Unwanted canter strides in trot - advice

[Len]

Hi,

I have been having lessons with my mare who has previously been quite well schooled. We have tried some lateral work and are intermittently working in a contact.

The problem I have is we spent a couple of sessions getting her into a nice forward active trot and now when I ask for trot in the school she tries to break into canter. She does it at the same couple of spots - one near the exit one away from it.

My instructor says its because shes finding the work hard and is trying to make it easier on herself. Shes told me to half halt her but I dont always get a response. I rise very deliberately in the trot to try to stop her from bouncing into canter and I use my voice and stroke her withers when she returns to trot.

I do some canter work in the school and she isnt particularly strong and usually wants to trot before I am ready to.

Do you think this is naughtiness or is there a genuine reason for her doing this? Also she seems to do it alot more on the right rein than the left which is odd as shes alot stiffer to the left than the right.

I am trying not to get frustrated but it sometimes becomes a bit of a battle!

Any comments welcomed. Thank you.

 

[Booboos]

Sounds like she is finding the work hard and trying to evade. I would bring her back to walk and ask her to trot again, using my voice and being a bit firm about the whole thing.

Having said that, it doesn't hurt to have back/saddle/teeth checked over just in case.

 

[damsel]

I think your instructor is spot on with the half halts. my mums mare is exactly the same and you don't always have to half halt on one side you can use either and you don't have to do it once keep alternating it until you get a response, also talk to her when asking for the trot. she will understand she is just finding the work difficult.

 

[cpendle]

My youngster does the same. I've found that by warming him up in canter early on, rather than trot - he gets bored of canter quickly and then is happy to trot for the rest of the session. So try starting on in canter instead.

 

[FinellaGlen]

My mare did this yesterday. I think it was an evasion because I was asking her to work properly in trot. I just kept bringing her back into trot, sitting deep and half halting until she listened to me.

 

[miller]

My young trakhener I had on loan did this as an evasion to harder work in trot, bringing back and restarting just wound him up - I found really deliberately keeping the rising going at the trot rhythm madehte canter harder work and he soon found it easier to stay in trot - really concentrate on keeping your rise rhythmical and don't allow the horse to speed your rise when he/she wants to