Schooling suggestions to improve canter?

noblesteed

noblesteed

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Hi all,
Just wondered if anyone could suggest any exercises to help me and horsey. His canter has always been his weakest pace and we only get a 6 at best for it in dressage. He pokes his nose, tries to lean on me, falls in or is lazy and drops the canter. I have been focussing on getting him going forwards, and striking off instantly when asked, which he is doing now (helped by jumping which he loves). He is getting fitter and I want to improve control and balance in the canter while being able to maintain a good contact. I feel my seat can restrict him somewhat and I have been working hard on improving my own position.

Does anyone have any suggestions of exercises that will help me shorten his 'shape', get him stepping under more with his hind legs and get him more balanced and collected in the canter? He works in a nice shape in trot and walk, it just seems to fall apart when we go into canter!!!!
 
Start from scratch and practise on the lunge, I've been doing it and its worked wonders, he's much more balanced, and have been practising thousands of transitions, that seems to have balanced him more. Let him sort himself out on the lunge, eventually he'll work out its easier to work it out than to break into trot and have to take that big step into canter again. We had HUGE troubles with getting onto the correct leg but now does it without thinking, as for the ridden there is such an improvement. I know its different for each rider, but I find I lean in too much on the right rein and end up throwing him off balance, I've been practising looking like a dope with my head straight, chin up and not leaning my right shoulder in - so I'm not leaning on the leg to make him unfortable in canter.
 
Hmm we have been working on the lunge a lot, I agree it has helped. His canter was SERIOUSLY dreadful, I mean he couldn't manage a circle, or strike off on correct leg when I got him. I just need to take him up a gear now, to gain control within the pace and to get our canter up to a 7. It will mean we have a chance to get placed in a prelim.
Any suggestions would be helpful???
 
Have you tried cantering over poles? Grid work and canter poles helped my mare with her canter, apart from that just keeping at it and building fitness and balance
 
My view is that you do not improve canter by simply doing more of it, but that you have to find an unrelated exercise to properly engage the hind quarters.

This is mine.

You will be working in a serpentine in a school, trying to get as many crosses of the school is possible. From the first corner of the school on the right rein ride across the school in walk flexing the front end of the horse slightly right, when you reach the other side complete your right turn and head back across the school in the opposite direction. This time flex the horse's neck left to plan for the next bend, at the same time apply your left leg to direct the horse back laterally to the end of the school you just left.
When you have completed your left bend flex your horse right in preparation for the next turn, whilst applying your right leg to send the horse back laterally towards the end of the school you are working away from.
Try to do two lengths of the school in this way every time you warm up and I promise immediate and dramatic improvement.

As an experiment try cantering before the exercise, and then immediately again afterwards - I am 100% confident you will feel a difference straight away - but would love to hear back from you as to how well it worked for you
 
I'm behind you in schooling my boy's canter, but even so the description sounds similar enough (not engaging behind, falling in and losing nice walk/trot outline) and I've noticed a huge difference in Monty through using slightly short trotting poles before and between canter transitions. We're only at the point of doing a couple of sides of the school in canter (never mind circles!) but it's drastically helped him as having the poles short a) brings him back after canter, b) makes him balance himself again ready for the next canter without me doing all the work and c) tucks him under himself a little bit.

Also for us lots of cantering up hills on hacks has really helped to combat his forehandiness :)
 
Would agree that activating the hind leg in walk + trot will help you more than doing exercises in the canter. You want to keep each canter fairly short as asking for him to maintain it will just encourage him back on the forehand as he tires. Once you've warmed up I would do lots of circles/serpentines/spiralling in and out, trotting poles (on a curve is great once he's used to them as you can vary your line to get him either more forwards or more collected) and lateral work to get his trot really active and stepping through with the hind leg. When you feel he's really 'there' ask for your canter transition and literally do half a side before you come back to trot. Try and make your transitions as good as possible and pay attention to your position - you may need someone on the ground to have a check that you're not blocking/hindering him in some way (not saying you will be but it makes sense to check!). Cantering properly in the school is hard work so doing it little and often will help to build the right muscles without him getting stiff and tired. If you can, longer canters in a light seat out hacking will help to fitten him up which will then make it easier for him to maintain a more 'together' canter in the school. A steady slope will help even more if you have one - as long as you can keep him forwards (usually easier on a hack!) it should help bring the hind legs under and the front end up. :)
 
My boy used to be like that - my solution was transitions & hundreds of them! We would literally be doing trot-canter, canter-trot transitions everywhere in the school. Once I had them established I took it up a notch & started walk-canter, canter-walk transitions & my boy has a fabulous canter now, very springy & uphill, infact canter is his better pace now :)
Good luck.
 
I had this with my boy and I found it hard to sit properly as I was constantly trying to keep him going and supporting him (to much :rolleyes:). I did lots of work on his trot first and loads of changes within the pace so push for medium then back to working then collected then back on again. Also loads of transitions to canter, loads of canter poles and grid work. We can now push the canter on towards medium and come back towards collected and now he is carrying me I can ride it rather than do all the work my self and also transitions on a serpentine when he is a bit more established, a few strides of trot as you cross the centre line then canter again. Just remembered another one riding a figure of eight in the school canter then halt at x (as direct as possible) rein back then either walk to canter or halt to canter on the other rein, this really helped with his walk to canter transitions as he started to anticipate them and I would wait untill he was bouncing underneath me in walk before asking and would then get a transition straight to canter (some may not agree but it worked for us and he now dosent need this exercise to get a correct transition). Hope theres some ideas to play with there.
 
Transitions, transitions and more transitions, direct and indirect, walk to canter really does encourage them to 'sit' more as does rein back to canter.

Also try really pushing him along on the long sides and shortening the stride on the short side (whilst maintaining the canter), this really helped my horse.
 
I found that doing lots and lots of transitions and collecting/extending really helped my boys canter.
He used to canter about with his nose in the air but he can now maintain a decent outline :)

good luck
 
I have a mre that naturally appears to be slightly down hill. I have spent ages doing 10m circles in walk at each marker, then walk to canter - at next marker walk - circle 10m - canter.

It was quite intensive initialy but has really brought her more 'up hill' and not from my hand!
 
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