canter help

[rather-b-riding]

I have finally been able to keep my horse going at a canter around the entire ring (she tends to be very lazy) without throwing in a buck whenever she felt like stopping! :) ...she is 6 by the way and I have owned her about a year....the first 6 months of which I spend doing mostly ground work and w/t. She came to me pretty green and very unbalanced and unsure of herself under saddle. Her trot has come along great, she can collect herself nicely and work from the hind end....but the canter....:(

My question is this...what would be my next step with working on her canter? I have not asked her to collect at a canter because I wanted her to feel confident and balanced with a rider on her back before I asked for collection. I have been pretty much letting her canter on a loose rein and neck reining. ( I ride english mostly)

Any advice regarding my next step?


Thanks in advance!

[BalooEyes]

My gelding had the same problem, he only works selectively, lol. He was big on bucking at the canter to try and get out of working. Do you have any trail access? I find trails are great for livening up a "lazy" horse. and to work on her canter, you can pick nice straight-stretches so she can focus on her balance in a line, and not having to worry about the turn in the ring. Also, to teach her to reach under herself, I found that uphill work is very helpful. Its easier to teach them to lift up and off the forehand when going uphill than on the flat.

Trails will also teach her better balance and sure-footedness.

[cloedoll]

Well you definitely want to make cantering an enjoyable experience that she will start to look forward to. My mare had a similar problem and I found out riding her in new, wide open areas made her very willing to canter. With balancing, I would do transitions, she will eventually get the hang of thing she's probably just a little wobbly/unsure of herself because it's all new to her. Of course reward her like crazy whenever she does what you ask of her. After she is more confident, willing to canter, etc. I would move on to simple changes and maybe work on collection after that? Whatever works best for you two. :)

[WashingtonBay]

A little ground pole or cavaletti might help give her more impulsion and balance too, on the lunge at first.

[cloedoll]

A little ground pole or cavaletti might help give her more impulsion and balance too, on the lunge at first.

That reminds me, for Cloe it definitely did help when I would set up a tiny 'jump' (six inches at the max?) she would trot up to it, canter out, then I would praise her. I think that helped a wee bit. :D

[BalooEyes]

yep, a little jump like that is a great way to trick them into enjoying the canter. hehe.

[JackieB]

Congratulations on the nice canter. I have a couple of suggestions.

-Is she picking up the correct lead every time? I didn't even know why this was important until about six months ago. I just thought Buster was really rough going to the right (he was on the wrong lead). He hadn't been asked to pick up his right lead ever in his 17 years, so it has been a long, slow, patient process getting there. We're improving all the time, but it's obviously better to work on that stuff as soon as possible with a horse before bad habits really become established.

-The next would be achieving a really nice, slow collected canter. Done correctly, the forward speed isn't very fast at all and the ride is so smooth it's like one of those gliders that people sometimes have in their living rooms. Dreamy.

This is a long process that Buster and I have been working on for about 18 months now. Working on collection at the walk, trot, and then canter, then refining, refining, refining. You could work on this for years; I'm sure they do with the Lippizan stallions in Austria.

[medicine hat]

my horse doesn't care to canter in an arena, either. outside he is MUCH more willing. so that is good advice to take him outside to perk him up. all last winter we were stuck indoors & did mostly trot, walk, halt transitions, turn on forhand, turn on haunches, then leg yielding & spiraling in & out on circles at the trot. ofcourse I threw other obstacles in too, just to keep his interest, but those excersizes were my main goal mostly. the idea being to help us learn to balance in the smaller space, and for him to build up muscles for collection, reaching under himself, cantering.
It seemed to help, because he started to be more willing to canter indoors & the transitions got smoother. but it took lotsa time & baby steps~

[rather-b-riding]

Thanks everyone, great replies!

When I first got her I don't think she had ever been asked for a correct lead, since then I get the correct lead 99.9% of the time! I trailride her alot and I do work alot on cantering on a straight line and simple changes. It's when we work in the ring that she gets lazy and will break gait constantly. I can collect her nicely at the walk and the trot so my next step is to work on collecting her at the canter....

[Harleys Owner]

I found what helped for me with this, was to change gaits often...don't canter for great distances at a time.

Canter,trot, canter, walk,stop, back, trot, canter, stop, walk, trot....get the picture:)

Lots of work for the rider, but makes the horse pay attention, get collected, and keeps their mind off bucking:)

[rather-b-riding]

good advice, thanks. I am just so happy that I can finally keep her going (with lots of kissing, leg pressure etc) now I can start working on collecting:)