Please help me relax in canter!

B

Bodger

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 January 2012
Messages
52
Location
Wiltshire
Visit site
I'm a novice rider having lessons and have recently started to canter in earnest. I've always had a bit of a thing about it and have managed to get away with not doing much generally in my riding but I now have a new instructor who won't let me chicken out any more! I'm a lot less nervous about it than I used to be, and have definitely gone from it terrifying me to now quite enjoying it. But I simply cannot relax! I just can't seem to get to that point where I am relaxing my legs and letting my pelvis move - I still tense up, grip with my legs and bounce. I know that the only way through this is to canter as much as possible and continue to work on my seat without stirrups, but I'd really love to hear anyone else's experiences, ideas or things to visualise to get me to loosen up!

Thank you in advance

Bodger
 
Are you breathing? I know it sounds odd, but many people tense up in canter because they are holding their breath. Singing or counting out loud can help with this, even if you do seem a bit crazy!

Otherwise lots of work on the lunge with no stirrups. Unfortunately, as with many things in riding, there aren't quick fixes and it's just practise until it becomes second nature.
 
As penumbra says: Breathe. Singing is a great help to relaxation. A song that fits nicely with canter is Nellie the Elephant - try it next time:D
 
I have been teaching one of my livery owners who finds it hard to relax cantering in the school, she is fine out hacking, two things have helped her.

First I get her riding in a forward seat just letting herself relax and the horse more able to move forward, then gradually sitting, a few strides at a time before going forward again, this really helped her and after a few sessions she was able to sit deeper without tensing, the horse also found it easier to remain in canter without her having to use her legs too much.

The other thing was to canter from walk, it cuts out the sitting trot, bumpy stage where the rider starts to get tense in anticipation and allows you to sit deep from the first stride. Without stirrups it is also easier to go from walk.
 
Breathing is good :-)

Try opening your legs, concentrating on keeping your butt cheeks relaxed & in contact with the back of the saddle all the time, feel like you're leaning back (shoulders behind hips) and make your arms loose so that their movement is determined by the horse's mouth.

Once you are "going with" the horse a bit more you can tidy this up really easily, but the relaxation has to come first.

Even if you don't go without stirrups just yet, having someone lunge you can help you try different things with your body, without having to worry about steering and brakes!

I would try not to have "attrition" lunge lessons without stirrups where you are expected to figure it out on your own, a good instructor should be able to give you clues to help you sit and follow well, rather than just hope you eventually get it by being bounced around (also not fun for the horse).

Good luck we have all been there at some point. :-)
 
Last edited:
You are not alone :) I had the same problem. Cantering scared me and it wasn't helped by the struggles I had to get the RS horse to canter. One horse I used to ride had a huge clunky canter and would only ever do a few strides before falling back to trot and the other one was very likely to not stop at all but just go faster and faster. Many swear words were used!
I used to draw my legs up and tense them which would then push my seat up and of course bounce in the saddle. That or else stand in the stirrups whilst a despairing RS shouted "get your bum back in the saddle" or "sit up" .. I bought a book on riding and I could actually tick every common fault for a beginner. Lol. Sometimes I think I actually managed to do them all at the same time.
Then she took away my stirrups.:eek: I wasn't keen but decided she knew best. I found it easier without them as my legs were not tensing and pushing my seat out if the saddle, plus it gave me some confidence in my ability to balance.
I'm sure you will get lots of good advice from better qualified than I on here but just wanted to offer you some support and encouragement.
:) you will get there.
 
I agree about making sure you breathe & would suggest lunge lessons. I found they really helped my position & confidence which in turn helped me relax.
 
I had a friend who had real diffulculty with relaxing into the canter stride. I got her to walk round on her pony and really feel the movement. I then got her to do a jog and concentrateing on the same feel, a very slow jog.

I then got her to canter, feeling the same degree of relaxation and feel. I also told her to think walk not jog.

Within 30 mins she was cantering with a relaxed, seat and going with the movement. I kept telling her to think walk and not what the true pace was. It worked. She had struggled for some time bouncing out of the saddle at every canter stride.

I do think sometimes we over complicate things and back to basics, thinking outside of the box works.
 
