To learn canter on lunge or take off down the menage?

[ponypinkyp]

:mad: Hi everyone,,,,,

I am an okay rider, only managed now to master my balance and rising trot tho... scared to death of cantering so all advice needed.

Should I begin by cantering via lunge or should I begin by cantering down the length of the scool?,,,,,, please help?

[*taz*]

i find it easier to canter in a straight line so i would prefer the length of the menage!

but when you are on the lunge you can concentrate on your position and not controlling the horse and steering the horse as well! so that would probably be etter for the first time!:)

[horseygal90]

Straight line is easier for canter I think - If you go on the lunge immediatly then I think you could be at risk of motorbiking or falling in. Personally I prefer it down a straight for learners, just doing the straight - Back to trot in the corner so you keep your balance.

*Prepares for all the RIs to jump on her* :p

[eml]

No I am not jumping on Horseygal as I agree. First canters are best done on ahorse that is responsive to the RIs voice and start in acorner coming onto the long side and stop initially after a few strides and then by the end of the long side

[Skib]

How you start best will depends on the RI and horse.
There are pros and cons for both sides.

My OH has been taught by a skilled lunge teacher with a good lunge horse. So he cantered on the lunge. That means in a circle. Which cuts out the school corners where you may become unbalanced or where the horse is more likely to fall back into trot. He also learned canter from walk.
On the lunge the teacher controls the transitions and the steering. She can ask for just a few steps of canter and return to trot, if she notices the student is unbalanced.
For anyone who is nervous, I'd recommend this way.
My OH now canters circles off the lunge and he has learned far more quickly than me.

I learned in a school, from another RI, who taught as eml describes, cantering from trot at the corner - something I never mastered as the horse always stopped cantering before the next corner. If you are scared to canter, my advice is, Don't. Just leave it till you feel happy about it.

The third way is to learn out hacking, cantering up a short slope. It was out hacking that I really learned to canter, following a teacher and riding a pony who has taught dozens of children to canter. No corners and I soon learned how to slow the horse, rather than how to keep it going.

Success and safety in any of these methods depends on what the teacher selects and what her lesson horse is used to.

[horse_crazy]

I prefer being on the lunge, as when you start lerning to canter you might want to hold on to the frunt of the saddle or a neckstrap. when your cantering on your own you have to stear the horse on your own so you can't hold on to anything or bring the horse back to trot,. But when your on the lunge you don't have to do any of that as your RI can control the horse wile you simply get use to the new fealing of the canter.

having said that you do tend to slip to one side wile on the lunge. It's up to you how you want to do it,everyones different.

[Joyscarer]

Personally I think how you learn to canter depends on what exactly it is you are scared of?

For me I was scared of being out of control and going too fast.

Therefore the best way for me was to forget about me needing to control the horse and learn on the lunge.

For others it might be the fear of being unbalanced in which case going on the straight might be the best answer.




So what is it about cantering that you have a fear of?

[StefH]

I've just learnt to canter, and the first few times i did it on the lunge.

I felt you didn't have to concentrate on steering which made you think about what you were doing with your body more, but it left me quite unbalanced as a constant circle had me leaning to one side. Whe

When i cantered in the school it feels a much smoother ride, and felt a lot more balanced.

But everyone learns differently, so i would say try both and see what feels best! And keep us updated on how it goes!

S x

[rugged famo]

well i got taught sit kick canter. normally hold on to the neck strap but now starting to get my hands right so not so much anymore and thats after 6 weeks of starting there and never cantered in my life!

The position will come in time. But my RI knows im not scared of coming off and all her horses listen to the sound of her voice!

[Gemsluvshorsesx]

Personally id say around edge of school as, on the lunge, your balance can be pushed to one side as you are going round in a circle and its easier to stay on if your going in a straight line. At first id say its better off to just ride along the edge of the school. This is how I was started off. The best place however to ask for canter is a corner as apparently its a lot easier for the horse to strike off on the correct leg?. try and sit up as you go around corners and definitely don't lean, or "motorbike" as people tend to call it. as long as you are on a safe horse with an instructor id say thats the best way. when you are happy doing that then you could progress to lunge lessons as then you can really work on your canter without worrying about the horse.

[ponypinkyp]

Thankyou so much everyone.

I am a little scared of not being in control of my balance aand being 'alone' in the seat. Seem to feel that if on a lunge somehow I am being looked after?

Thanks again all x

[jroz]

I would say that cantering initially on the lunge is a nice ice breaker into it. You get to feel the stride, focus on yourself, and know that someone else has control over the horse. The other thing would be to have a horse that has a smooth canter, and is easier to sit to. Some horses have a more choppy canter making you bounce a bit more in the saddle. The best to start out on are the one's who have a nice "rocking horse" or lope quality.

Whenever you do canter, don't over think it too much. And remember to breathe, it really is FUN! ;)

[Back2Black]

I learned to ride from the start out hacking... I had learned walk, trot, canter and jumped before I even knew what a school was nevermind rode in one :D My first canter was on a big safe plod on a gentle slope following the ride leader :) Funny how things work out I'm not really a fan of hacking these days :)

[essexgirl]

This sounds scary now, but I learnt to canter out on the Yorkshire Moors. This is going back many many years, but RI was of the opinion that up hill in a straight line where there is a natural end is the best place to learn. The RI rode next to me so that he could take action if anything went wrong (eek). Fortunately it was fine and thoroughly enjoyed it :)

[xloopylozzax]

i learnt in a field when i was little with my mum running with the leadrein on, she then unclipped it and away we went (think little kid on bike and taking stabilisers off and shoving them down a hill!)

it was brilliant and since then i cantered on every scrap of grass out hacking (we didnt have a school and was 'borrowed' field)

you will be fine, everyone falls off at some point its what makes it fun! (the risk element that is)

go with the flow, take hold of the reins and kick on you will love the feeling after.

agree with learning somewhere with a natural stop (like a 6 foot hedge) or a field long enough for them to tire into trot before you think about brakes.

[beakysian]

No I am not jumping on Horseygal as I agree. First canters are best done on a horse that is responsive to the RIs voice and start in acorner coming onto the long side and stop initially after a few strides and then by the end of the long side

This is the way I have just started learning. I have a steady horse to learn on who is one of the RI's own horses so she responds to the RI's voice and as a school mistress will just circle the school while I learn to keep my seat well enough to start steering and keeping her going - we're only managing about 4-5 strides at the moment!

Canter frightened me after a horse bolted with me a few weeks ago before I knew anything more than rising trot so I decided to attack it before I got too worried about it. If you are able to ride a steady horse, possibly with a neck strap, it will be good fun. I was pretty nervous but am learning to canter by myself now 2 weeks on so don't be frightened. My experience so far has been that if you start to come unbalanced a lot of RS horses will slow back to trot because you can't flail in the saddle AND ask them to keep cantering so you can regain your balance and try again.

Good luck ;)

[Joyscarer]

I learned to ride from the start out hacking... I had learned walk, trot, canter and jumped before I even knew what a school was nevermind rode in one :D My first canter was on a big safe plod on a gentle slope following the ride leader :) Funny how things work out I'm not really a fan of hacking these days :)



Oooo you sound like me but I'm the oposite of you, I can't stand being trapped in a school :o