Slowing canter without using the reins

[Carole]

I have been riding a nice forward going cob in my weekly riding lesson. I guess I am either at the level of a good novice or a dodgy intermediate!

He is very willing to canter when asked and has quite a turn of speed. I can find him going faster then I feel confident with. I know I then tend to lean foward and grip up which only makes things worse.

Now he only ever needs the lightest touch on the reins at any pace, he has a very soft mouth. If you squeeze the reins to slow him he will go faster.

How can I slow his canter without using my hands?

Thank you for helping with this.

[Lgd]

Sit very straight and lighten your seat aids - you can do that by feeling as though you are lengthening your back and making your waist thinner. For those familiar with the aftermath of having babies - remember your pelvic floor exercises (where you stop yourself peeing) as that will give you the effect of lightening the seat aid.

[saddlesore]

being able to control your horse using alternate methods is a good sign of rider proficiency but using it to mask the dificiencies of the horse's training is a mistake. i think you should see why this horse does not respond, in the manner you want it to ;) , to bit pressure and then teach him accordingly...

Lgd; i've had 3 children and have yet to teach my muscles that level of control, though my wife has (must be a girl thing):D

[Lgd]

All I can say Saddlesore is ..... you got the easy bit :D

[MyStIc139]

The other day i was reading the seat aids bit on this site and its really informative about using ure seat aids to stop a horse and how its actually really simple
Maby try and read it. It tells u loads and says almost ne horse will respond naturally not cuz of a deficency in training (soz cant spell)
Ill put the link here so neone can look at it...


http://www.newrider.com/Kinder_Way/The_Aids/seat_aids.html

[maverick927]

when ever Maverick goes too fast (on those few occasions!!), I half halt him. I squueeze with my upper leg and don't need to pull on my reins. However I have been riding him for nearly 4 years and it took me along time to master the half halt because I wasn't getting lessons. I think the best thing you could do is talk to your intructor and s/he may shed some light.

[Em 1]

Lgd, I'm probably being really stupid but how does lightening your seat aids slow the horse? I thought you were supposed to sit deeper to encourage the horse to slow? Please correct me because that's what I do when I want horses to slow down.

[Lgd]

Em, lightening the seat actually asks for more collection by encouraging the horse to really lift their back but can also be used to ask the horse to slow. I would let the weight down more if asking the horse to lengthen the stride. A horse that is truly responsive to the seat can be ridden with no reins at all - my advanced horse can be asked to come from canter to walk from the seat alone.

[DebO]

Try sitting taller (sort of bracing our back) and squeezing your buttocks together, legs on his side. Your using your upper body weight here.

[Princess Filly]

Try to slow down the movement of your hips. Also, half-halt maybe every stride while squeezing to maintain some speed.

[Dogbert]

I've just been reading the page on seat aids, (http://www.newrider.com/Kinder_Way/The_Aids/seat_aids.html) as suggested by a previous post here. Is this the same as the 'pelvic floor' business being suggested earlier in this thread ?

In any case, I wonder if anyone could advise on one aspect of this. It suggests that whilst clenching your cheeks together, you're also pressing with the lower leg. Is this correct ? Won't squeezing the lower leg signal to the horse that I want to go faster (or is this only if I'm pressing backwards with the outside lower leg ?)

Another question leading on from this - I've been taught that to go into canter I should have my inside leg on the girth, and outside leg behind the girth. When it comes time to slow down, and I start all this buttock-clenching, whereabouts should my lower legs be positioned - do they move back to a 'normal' position ?

[janet hakeney]

Classsical training includes teaching the horse to 'stop for the spur'.....stretching the leg down/lowering the knee and closing both legs near the girth while bracing the back (and doing the buttocks).....the 'natural' horsemen do a similar thing but talk about when the leg is either 'in front of' or 'behind' the 'drive line'....which is why you can see the Parelli lot cantering about without any bridles at all and stopping from canter into rein back.

[Dogbert]

I tried it last night, and I think it helped a bit. I gave some half-halt signals and kept the heel down and around the girth, whilst clenching in the aforementioned manner. This seemed to contribute towards slowing the horse down.