How to stop legs gripping in canter?

[kirstinbell]

I'm looking for some help and advice to try and stop gripping my legs while in canter.

When I'm trotting I think I've got a reasonably good lower leg position - my feet stay still in the stirrups and I can really feel the stretch in my lower leg as I keep my heel down - when I canter all of this goes to pot!! When I bring my inside leg forward and outside leg back very rarely do the stirrups stay in the correct position which obviously means I'm gripping up.

I'm conscious that I'm doing it but as soon as I try to rectify it by pushing me weight down into the stirrups I seem to tense up and start coming out of the saddle.

I'm getting so frustrated with it and it seems the harder I try and the more I focus on fixing the problem the worse my riding gets!!

Also - does anyone else experience problems absorbing the canter movement on smaller horses? I ride 2 horses at about 16h and I'm ok when I canter but my loan pony is only 14.1 and although his trot is fine his canter strides are very fast and I can't quite go with the movement - which makes my leg position even worse.

I'd be very grateful for any hints or tips.

Thanks

Kirstin

[Sammii]

I'd recommend some good ole lunge lessons, or bareback riding. Nothing to relax the legs like no restriction from the stirrups.

[Trewsers]

I find my mare's canter harder than say Joe's - he is much bigger 16.2hh and he has what I'd call an "elegant" canter, which I'm always teasing OH about and saying he has an easy time of it with him!!! Cantering isn't really my forte to be honest, but I found that the only thing that stopped me gripping like billio was to keep practising - as I slowly built my mojo up it just sorta happened if you know what I mean! I admit tho, I do grip more than I should still, but I found if I went completely loose legged I nearly fell off! Hmm, more lessons required for me me thinks.......!!!

[kirstinbell]

Sammii - unfortunatley I seem to be fine on the lunge but is soon as I get my stirrups back and have to concentrate on more than just keeping my legs in position things go a bit pear shaped!

Not had a lunge lesson in a couple of months though so might be worth it just to remind myself what canter is supposed to feel like!!

[carthorse]

Don't think of pushing your heels down because that will just make you tight & push you out of the saddle. Instead think of relaxing your hip & knee while letting your weight drop down your leg, your heel doesn't have to be miles down just not higher than your toe. It also sounds like you may be making the canter aid too exaggerated & throwing yourself off balance - although the aid is inside leg on the girth outside leg behind it the distances involved are small & a well schooled horse will often pick up on the shift of weight on your seatbones.

Try to relax & not override the canter - easier said than done I know! The problem is the more frustrated & self-critical you get the harder you try, the harder you try the tenser you get, the tenser you get the more it goes wrong & the more it goes wrong the more frustrated & self-critical you get! Somewhere you need to break the cycle so try to relax, think of what feels right in your canter & focus on the positive.

Good luck!

[georgie1]

I dont really have any good advice just wanted to add solidarity. I have exactly the same problem which due to constant practise has improved a smidge in the last year but all i can say is practice practice practice and as some of the lovely peeps have said, try not too force your heel down as that does make everything a bit tense....but as i say....i am pretty pants myself so just wanted to say your not alone and that it will happen. (well thas what i have been told anyway!):o

Gx

[kirstinbell]

Had a good lesson last night having forced myself to ride with longer stirrups (for some reason I always thought this would make it worse as my stirrups were already swinging all over the place.)

This and some sitting trott (ouch!!) seemed to help me sit deeper and although the stirrups did move a bit and my inside foot was pointed out slightly (for some reason I keep using my heel to nudge in canter) I didn't rise out of my seat an my legs were a lot stiller.

I'll just have to keep practising and stop exaggerating the canter aid (as carthorse suggested) as I'm very guilty of this.

[puzzles]

OMG me tooooooooooo!!!!!

When i ask for canter, i sit and try to ask the correct aids, only the horse es into a very fast running trot and i lose balance, then lose a decent rein contact, lose my stirrups as i'm desperately using/gripping with my leg so much.

Eek!

:-/

xx

Apparently I'm doing too much ... tensing in anticipation of difficulties, and i'm actually asking for lengthened strides!!!

[Sammii]

tensing in anticipation of difficulties

That's the smartest thing I've heard someone say. You've just summed up the whole of my riding problems.

[puzzles]

Really?! :-D Oh good, I'm not the only one then ...

After 5 years of riding noone has ever told me any of this ... it was only the other day with a "non-BHS", very experienced horsewoman that I finally saw the light ... ;-)

[Bobbin]

My instructor cured me by threatening to make me work without my stirrups, knowing full well it is my biggest fear. Ah voila, relaxed body in canter and no gripping knees or jackhammer like position.

[Joyscarer]

That's the smartest thing I've heard someone say. You've just summed up the whole of my riding problems.


And mine :rolleyes:

I'm just about getting to grips with mot gripping and actually having the confidence to allow my horse to make her own mistakes so she can learn from them. :)

Micro managing our ride lead us to have a technically better ride but my horse wasn't learning from it.

[rabbit]

Ive got the same problem. If I try to put more weight in the stirrups, my butt comes out of the saddle.

Cantering without stirrups is no problem for me. Its very frustrating as I can't start jumping properly until I've worked this out.

[Wobblydeb]

A couple of things help me (and no, I'm not perfect! I still grip up regularly!). I try to remember to relax and roll my shoulders back, and do what feels like lean back slightly (although it is just bringing me into the correct position). :)

I also try and concentrate on opening up the hip joint and bringing my knees away from the saddle. This kind of equates to pushing my hip bones forwards and letting my knees go loose.

If I try and deliberately put my weight in my heels, I do exactly what you mentioned kirstinbell, and start to bounce :o

[Brandy Snap]

havent read all the replies (lunch is about the burn and wanted to post this before it does!) so sorry if someone has already said this.

I have the gripping legs in canter problem too. It's not so bad now tho. My instructor would just say to me release the knee as soon as I went into canter and as soon as she spotted me gripping. In the end I used to canter round chanting "release the knee, relases the knee" sounds silly, but it helped me to not grip as it helped me concentrate on what my legs were doing.