Canter help!

[angelofages]

I rode as a kid every week, and after a 7 year break I've had about 5 lessons and have decided to go once a fortnight in cardiff.
I'm having real trouble with canter and my lower leg. It's fine in walk and trot but as soon as I start cantering it starts to swing and isn't at all secure in the stirrup. So I've spent a lot of time cantering without stirrips, and that's fine, but as soon as I take back my stirrups back the problem appears again.
I've had a different instructor each lesson and the last one told me to try wearing half chaps, which I'm hoping will come in time for my lesson on thursday.
Do you guys have any other suggestions to try, techniques in or out of the saddle etc?

P.S. I discovered this forum yesterday and my week of uni studying has been ruined!

[Nazdaq]

hello, I am at uni in Aber, small world! Anyways, the only thing I can suggest would be to shorten your stirrups a bit as if they are long you will be reaching for them resulting in an unstable flappy leg. Hope that helps. :D

[REBMAR]

I have struggled with canter too, I used to bounce out of the saddle but I, like you, was much better without stirrups. Basically when the stirrups are taken away your weight drops and you sit much deeper.

You are possibly over relying on the stirrups?
Sit up tall, heels down and move with the motion of the horse, keep your upper body still and just go with it. My RI says you should almost be making love to the saddle!
Another reason you come out of the saddle is you could unwittingly be gripping with your knees rather than your calves?

Don't know whether this helps.
Keep at it, you'll get it all of a sudden.
Canter on the lunge so you can concentrate solely on your position without worrying about steering or keeping the horse going.

Let me know how you get on.

[angelofages]

Thanks for the replies!
I think I could be gripping when I've got stirrups, my seat and upper body are fine according to the instructors but I've been told my lower leg's almost like a pendulum swinging.
I agree that lunging would help, every week I get told "you might find [horse's name] a bit lazy" and then do feel like i'm fighting to get them to, or keep them going in canter. I had one lesson where my legs were better and I was confined to just under half the arena with the instructor helping to keep my horse going with a lunge whip. I wouldn't know how to approach the subject of lunging, or always having lazy horses though with the instructors though.