lunge help - running out on the canter

[Tootsie4U]

My guy is perfect in the round pen - free lunging and with the lunge line. Walk trot canter, he can do it all with just a "cluck" noise. (He's only 3 by the way). He's doing so well, I decided to take him out of the pen and just use the lunge line.

Walk is ok, trot is great, but when I ask him to canter he takes off and will not follow the circle. Im doing everything ok, I think, and I dont think he's just hyped up. I dont think he's running from the whip cuz he does this even when I dont use one.

What do you think? Any suggestions? Im pretty sure he knows whats going on and expected from him cuz like I said, hes perfect in the pen.

[Rachel C.]

I think part of the answer is simply that being only 3 years old - life outside of the pen is far more exiting!

Do plenty of walk trot work before you build up to a canter, and don't stay in canter long when you do, making sure that the canter transition is acheived from a steady trot. Plenty of work outside the pen will make it less exiting.

[ros]

Don't forget that cantering in circles is darned hard work, especially for youngsters. There's no rush to canter, so I'd keep it to a minimum for the moment. Calm stuff for exciteable babies!

[Waikato Valuta]

Try using long reains. If your horse is ok with a roller and bridal. you could tack her up and use two rains. this often helps with keeping a circle. it worked wonders when i was retraining my last horse. I also would work him on a smaller circle because he also did this in a walk and trot. But i adgree that a 3yar old should not be doing much cantering just yet.

It would be best if you got an experienced person to show you how to long line before you attempt it yourself.

My friend had a horse that would free lunge in a large paddock you could not controle the size of the circle but it would run around you at any pace.