Slowing down the canter in the school?

Girlracer

Girlracer

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Hello guys,

Basically i have a 5yo ex-racer, he has been in 'normal' work since September and is progressing on nicely in his schooling. In walk and trot he's really getting there now and is even starting to carry himself in a bit of an outline now without any forcing of the issue from me. He's steady, balanced and relaxed HOWEVER the canter is a different story! He does at least strike off on the right leg each time and maintains it for more than half a lap so in that sense he's greatly improved. But as soon as he canters it's at a million miles an hour and as soon as i try and steady him it's either un-successful or i end up with ginger ears up my nose!

I gather because of racing canter is going to be a difficult as when i got him he very much only had three gears walk, trot and gallop! I am also aware that some of it is muscular and he is un-balanced and therefore had difficulty collecting. But any tips or exercises we can try to help him? He's lunged a couple of times a week in a pessoa (or similar) w/t/c and does find the collection the pessoa asks for difficult, although he's improving.

Any help gratefully received!!
 
I'd be asking out of a shoulder in, to try and encourage engagement of the hind quarters and if possible 1/2 way down the long side (so there is not far until he has to turn,) and then try for say 15 strides before bringing him back to trot. Then repeat on a circle trot til balanced again, shoulder in 15 strides of canter, trot etc. To try and tell him that he needs to listen cos he's going to be asked to do something else. Then once he's got this, rather than asking for the full trot, half halt and ask him for a couple of strides of 'slow' canter, before allowing to canter on again, if he gets too fast go back to the trot canter exercise... He needs to learn that he must listen even at canter. Also try not to pull up with your reins, racers tend to go faster with a firmer contact, half halt with your back and thighs and you should begin to get some results.

It's not going to be a quick fix I'm afraid, unlearning something is harder than learning it in the first place.

BnBx
 
Hi there

It sounds as if you've come a long way together already.

I'd be looking to teach your horse to slow himself down by rebalancing himself back over his body. A lot of horses go onto the forehand when they try and slow down and in canter this ends up having the opposite effect and then they have to speed up because they feel they're overbalancing forward. (I hope that makes sense!).

I would put a long loose neck strap on, or purchase a TTEAM balance rein. These work by helping the horse rebalance over their feet. Practise with it in walk halt transitions first. When you want to stop, take up contact on the balance rein so that you can feel it against the base of his neck, give a signal by raising the balance rein up and a little back and then release. The release is SO important, because it is actually on the release that they come into balance. To start with you may need to signal and release over several strides while he reorganises himself to stop in this way. It will enable you to more or less leave his head alone during the transition too which will make him so much lighter on the aids overall. When you're really comfortable using it in the walk-halt transition (and when he's learnt how to reorganise himself in this way) then start using it while you're walking to ask for a half halt. Then he'll learn how to take it into movement not just into a full halt. When you've got this bit cracked, take it into half-halting in trot and the trot-walk transition. When the pair of you are effortless with this (and it usually only takes a few sessions) then do the same thing with the canter.

You may also find that for your horse having a small amount of contact on the balance rein all the time will be really helpful. The most important thing to remember is not to have a constant pull on it otherwise he'll have to lean more forward into that pull (exactly what you don't want!). Think up, not back when you use it. If you want to get a TTEAM balance rein - the website is www.ttouchtteam.co.uk

Good luck

Jo
www.tteamperformancecoach.webs.com
 
I wouldn't canter him in the Pessoa until he is more balanced in himself.

We used it for many, many (many!) months before asking for the canter. The little bit of info that comes with the Pessoa states as much.

What bit/noseband combination do you have him in? Maybe a standing martingale (loose-ish at first), just to give him the idea of what is/is not acceptable head wise would be worth a try in the short-term.

I don't suppose you would be comfortable cantering on a hack? Long, steady canters with someone in front (totally dependent on how the horse viewed racing!).

Friends ex-racehorses are cantering nicely in the school, so I don't think it's a general ex-racer thing. Just an individual horse thing in this case.

Hope you crack it hun :)
 
MrsMozart said:
I wouldn't canter him in the Pessoa until he is more balanced in himself.

We used it for many, many (many!) months before asking for the canter. The little bit of info that comes with the Pessoa states as much.

What bit/noseband combination do you have him in? Maybe a standing martingale (loose-ish at first), just to give him the idea of what is/is not acceptable head wise would be worth a try in the short-term.

I don't suppose you would be comfortable cantering on a hack? Long, steady canters with someone in front (totally dependent on how the horse viewed racing!).

Friends ex-racehorses are cantering nicely in the school, so I don't think it's a general ex-racer thing. Just an individual horse thing in this case.

Hope you crack it hun :)
Click to expand...

I very rarely canter in the pessoa/whatever else i'm using anyway i have only tried once or twice to see if he could do it on his own and if it was me being the problem. I school in a myler and cavesson noseband without a martingale.

We do lot's of cantering out on hacks, i try and keep him alongside or behind my friends ISH who has a nice steady canter and he'll fight me at first but then will eventually settle and canter nicely, but he is naturally quite fast his steady canter is still really quick. I'm a little reluctant to put a standing on him if only for the reason i don't want to rely on it then it all go to pot when i can't use it (DR etc) but then i suppose once or twice to make him realise may help?
 
Have you a smallish field with good going at home? I would take him in the field where you have more room and you and he don't have to worry so much about balancing and you can canter on a true circle but much bigger that 20 metres, say try a 40 metre circle.

Start off in trot on a large circle and then ask for canter be slightly up out of the saddle and make sure you keep the circle true, make sure you have him in your outside rein and bring the shoulder round with your outside leg, you can spiral the circle down to 20 metres and then out again. Change the rein and do the same, we have done this lots with yougsters that were not naturally balanced in canter in the school, they usually just need more room, don't canter in a straight line at all until you have him between hand and leg on the circle.
 
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