Teaching someone to canter

[IseeU]

Any tips on teaching a new rider to canter, horse is safe as houses but needs the right cue and you have to mean it as otherwise quite happy to walk , rider does ask but tips forwards and im not sure I’m telling her how to ask correctly

 

[teapot]

Does the horse lunge well? If so, much much easier to do it that way

 

[Ceifer]

If the rider is tipping forward they need to be more stable in their seat before attempting canter.

 

[Barton Bounty]

The key is not tipping forward, sitting deep in your seat and asking only at the corner. Id suggest she watches how it is done if it is not in a lesson

 

[IseeU]

Horse doesnt Lunge too well, tends to be lazy . That’s trouble I think , she can get it once for few strides but second time horse realises he can get out of it

 

[cobgoblin]

To coin a phrase.. shag the saddle.

*I'll get my coat *

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Agree lunging will be a good way to start also ask them to look up slightly it's harder to tip forward then

 

[Arzada]

For a beginner rider (and others) I'd recommend a session on a mechanical horse where the rider can learn to canter, the feel of canter and their position etc. Or on a hack preferably uphill with a reliable lead horse in front.

 

[JBM]

If she’s tipping forward to ask for canter she’s not balanced enough to do it

 

[Patterdale]

You need a horse that’s going to help her out and just get into canter.

It’s rubbish to say that if they’re tipping forward they’re not ready to canter. All riders will have instability in their position whilst learning to canter, the only way to get past this is to get used to the feeling of the canter transition, and canter itself. You can’t do that in trot.
If they can rise to the trot with still hands they can learn to canter, but they must have a horse that helps them.

 

[Abacus]

If the horse is safe and will follow it might be easier on a hack, preferably up a gentle incline after a steady lead horse. If the one she is riding has figured out that he can drop back to trot easily then it'll be hard for her to get and maintain the canter while staying balanced, but he might keep going better when out hacking.

 

[Widgeon]

Or on a hack preferably uphill with a reliable lead horse in front.

Yes definitely this. Much easier for horse and rider than in an arena.

 

[Glitter's fun]

Bear with me for a little learning theory!
It's difficult and slow to learn two things at once.
The classic example is learning to put a golf ball into the hole- you need to get the right direction and hit it just hard enough - two things. So what you do is place a marker on the green & practice zooming the ball at it, at whatever speed but the line must be right. Then you put a long line of string out & practice getting just up to it but don't worry about the exact direction. When you can do both you put them together. I don't play golf but you get the idea- split the task up = faster learning.

Now canter. Your friend has two things to do (possibly three). 1) Sit securely & go with the movement, 2) Get the right aids to chivvy on an unwilling horse, +/- 3) Want to do it & not be actually a bit relieved it didn't work.

To split them up I'd try lunging or hacking for the position (and confidence) & practice the aids on a stationary & then walking horse. (ETA walk at it's head just in case but it doesn't sound like a horse that's likely to shoot forwards when you get the aids right)

 

[pistolpete]

Also another thing to mention maybe work for a short time on halt to trot trot to halt used to be called acute transitions just to get the horse listening a little. Then ask the rider to visual the canter at the given corner and maybe even hold front of saddle for a stride or two to keep seat deep. Good luck. Once you’ve got it cantering is my favourite!

 

[Skib]

Or on a hack preferably uphill with a reliable lead horse in front.

That is how I learned to canter, out hacking from an RS. But I had already done a lot of sitting trot including with no stirrups in the school. And I had absorbed the Mark Rashid approach which is to concentrate on the beat of each gait: 4 beat in walk, 2 beat in trot and 3 beat in canter.
However, before one is allowed to hack (BHS) one must first canter in the school. I did this accidentally. We were trotting over poles and the RI told me I had cantered over them. That unsolicited canter qualified me to hack out with her. But it was a long long time before I really learned canter.
My advice to anyone is that canter is not compulsory and can be postponed, even indefiinitely.

But once one does start to canter, if one does enough of it, it becomes very easy.

 

[canteron]

I'm sort of going through this with my horse (canter isn't her natural gait) fabulous trot though!

My thoughts would be to work really hard at getting the trot going forward and the making sure the legs are 'vertical', (if not slightly forward, not quite old fashioned chair seat, but not far off), then ask for canter in a specific corner, but primarily being concerned initially that the rider doesn't tip forward when asking and keeps her legs forward when asking, even if it means a tap on the shoulder with a whip and a voice aid, rather than being even a little bit concerned about whether they canter, hopefully if you don't get canter initially, you get a better trot (then work at keeping it). Once she has mastered getting the horse going forward without tipping forward, then the canter should come .... one day!

