What would you do

Irishcobs

Irishcobs

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If your horse was having problems getting the correct canter lead, on either leg?

There is a reason for this post and I will say what others told me to do and what I did when others have replied.
 
Could be stiff in one shoulder perhaps??
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I'd get the back and saddle checked. As its on either leg either there is something physical blocking the forwards movement or mentally doesn't want to go forwards. If his back is ok I'd try hacking him out with another horse somewhere where you can have a bit of a gallop and he's not feeling stuffy. That should get him thinking forwards. Make sure your aids are perfect, your trot is balanced and forwards and you are in balance. If he doesn't go there then I would get an instructor to help you as they may be able to see something from the ground.
 
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Well, either you can't ride - or he needs to be seen by a professional.......

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Personally, I think this is a bit harsh.

I ride a pony who used to struggle getting the left canter lead when asked, he would happily do a flying change by changing the rein from B to E or vice versa, going from the right rein on right leg to the left rein on left leg and would pick it up perfectly when jumping, he just wouldn't get it when you asked him on the left rein. And his owner is a far more than capable rider so I don't think it was rider error at all ! I believe he was just unbalanced.

After lots of hard work his owner has now changed this and he will pick up left lead first time asked and he is now more balanced on that rein.
 
It is either a rider balance/giving incorrect aids issue or it is a physical issue, i.e saddle, back, even teeth.
I would lunge the horse and if he gets the right leg on the lunge then I would presume it would be rider error, however I would get all bases checked just incase..
 
It would help to know what aids you are giving the horse, is it a green horse ie never been schooled? or a youngster ie a 4 year old therefore unbalanced? Is the horse balanced in trot with the correct bend? or totally unbalanced?

I think a black and white answer is not possible, you ride each horse as an individual.
 
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There is a reason for this post and I will say what others told me to do and what I did when others have replied.

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*twiddles fingers waiting in anticipation*
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Personally, I think this is a bit harsh.

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It's called tongue in cheek Embob
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Oh jeeze, sorry I thought you were being serious
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There is a reason for this post and I will say what others told me to do and what I did when others have replied.

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*twiddles fingers waiting in anticipation*
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Will wait patiently with you L though cant join in twiddling thums as have only one working, other looks like a blue cumberland sausage after my fall...
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be interesting to see where this thread is going...
 
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It would help to know what aids you are giving the horse, is it a green horse ie never been schooled? or a youngster ie a 4 year old therefore unbalanced? Is the horse balanced in trot with the correct bend? or totally unbalanced?

I think a black and white answer is not possible, you ride each horse as an individual.

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Thats why I said your horse.
 
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I would do the same with my horse as I said in my post.

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Lol I know you would. I thought your answer was good.
 
I'd get someone who I thought was a good rider to ride them and see if they get the correct lead. If they do then its more than likely rider error....like mine is!!! Left rein, perfect every time, right rein 50/50, it must be my balance as the aid is right.
 
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Well, either you can't ride - or he needs to be seen by a professional.......

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally, I think this is a bit harsh.

I ride a pony who used to struggle getting the left canter lead when asked, he would happily do a flying change by changing the rein from B to E or vice versa, going from the right rein on right leg to the left rein on left leg and would pick it up perfectly when jumping, he just wouldn't get it when you asked him on the left rein. And his owner is a far more than capable rider so I don't think it was rider error at all ! I believe he was just unbalanced.

After lots of hard work his owner has now changed this and he will pick up left lead first time asked and he is now more balanced on that rein.

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It's not harsh at all - I cannot canter - end of.....i have tried and failed so many times, it is because i constantly block the horse due to my dreadful, unbalanced riding - i have tried lessons, they didn't help, so now i have someone in to ride my horse 3 days a week, he goes fab for her...and i just stick to hacking in walk.
 
well if it was my (old) horse, it would be normal! He took over 6 months to get right canter. If it was a horse that I normally ride, that usually has no problems I would
- ask my instructor to watch me ride and the horse work
- ask the instructor to ride the horse
- have back/teeth/saddle checked
 
Im on the edge of my seat over here.. this is all very mysterious!

I guess i would just practice practice practice.. lots of lunging, maybe lessons on a horse that has an established canter on both reins to get the 'feel' of what correct aids are etc..
 
With the pony I talked about above, I was told by my RI and his owner he would pick it up easier if I went deep into the corner and turned him as I asked for canter, I guess so he would kind of turn into the canter and showing him that he is on the left rein and he must pick up left canter.
He also did flying changes as I said before.

My RI also got me to do figures of 8, walking (or attempting to
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) the diagonals and cantering the curves, so was effectively going from walk to canter and he picked up left leg when he was asked to do this.

Lastly, my RI would get me to spiral, starting on a 20m circle on the wrong leg, making the circle smaller and smaller til he changed to the correct leg, then spiralling back out again then going large. Although, I wouldn't reccommend this for everyone.

Lots of work on the rein he didn't pick up the correct canter helped.
I am not very experienced, and this is just what worked for the pony I ride, it has clearly worked for him as he now works well on both reins.
 
LOL you guys it really isn't that mysterious. It was a simple enough question.

Ok guys. My mare started to do this recently. I got the back man out and it turns out her sacral vertebrae were out which was making it harder for her to stretch her hind legs forward to get the correct leg.
The reasons I posted this was firstly, it would seem on here that most people say get back/teeth/saddle checked, so I was wondering how many people would say it in this example.
And as the advise I was given by other experienced riders was to improve her schooling, I wondered how many would say that.
 
Try asking for it on a circle, but if it still gets the wrong one then try decreasing it in size. You could also try raising your inside hand when you ask for canter. Both these methods work on correcting the bend on the horse and kind of make the assumption that your horse is green, if your horse has suddenly started doing it then get back etc checked.

Am holding my breath in anticipation for the rest of your story
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