Pessoa - any good for balancing a canter?/ disunited?

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Dirty_D

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Does anyone have any experience of a pessoa for balancing a canter? Charlie is now learning to strike off on the right lead (well still a bit hit and miss but better than before!) and is fine in a straight line (ex racer) but tends to still go disunited on the corners on both reins. Hacking is also fine as again he's on straight lines. I try not to sit to heavy also as it does seem to make it worse when I sit to it.

I wondered if lunging with a pessoa would help him to become more balanced on both reins?

Has anyone any experience or any other 'tricks' to try? thanks
 
It will, but you won't necc. need to canter him in it. My girl hates cantering in it, but just walking and trotting with lots of trans helped her canter.
 
It's not recommended that a Pessoa is used for cantering until the horse is more balanced. It is pretty hard work for the horse, hence keeping sessions short and working up the levels slowly
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As CM says, walking and trotting in the Pesso works wonders. It builds the muscle, which helps with balance and control of transitions when you're mounted
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Agree with previous posts. Really helped my girl become more balanced in her canter work as she tended to rush around corners becoming very unbalanced. Used it in short amounts a couple of times a week and has done wonders.
 
Carl Hester likes to canter youngsters on hacks rather than in schools
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. It helps in their balance and long straight stretches gives them time to get their bodies and legs sorted out, without worrying about falling over
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I've tried it with three youngsters, varying sizes and types, and found it's defiantely better to have long straight line canters until they have all their bits sorted out
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Thank you all for taking the time to reply. The only thing is he's not young (13!) and I have been cantering out for the last year (canters out no problems) and only just started to work him at a canter in my instructors school.

Its as if he gets to the corner and panics and his legs go all over! He is getting better on the left rein and I can at a push do a circuit of my instructors 60x 20 school if I cut off the corners slightly. It does seem to be coming with time but we only have a tiny arena at home so i cant really practice and so this is why i canter out mostly.

I think it will come with time but i just wondered if there were any exercises/gadgets that would strengthen/balance him to speed up the process?
 
I have an ex racer and I have to say loads of transitions and serpentines have done wonders for my lad. Just a few weeks ago he was sticking to the track with his shoulder and getting strung out in the canter. I found the serpentines really helped me to see where he was going wonky or lop-sided and you can straighten them up. The key is getting them straight - once you have that sorted you can then ask them to start accepting the bit and working more so over their back. You will then be able to pick up a nice canter. Really pull up through your body as you make the transition into canter. My instructor tells me to 'bounce him underneath me' sort of imagining you are sitting on a bouncy ball so they get the energy coming up and through their back not strung out round corners and down the long stretches. Three quarter lines also helped for the same reason - you can see where to straighten them up. I found these really took me back to basics and within in a few weeks he was like a different horse. Focus on the trot and a marching walk - loads of impulsion etc. Also as he picks up the serpentines, start to do transitions across these e.g. halting from a walk or trot and as he picks up the canter, from a canter to a halt and then picking him straight back up again onto the serpentine in trot. Really get him thinking - I know my ex racer thought he had it all sorted out until I started acctually making him use his head! You can see how rubbish I look in my early videos (in April time a few months after I got him) and how much him and me have improved!

Hope this helps!

Laura and Pete.
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Mine was 15 I think when I started to use the Pessoa!! Don't worry about his age being a hang up. Mine is now 17 (gosh, I suppose she counts as 18 from next week) and is improving every day!!
 
George was really unbalanced when i first got him, and I used the pessoa mainly at walk and trot, and it really made a difference and once he was more balanced I canter him in it and it really seems to help.
 
What is he like in Canter on the lunge/ long reins. If he goes disunited when you are not on him then something maybe wrong. I would ensure that he can canter a circle in just a bridle before putting any gadgets on.

My mare went disunited in Canter and she was found to have Suspensory desmitis.
 
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What is he like in Canter on the lunge/ long reins. If he goes disunited when you are not on him then something maybe wrong. I would ensure that he can canter a circle in just a bridle before putting any gadgets on.

My mare went disunited in Canter and she was found to have Suspensory desmitis.

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Ditto MBD - have you had his back and tack checked out?
 
Hi everyone, thanks again for your replies. He is fine on the lunge with either long or no side reins but if i try to shorten them slightly then this is when he struggles. I do need to get his back checked again so will sort this next year.

My instructor seems to think it is more of a bad habit he has gotten into as sometimes he will do it, its just its usually only 1 lap out of 3! He very rarely goes into the canter disunited, its always a switch.

Do you think i should just continue to build up with very little contact (on the lunge with side reins) and then gradually start to bring him together? Like i said in an earlier post I'm a bit stuck at the moment as our school is tiny and the fields are no good this time of year but i least i can make my plans now!

Thanks again for your help everyone
 
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