Tipping forward is a fear thing? So first you have to help them overcome the fear of the speed and give their body some muscle memory.

 

[Chiffy]

Tipping forward is not necessarily a fear thing! It can be anticipation of the change from trot to canter! Obviously to the more experienced, you need your weight behind the movement and off the shoulders which comes with experience and improvement of the transition rather than just ‘having a go’ at what canter feels like.
I really think that the first feeling of canter is best on a hack , just rolling into it behind another horse, preferably with a neck strap for balance.
Once a rider has experienced the feel of the canter, then is the time to teach the transition. So hard though to have a safe steady horse but which is responsive to the aids.

 

[YoLaTango]

I can t add to the thread in terms of advice...

Hope I'm not hijacking. But - tipping forward! I am (fairly) secure in canter on established horses. But my own is NOT established. He is 4 / 5 (depends who you ask...). He is starting to canter in the school a small amount. Canters on hacks a little too. Very early days. I have paid pro riders to canter him. But when I'm doing it... My approach has been the usual aids etc, but to go into a 'light seat' in a stride or two. My thoughts being that this is easiest on horses back. I do think I am slightly 'tipped forward' in this seat though. Does this sound about right, or am I giving the poor old thing mixed messages?

Maybe I should follow this thread and learn to canter better....

 

[Wishfilly]

Sorry to be a killjoy, but teaching someone to canter is one of the trickiest bits of teaching a beginner. It's not just the transition up, but the transition down to a more forwards trot can catch a lot of beginners out.

I would suggest some lessons in a riding school with an appropriate horse to get the feel of the transition. Also, make sure you have the appropriate insurance in place, just in case!

Alternatively, I agree out hacking, following another horse is a great way to get the feel of cantering without the challenges of trying to do it in a school.

 

[lynz88]

When I was learning I was always taught to ask in the corner or short side, sit to the outside, with outside leg behind the girth to ask for the canter. If the horse was lazy and I wasn't 'ready' for carrying a whip, I remember having someone standing in the corner with a whip to encourage the horse to move into canter. I was also always taught to grab mane so I wasn't accidentally pulling back and if the horse hops into canter, I had something to help balance me without pulling on the mouth. Then once in canter, to keep my leg on and sit "lightly" (off the horse's back in a 3-point). Does the horse respond to voice queues? If yes, could always try and time voice with aids. How is her leg in general? Is it strong enough?

 

[seriously festive equine]

I used to really struggle with this as a kid. My welshie could NOT BE BOTHERED to canter in a school. I learnt with the dreaded pc kick. Poor boy learnt i meant business pretty quickly! I would not reccommend this method though Lol!

 

[MickeyFinn22]

Any tips on teaching a new rider to canter, horse is safe as houses but needs the right cue and you have to mean it as otherwise quite happy to walk , rider does ask but tips forwards and im not sure I’m telling her how to ask correctly

When I used to teach lessons I would have them doing no stirrups trot once they were at that level to help them sit up and on their bum! It used to help for the first couple of canters to tell them to hold on to the front of the saddle and pull up on it, not push down. Also asking for the canter in corners

 

[Skib]

One thing worth explaining to a learner is the type of trot needed to transition to canter.
Learners think a fast trot will convert to the faster gait, canter. But this isnt how it works. If the RS horse is spread out lengthwise in a fast trot, it cant convert that trot to canter. To canter, one needs to compress the horse a bit lengthwise (i.e. collection). This means contact on the reins and then power up the trot for two or three strides to the corner and at that point, give an almighty kick, saying Canter.

I apologise to those who dont like the Pony Club kick but when an old rider like me goes for a W T and C assessment at an RS, we are given the oldest, safest, slowest horse and believe me, only the Pony Club kick will do. Moreover, these RS test ponies only canter on one lead. So it is best to enquire which

 

[Trinket12]

I had a very bad habit of leaning forward when asking as my brain seemed to think this helped go faster the horse I initially learnt on was tolerant of this, Sugar however was not and I spent a lot of time on the arena floor not a technique I would recommend though!

But I found watching videos on YouTube very helpful, I liked Amelia Newcomb’s channel. Working on fitness off the horse to strengthen and we had lunge time both in canter as well as trot and no stirrups.

 

[Cortez]

As with all aspects of teaching a beginner, everything is 1,000 times easier if you have a good schoolmaster and lunge horse. Trying to teach someone to ride well on a poorly balanced/ schooled horse is a highway to he'll.....

 

[Tiddlypom]

Getting the transitions nailed on a mechanical horse first rather than learning on a long suffering real horse is a win/win for both horse and rider.