Falling Out of Canter

[Crazy Mare]

Hi :)

My new mare is responsive and goes "off the leg" in walk and trot but i'm struggling to keep her in canter in the school.

We are ok with making a transition from trot to canter but she falls out of canter after 3 or 4 strides, even if I keep my leg on.

At the moment I am simply asking for canter again and she goes back into canter for 3 or 4 strides and then falls out again.

We have no problem staying in canter when hacking out.

I am going to book us some lessons but wondered if anyone here might have any advice or suggestions.

Many thanks,

CM :)

[Bertie]

Could be that she is falling in when cantering in the school therefore feeling unbalanced round the corners and is for that reason taking herself back to trot.

My old share was really like that because for the previous 4-years she;d only been hacked in all paces in a straight line and the thought of bending to be honest confused her :confused: after 2-weeks of intense schooling doing serpentines, circles at every letter in the school loads of 20/15/10/5m circles in wlak and trot helped and by the end of 2-weeks she was cantering 20m circles and full laps of the school.

I might be wrong though, good luck

[Crazy Mare]

Thanks Bertie,

Perhaps it would be worth spending a few weeks schooling in walk and trot rather than trying to force the issue with canter.

I know she has done some work in the school before but I'm not sure how much.

:)

[carthorse]

Like Bertie my initial thought is she's lacking balance & so in her opinion is being very sensible coming back to trot :)

Rather than taking her round the outside of the school try working her on a 20m circle. Do this in walk & trot first, keeping her steady, upright (as opposed to leaning in or out) & with a slight inside bend. Plenty of transitions but make them gradual as what you're trying to do is get her balanced & carrying herself so let her have the time to sort herself out - how she does them is more important than how instant they are. When she feels good in trot ask her to step up to the canter, still on your circle. Don't hold it for more than a few strides before asking her to return to trot - you want to be asking for trot before she breaks. If she canters nicely make sure there's lots of "good girls!". Gradually (& I don't mean all in one session) build up the number of strides always stopping before she gets unbalanced.

The reason I suggest a circle is that often when a horse is on a straight line she'll tend to tip onto her forehand & get faster which in turn makes it harder to balance. A circle should encourage her to step under with her inside hind & lighten the forehand while also discouraging her from rushing. She will find it harder though so keep sessions short, especially if she's young or hasn't done much schooling, & reward her for trying so she knows what you want & doesn't get sour.

For yourself try as much as possible to keep out of her way! Make sure you sit still, tall & off her forehand, keep you position strong but supple & don't be tempted to exaggerate the aids - it won't help but will just throw her off balance. You say you're keeping your leg on & I haven't seen you ride so can't comment but I wonder if in doing so you're tightening your position & blocking her &/or she thinks you want her to go faster than she can manage?

I think your own suggestion of booking some lessons is the best one - without seeing you both I can only guess what the problem is & I could be totally wrong :p

[Crazy Mare]

Thanks Carthorse,

Again some very useful advice :)

She definately has a tendancy to rush in canter (and in trot when she has fallen out of it) and maybe by keeping my leg on I'm making her feel that I want her to do this :o

I will definately be booking those lessons, i think it will really help to have someone knowledgable see me ride her.