Why oh why ....

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toomanyhorses26

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cannot sit on my backside when I am cantering my horse ?? He is quite a bouncy tb who tends to bounce around on the spot -this i can sit to sometimes but when I get my act together and get him properly motoring I don't stand a chance. I have lunge lessons,work with no stirrups,riding other horses(i can sit on pretty much everything else) but as soon as I take my stirrups back it all goes tits up again . I do have a tendency to tip forward (being a bit top heavy
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) but I think I have improved (well my instructor says I have ) but this is really starting to grate . I have a lesson with andrew gould at the end of the month so will be asking his advice but would like to start on trying to improve this so I don't look like a complete fool - any help much appreciated
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This is the only vid I have of us cantering from last summer
 
push your legs underneith you, their too far back, and shorten your reins and put your hands forward as their too near you knees. look through your horses ears and push your shoulders back. all text book stuff but easily forgotton
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lovely genuine horse!
 
It was fitted end of october time - it isn't my choice of saddle as such but the only thing that came close to fitting (was in a 25 yo wintec dressage saddle - wouldn't recommend it
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) I am on the look out for a black country which was suggested by my saddler but the size /width/colour combination that I want seems to be like hens teeth
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start with a gym ball and get your core strength! and try some different saddles and stirrup lengths! color is the very last on list if fits you and horse! you seem to block on your knee with no weight in your heel and do funny things with your arms and shoulders . particularly your outside shoulder. are you twisted? and the saddle you are in is too small for you!
 
You are far to tense through your whole body, you need to relax your leg and stretch it down, your hands are no where near in the correct position, they need to be carried out in front of you, not down by your knees, this will help you sit in the saddle and get rid of both the dog in the school and the schooling whip.

Do lots of transitions to get your balance, riding without reins will help you no end as will no stirrups as you will then find your own sense of balance, even if it is only in walk to start with. In the shot of you rising you are riding from your stirrups not up and pushing your pelvis forward, you are pushing up from your stirrups. Let the horse through you up and you gently sit back down, try and relax and dont forget to breath, you seem to be working too hard on keeping the horses head down rather than letting the canter happen if that makes sense which is tensing you.

Keep going you will get there, just remember to relax and enjoy the ride, it helps no end.
 
But where do I go then - the saddle is an 18" supposed gp model but my saddler has always said it is more of a wh type as it is relatively straight cut but has teeny tiny knee rolls
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This isn't my current instructor teaching - the lady who used to teach although good and I gained alot of confidence with her seemed to think the answer to everything was to put my stirrups down which to some extent has helped as I did used to ride very short as I ws often or not on the strong/bucking/rearing neddies so had to adopt safety position
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I can get more length through my left leg than my right as I broke my foot on my right and was walking lopsided for about 10 weeks(had one of those ridic blue boots plus cast on ) so I do incorporate no stirrups everytime I ride to try and get myself to stretch down on my right side
 
It is the first time that I have had a horse that could be quite good and I feel like I need to learn to ride all over again :S v frustrating . He is more secure in what he doing now so I can start to focus on me a bit more . He use to race and will go round with his head to high you can see his blaze if given half the chance so I need to find a balance between him working relatively correctly and me and my position. The hands are still a work in progress - it s a throwback to a previous loan horse who was so unbeliveably strong that I had my hands low so I could tuck my fingers under my martingale strap so that I could create a bridging type action - its proving quite a hard habit to break. He is quite a strange hore to ride as he will switch from being quite relaxed as in the video to shooting across the school spooking at something and I have come off more than once with him doing this - think we both find this schooling lark a bit stressful - would much rather be out hacking or jumping
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You are not as bad as you think. You just need to learn to relax and let the canter happen underneath you.

To be honest there are worst things than the horse carrying their head to high, that is easily corrected, just learn to canter round and feel the rythm the horse is giving you, and ride that, once you can push that with your leg the horse will naturally lower its head, the reason possibly (as a video isnt the whole picture) is the horse is hollowing against you hence raising their head. Even with his head in an ok outline he is still hollow due to your riding, as you just need to relax.

You cannot work a horse correctly if you are not correct, so once you get yourself correct it is amazing how quickly horses start to work correctly. Just breath and enjoy the ride and it will all fall into place and your body will drop into the saddle and you will start to use your seat to control the pace and direction and the rest will fall in like pieces in a puzzle.

You cannot force your horse into an outline, when your riding is incorrect as all this does is give you a false outline. Correct yourself first then the horse. It really isnt as bad as you are feeling
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Thanks for your advice - its good to get a fresh set of eyes on things. He is just very different from any horse I have had before and like everything its a learning curve(this one seems ti have been very long
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I really wouldnt worry I have a huge moving WB at home and there is no way I can ride him, I cannot even rise to his trot.

Its no where near as bad as you feel and you will get there. Stop worrying relax and enjoy and dont try to hard and it will fall into place.

Keep up the good work.
 
Just wanted to add, in case it's part of the overall picture, that when you do rising trot you are rising way too high. You are standing straight up in the stirrups and I think this might fit in with the gripping knees in canter. Just let his trot action gently lift you up and forward just so your bum barely leaves the saddle. If you stay relaxed you will then be in exactly the right place to relax back into the saddle after the rising part. Almost no effort needed on your part. He's a lovely horse and he seems to be trying hard for you x
 
This may sound like a silly idea, but if you can try and ride the canter with one hand, with the other in the air and doing big circles with your arm, both forwards and back, try this on both sides. (it helps to straighten your back and helps you to sit deeper into the saddle) Would also suggest you do lots of rising trot without irons ( a killer but it works) also standing up for a circle of the school in trot, it all helps with balance and being in the 'right' place.
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Hope that helps.
 
Having ruled out saddle fit issues I would suggest lunge lessons - their benefit should not be underestimated. May be good to have a couple of lunge lessons on a good schoolmaster, make sure that the trainer is very experienced though.
 
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But where do I go then - the saddle is an 18" supposed gp model ............

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If the saddle is an 18" you need a flatter more open seat, with more of a knee roll. The saddle is too small for you which is why your being pushed out, and your knee comes over the roll, making your leg unstable. Some 18" saddle are more like 17" seats due to the deep seat.
You are quite stiff so I would try to concentrate on steady breathing, and allow your back to release with the movement of the horse.
I wouldnt say your leg is too far back, your not quite at the heel, hip, shoulder alignment, so definatly wouldn't put your leg forward. But a better flap and bigger knee roll will help keep your lower leg stable
 
Starting from the bottom upwards.Your legs aren't too far back, you are pinning your leg at the knee casuing tension in the thigh and lower leg. Relax the knee and drop more weight down through the heels.
Your seat problem is being caused by tension in the lower arms. You need to bed the elbows more and tick them back into your waist, at the moment they are rather straight given the impression that you are trying to hold the horse in an outline.
Relax the arm, open your shoulder and let your seat absorb the movement of the horse and don't try so hard.
 
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