Outside rein ?

[ponypinkyp]

Hi all!

I have had quite a few private lessons now with my trainer. I have a very forward going Welsh x Arab you see,,,, and he seems to have towed the line with me upto now.

Now he is used to me and knows I dont have very strong contact with him he decides to cut corners, gain speed in trot 'even to the point of going into canter' when I sit and tense up 'because im panicking!!!' Gets spooky at the most un-nerving times too.

I have missed 'on purpose' my last 2 lessons because of this and I am so upset that ive let this put me off.

I dont feel in control and pretty much think that he knows it!

Ive only just started cantering on him and am still finding that dead scarey! Just wish to know if anyone can make sense of this and what I could do to gain confidence with him.

pleeeeease! ?

[coss]

not sure about gaining confidence - only way to do that is to succeed :p so make it easy for yourself to succeed (though its easier said than done).
inside rein - asks for flexion of the poll, confirms inside bend
outside rein - contains energy, sometimes helps to stop horse falling out though some horses don't care;)
inside leg - asks for impulsion, asks for bend, asks for the quarters to move over (turn about forehand, renvers - but then you're changing bend anyway so inside leg becomes outside leg :p)
outside leg - controls the back end (stops it swinging out)

from what you say you need more inside leg (to stop cutting corners) and need more outside rein to contain the energy. if you get canter ride it (my RI's little chant "never punish a forward going stride") and then ask for trot (mainly using outside rein instead of inside, use your seat and think "trot" instead of "oh please trot" ;))
i would do lot of walk work and gain control over the front and back end, turn about the forehand/haunches, lots of walk-trot-walk transitions so that your horse realises that trot doesn't necessarily mean go.
hope that helps a bit

[cvb]

Now he is used to me and knows I dont have very strong contact with him he decides to cut corners, gain speed in trot 'even to the point of going into canter' when I sit and tense up 'because im panicking!!!' Gets spooky at the most un-nerving times too.

hmmm - who's in charge around here ? he should not be "deciding" - you should. That's your part of the partnership ;)

And you probably realise that tensing up will act like a cue that his "leader" is scared so he should run away :o

I have missed 'on purpose' my last 2 lessons because of this and I am so upset that ive let this put me off.

I dont feel in control and pretty much think that he knows it!

well the first step is being aware of the issue - which it seems you are. But you need to find a way to take the next step - of doing something about it ? Asking here is one part of that - but at the end of the day, YOU are the only one who can go out there and do it (sorry about that !).

Ive only just started cantering on him and am still finding that dead scarey! Just wish to know if anyone can make sense of this and what I could do to gain confidence with him.

pleeeeease! ?

so the question is how to get some control back for you ? With the canter, would it help to only canter for a small number of strides - e.g. canter for 6 strides and then trot ? Counting the strides should help you breathe and focus...