Pony fell over in canter today

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FinellaGlen

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Our Highland pony isn't very balanced in canter and she fell over today as my daughter cantered her round a corner in the school. To be honest her canter has always looked more like a wall of death than a thing of great beauty but this is the first time she has actually gone over. I posted on the other day about her tripping up in walk out on hacks on uneven ground so I am keen to try and improve her balance but I am not sure how to do it. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

Child and pony are both fine by the way!
 
Falling over in canter and tripping?


My horse stumbles alot out of laziness I think when we are riding down the roads, but I have yet to see him fall over when in a canter


After checking all of the obviouls things like hoof balance and shoes, I would consult your vet about having possible neurological tests done


mind you, I am no vet, but that is what I would do if this happened to me
 
She slipped in canter because she was motorbiking round the corner rather than tripping. Sorry, I should have made that clear. She only trips on uneven ground but has never tripped in the school. She is very much on her forehand, especially when daughter rides her as she has not yet mastered asking for an outline.
 
I had that happen to me once, because pickle found the corners in a fairly small school too much to handle, I just spent more time getting him balanced cantering in straight lines he has only ever done it once
 
Is she rushing as well? What type of surface is the school?

My only advice, and my knowledge is limited, is to make sure that your daughter doesn't lean in on the bend with the pony. Pony leaning in and rider leaning in can often result in a slip. When I canter corners of the school I tend to sit on my outside seat bone...or sit slightly to the outside of the saddle if that makes more sense to your daughter. It helps to keep the pony's balance that way.

As for tripping on uneven ground etc. My horse used to do that. I had her feet x-rayed and her feet were out of balance and far too long at the toe. She was re-shod according to the x-rays and the tripping stopped. Mind you, if I let her lollop along she can on occasion stumble still. I need to push her and make her walk more actively as this makes her lift her shoulder and pick up more in front during the stride.
 
sounds like more transitions and lateral work are needed to strengthen behind and lift off the forehand. Our HiPo did that in canter to my son when he was smaller too, cantering down a slight gradient she stumbled and he shot off the front, he learned to keep himself balanced and be ready to drop the rein pretty quickly after that.

She really sounds like she needs to do some proper work and pick her front end up a bit, more lessons needed!
 
If she fell over, ie. slid then I wouldn't worry - she obviously just lost her footing. Obviously just try to not turn her too sharply in canter if she's unbalanced. Ive had 2 horses slide over with me before as well, especially on that rubber surface - it just seems to move too much sometimes.

The tripping is a different issue though that may need more investigation.
 
Thanks all. I am going to ask the farrier about her toes and if she would benefit from Natural Balance shoes. The school surface is good, a sort of equestrian sand and rubber mix but not slippy. Pony was rushing because she gets quite enthusiastic and daughter isn't strong enough to check her. She doesn't rush with me but I am sure she would if I let her. I think my daughter was definitely leaning in on the corners Patches so that is good advice which I will pass on.

Pony slipped over the way she was leaning and my daughter realised that she had turned more sharply than usual because she wanted to get back to the track. I think there were quite a combination of factors at work really. Pony was also a bit tired as I had been chatting to YO and had not realised how long she had been riding.

I agree with the transition work and more lessons the_Watcher. That is what I am doing myself but my daughter is away at school in the week and can only ride at weekends so she's not had any lessons on Nelly yet. She rides in the week at a riding school and is quite a competent rider usually although she is only just learning how to ask for an outline.
 
I would try to build up the ponies balance when you ride her as much as possible by doing lots of lateral work and school figures, transitions, turns up the centre line etc. And try to encourage her to work in self-carriage so that she learns to support herself rather than lean on your hands, so that when your daughter rides her the pony is balanced within herself so it won't matter so much that your daughter can't yet hold her together. Some gymnastic type exercises such as polework and gridwork would also help the pony, and possibly lunging her in a pessoa or similar to teach her to use herself properly and make her stronger rather than running around on her forhand.
 
I think the most important thing to do is lots of long rein lunging (in a circle as opposed to behind) My boy used to have shocking balance in the school and couldn't canter - only gallop!

A couple of months of 2/3 sessions a week and we now get a lovely collected canter int he school - I think alot of it was him getting his balance without having to worry about me being on top of him too - just an idea....
 
Was she concentrating on where she was going or just getting a bit excited? My horse once fell over in canter in the school because there was a BSPS show on and little ponies flying around everywhere-he was so busy watching them he wasnt concentrating on where he was going and fell flat on his face! Of couse he got back up and carried on as if nothing happened hoping the posh ponies hadnt noticed!
 
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