to balance them. it's much less stressful for both parties to allow the horse to naturally pick up canter because it wants to. I like picking a slope because it works the hinds and if they put in a buck its easier to sit!

 

[eahotson]

If it is any help, we start all our young ones cantering out hacking or in a field following an older horse. They often find the tight confines of a school difficult especially if they are not naturally desperately well balanced.

Yes I am sure your experiences are far greater than mine but watching her the feeling I genuinely got was that she did not understand what she was being asked.Still, there are many ways to skin a cat and so long as you get there I guess.I have,in the past known backing being done by just putting a saddle on the very quiet ones.They were being broken for trecking and for that I guess it worked very well.

 

[eahotson]

sport horse is 100% spot on.. find a gentle hill, put them behind a good lead horse and they naturally pick up the canter. I find teaching young horses canter in arenas impossible - there too many corners and it's harder to balance them. it's much less stressful for both parties to allow the horse to naturally pick up canter because it wants to. I like picking a slope because it works the hinds and if they put in a buck its easier to sit!

I think there probably are many ways.I couldn't do that and sadly couldn't find anyone else to do it and this is working.