Tips for getting correct canter strike offs with youngsters?

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darksecret99

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Sorry, this ended up being a bit long!

Any tips on getting a youngster to get the correct lead - his transitions are push button on the left rein (his stiffer rein), but on the right rein he runs and falls out the outside shoulder and strikes off wrong....

Its getting a bit frustrating as he seemed to be getting much better and would get it right most times, but thats gone out the window again :-(

He gets it wrong on the lunge too so its not that I'm doing something odd... although, annoyingly he almost always gets it right in lessons, so we cant work on whats going wrong!!! I suspect its that we do lots of work on stopping him falling out through his shoulders in trot in lessons before asking for the canter... so I have probably answerd my own question - I need to do more of that !!!! (but any ideas for exercises that might help that are welcome too!!)

I dont want it to become a big issue by me asking him over and over, so if he gets it wrong, I bring him back to trot and wait for another "good moment" to ask him.... but if he doesnt get it right within a few goes I do something else for 5 mins and come back to it.

It sometimes takes a while, but when he gets it right I reward him with my voice and a pat... but then I'm not sure whether to just leave it at that... or do the same again (incase we end up back at square one, only already tired!!!)?? would I be avoiding the problem if I left it after he has got it right once, or am i better off doing this until he gets it right within less attempts?

He is booked in for a check up with the back man soon just incase....

Any tips welcomed!! Its getting me down, cos we seem to be making good progress except for this!!
 
we have exactly the same problem, instructor rode him and found he was falling out and just plain lazy and leaning on us. Lots of inside leg to stop the leaning and outside leg to stop him falling out seems to be sorting it out. Maybe ask for canter over a pole on the ground?
 
Hi, I'm having the same problem, except mine is the left leg canter lead. But all other flat work is currently outstanding!
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I've been putting a pole on the ground in the corner of my schooling area then asking for strike off, 9 times out of 10 we get the correct leg that way. But when we take the pole away it all goes wrong again
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. I've had 4 lessons in 14days to try and fix it. My instructor has now told me to forget about it for a couple of weeks and then come back to it. Once I've got the correct leg I give him plenty of praise and then ask once more just to make sure it wasn't a fluke! But occasionally, it can end up back at square one! I suppose, it depends how intelligent your horse is, mine is the most willing honest horse I've ever met and I know he's trying his hardest. He gets really stressed when he realises he's gettiing it wrong because he just really wants to do his best for me! How lucky am I!
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I was having trouble getting my horse to canter on the right leg in my lesson on thurs. Hes only a youngster aswell.

We were on the left rein and he would keep going into right canter. Instructor said when i asked for canter get his trot nice and collected before giving any aids and make sure he is listing to me first. Use legs aids as normal so outside leg behing the girth and inside leg on the girth. Step into the inside stirrup, and she said instead on opening out my left rein to create some left bend to go on left canter. She said to use lots of right rein instead. So off me and neddy go and try and go straight into left canter
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Then once we were cantering (still on the left rein) he kept on falling out through his left shoulder and throwing his head about (we were on a 20m circle). So she said use lots of left leg and left rein to get him accepting the outside contact
So as soon as we were on the correct leg and he had relaxed into the contact, she said to reward him by bringing him back to trot

And whist it seemed very bacwards to be using left rein to stop him falling through his left shoulder and using right rein to get left canter.... it worked

though my neddy isnt very normal
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Couple of tips from my instructor helped to get the mare off on the right leg:
Try to ask for canter either in a corner, or off a circle. Then you've already got the right bend and they are balanced on that bend. Keep them bending round the inside leg.
Pick the stride you want them to spark off in canter, give a little half-halt to tell them something is about to happen and then ask.
Remember to sit up square in the saddle - don't lean to the inside in your enthusiasm to get them off on the right leg as it will just unbalance them.

Also, have you made sure he's not uncomfortable anywhere? The mare was reluctant going off on the right rein and we subsequently discovered she had a bone spavin in her off hind. Might be worth just making sure he is balanced and rhythmical in trot on both reins and is tracking up the same with both hind legs.

Good luck - I'm sure it will come!
 
How much bend do you have? And is it to the inside or outside?

Something I got taught last year and it made so much sense. When someone asks for canter, they have inside bend - this doesnt give the horse as much support through the outside shoulder thus allowing it to fall out, and strike off incorrectly.

Try asking for canter with more outside bend than inside bend, you don't need that much, but you may notice a difference.

Does he leg-yield yet? As leg yielding outwards on a circle and then asking is another way of helping to get the right strike off
 
I've been having the exact same problem with my youngster. We often struggle to get the right lead on her bad rein. She also has moments when i just get a mad fast trot.
I realised that part of the problem was that where as i can get behind her properly in trot, she has learned that she can evade the aid by rushing which pulls me off balance. This means i have been slowing her down get myself organised again before trying again.
To break this cycle I learned to just keep pushing as the fast trot is just as uncomfortable for her as it is for me, encouraging her to learn that cantering on command is better for all concerned!
Getting the correct lead is a mixture of luck and trickery. Ask for inside bend, use a lot more inside leg than outside leg and slightly raise the inside hand. If my horse still takes off on the wrong leg, i bring her back to trot and then ask immediately for canter again, usually she then strikes off on the correct lead!
The danger with the softly softly approach you discribe (which in general I am a great adovcate of!) is that in this instance it does teach your youngster that they can evade your canter commands.
I have worked v hard on my youngster's canter in the last 2 weeks with sessions where she is trying to get stressed and it is up to me to just keep on asking over and over again very calmly with lots of praise until she gets it right. We're getting there finally!
Good luck!
 
I found with my mare that she was quite forward thinking, so every time I would take sitting trot ready for the canter, she would get herself very worked up, I found that if I took sitting trot for almost half the ring and asked her in different places so that she never knew when the command was coming it helped a lot; it also meant that it gave me a lot of extra time to get everything in balance for her. If it didn't work then we would just come back down to trot, go onto a circle take time to collect everything up and then ask again and leg yeilding also helped as she couldn't fall out through her shoulder, she'd learnt this technic as a way to avoid canter.
 
Thanks for all your tips - I will give them a try!!

My instructor suggested I ride him straight or with slight outside bed to try and correct him falling out, steering corners and circles with outside leg and outside rein else we get too much neck bend and he falls out.... it seemed to work in the lesson... but not any more!!

I've tried asking in a corner, on a circle and on the straight, but not found one more successfull than another!

He does listen to the aids to canter and usually strikes of pretty promptly, but on the wrong leg and is then confused that I bring him straight back to trot.. as if he doesnt realise what he's doing wrong....

He is trying his best (most of the time!!).... and he is usually very quick to learn.. so I'm sure we will get there in the end... its just frustrating!!

I'm not going to push it until his back has been checked though... although there are no visible signs of any problems, its worth making sure...
 
Look where you are going! Lift your head, and if you are on a 2ometre circle, look at least halff the circle ahead of yourself, without tilting or falling out yourself! This puts your balance and shoulders in the right place and helps balance the horse
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Same with me too! Left canter is a disaster and right is 99% o.k. - instructor did the pole thing, works 8 out of 10 times, asking for it with lots of sitting trot helps - also NOT looking down before the transition too. Sometimes he can do it if I ask for shoulder in before the corner. Another one is to cut across the middle of the school and look right at B/E and ask for canter left. (sounds daft but it fools my horse not to lean on the bit and fall out through left shoulder hence wrong canter lead). You could also try a 10m circle in trot in the corner you want to canter to get the correct bend. I find mine is lazy and will canter two strides (on wrong leg) after leg aid. **** spurs *** Best of luck!!
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