I know this sounds strange but try and imagine your 'flowing' with the horse's canter, and really focus on the rocking horse type movement...if you concentrate on this it should help you stay relaxed! also just try and breathe really calmly and slowly :)
 
Dear Bodger, I know exactly where you are coming from.
I too had a similar problem whereby I bounced and bobbed in canter and sitting trot for that matter and was terrified everytime he went to canter (I looked more like I should have been on a trampoline than on a horse) which was caused through tension and my lack of confidence. (Mind you I had already been riding and showing for about 10 years when I got my late TB, however I went from a very finely built 16hh to a 17.3hh gangly monster and I simply couldn't ride his huge canter. I now have an 18.3hh and still growing IDx that has a mahoosive canter and I find the same exercise has helped me to be able to ride his canter better) I had a very bad habit of leaning forward and hunching my shoulders forwards, gripping with my knees and also grabbing the reins and holding on for dear life. I also tend to hold my breath. My poor neddy's mouth. Bless him, he was so patient.
My instructor in Oz in desperation put me on the lunge without stirrups and had me drop the reins and hold onto the pommel, lean back as far as I could and close my eyes.
She then had me walk and by the end of the lesson finally trot. She asked to call out which legs were going forward/hitting the ground. It worked well as I had to concentrate on feeling the movement (rather than leaning forward and looking down) hence I forgot about being tense and nervous as I was too busy concentrating on which leg was doing what. It only took about ten minutes to master the feeling of my horse's movement by which time I was relaxed and sitting much deeper in the saddle.
My seat and also my balance improved dramatically. I was amazed when I finally took my stirrups back that I needed to put them down 2 or 3 holes. Not only that my horse became more rounded and relaxed too. I was finally riding with my seat rather than my hands.
Within a lesson or two I was happily cantering on the lunge not only minus stirrups and but also minus holding onto the front of the saddle. I simply clasped my hands in front of my belly and and merrily cantered around without a care in the world. Each time I felt the urge to tense up and lean forwards I closed my eyes and felt the movement. Also once I had mastered the whole concept she had me take a take a breath each time his inside foreleg left the ground and then exhale when that leg hit the ground. Stopped me holding my breath and tensing up.
Sounds scary in theory but in practice it's much easier than it sounds and is actually quite fun once you get over the initial fear of not having any stirrups and reins to rely on.
Get yourself a good and patient instructor, get on the lunge pronto and go for it and have fun.
Good luck (and apologies for the very long winded reply).
 
Janah said:
I had a friend who had real diffulculty with relaxing into the canter stride. I got her to walk round on her pony and really feel the movement. I then got her to do a jog and concentrateing on the same feel, a very slow jog.

I do think sometimes we over complicate things and back to basics, thinking outside of the box works.
Click to expand...

I so agree with this. My first attempts weren't too bad and RS asked if I'd done it before. Then I started to try really hard and the harder I tried the worse I got.
I like your explanation. :)
 
I still grip with my knees a lot when doing a trot to canter transition.

Sometimes it helps if I try to "wrap" my legs around his tummy. Imagine stretching round him...a "leg cuddle", if you will! :)
 
Thank you all so much for your replies. It's great to know I'm not the only one and there are some really helpful suggestions here! Am off to book some lunge lessons and practise my breathing!!
 
I must say canter has never been my best pace and probably never will be. But here are a few tips that I found helped.
1. First of all the aim is not to be 100% relaxed - imagine something completely relaxed (floppy) on a horse like a rag doll - it would fall off right away. Trying to go soft and floppy (relaxed) will only make you bounce more. Instead you should be elastic like a rubber band with flexibility but strength. So keep your back and tummy muscles working - think about pushing down with them like we do when we shout, or sing or sneeze.
2. often if you are nervous you will tend to get in front of the movement - it is rare to see someone a long way behind the movement. So as you make the transition really wait for and feel that moment when the horse lifts your hips up and forward. Don't go there before the horse does, let him take you there. You can practice this is walk trot transitions - indeed any upward transition will give you that feeling.
Without seeing a video of you its hard to say of course - in the end you have to try some stuff and then take what works for you
Good Luck!
 
*hic* said:
As penumbra says: Breathe. Singing is a great help to relaxation. A song that fits nicely with canter is Nellie the Elephant - try it next time:D
Click to expand...

This.

I started having lessons again a couple of months back as I had lost my confidence and had a horse at home I wanted to ride. We got my trot going really well (having ridden pacers my legs were too far forward so my balance was off - problem resolved) but when we tried canter I 'locked up'. My hands went rigid and I was 'closing' my body, if that makes sense? So instructor made me sing. I felt like a complete prat and when she shouted at me to sing, the only song that came to mind was Tom Jones' 'Delilah'! But it helped massively, I forgot that I was cantering and had no choice but to keep my body relaxed and 'open'. Haven't been made to sing since but may have done it out of choice :o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top