1st canter now scared

[Cushionhj]

I always wanted to learn to ride (i'm 35) so took the plunge a few months ago. After 6 1/2 hr lessons my instructor felt I was ready for canter so we had a go on the lunge. What can I say, I forgot everything and just held on, knees gripped up so bounced merrily in the saddle and terrified the living daylights out of me! We were in the indoor school so were cantering in a circle and it felt like the wall of death! since then I've only gone for a lesson twice and am too scared to canter again. What can I do? I really don't want to give up, I want my confidence back.......

[Tangle]

I started riding last autumn at 27. My first couple of canters were OK, but then I fell off and got my confidence severly dented. I'm still really apprehensive about canter :(.

Talk to your instructor about it and tell her what you're feeling/thinking.

I wanted to start cantering again on the lunge but was told it was actually harder (smaller circle of radius, etc) - but they have a couple of really reliable horses that are fairly voice controlled and free-lunge well. I could concentrate on relaxing without having to pay too much attention to aids. Alternatively, do they have a steady horse you can ride and follow someone else - if you start to get stressed and scream they can stop and your horse should as well (worked for me ;) ).

Or spend more time in trot. I think one of the reasons I got so hung up about canter was I felt really unstable in sitting trot - I'd be slightly unbalanced before I even started to canter and it was then difficult to recover. Now my trot's improving I'm finding it easier to canter.

Don't give up - you'll get there. Who cares if it takes you another 6 weeks, 6 months, whatever to canter again - as long as you're enjoying yourself :)

[Showjumper]

Cantering is the most comfortable gait ever, once you get used to it.

My first canter was on a hack. This is the easiest way to learn, as circling is a bit more unbalanced. Get the instructor in front and another rider behind, with you in the middle (this is assuming you can talk your instuctor into it!)

Find a nice, long, fairly narrow path, and let your horse follow the instructor's into canter. Just sit there. You soon get used to the motion, and it's comforting having a bum in front and one behind. The narrow path helps stop the horses from racing, and keeps them in single file :)

[trick_pony19]

Hey im only 11 but i've done alot of cantering!
Cantering is just like any other gait, it takes time
to do it comforatably but within time it will be really fun and you will feel at home on its back. It just takes time to master but the Canter truly is the most beatiful Gait!
~GOOD LUCK~

[vjwuk]

Carry on having lessons, you don't have to canter until you are ready. Once you have got really confident at all the other bits, trotting, poles, leg yield, sitting trot, shoulder in, circles etc you will find you feel you ahve a better seat and will want to canter. Even if you don't what's the problem, there is so much else to do.

Please don't let this stop you having lessons, if you have a good instructor she /he should not push you if you are not ready

[icantjump]

ive only been riding for 5 months but love to canter, the first time i did it was on a lunge rein and it terrified me but the next time i did it was around the indoor school and it was a hundred times easier you should give it a go it worked for me :)

[whoa]

I hate cantering on the lunge, you sound as if you do all the same things I did when I first tried and I know just how scarey and horrible it is! What I found helped was when cantering on the lunge ask your instructor to just let the horse do a few strides at a time so you dont get into that dizzy circle of fear!!!

Better still (as someone has suggested) if you can try it on a hack. Best of all is up a hill where it shouldn't get too fast.

You will love it in the end - I promise!! There is one horse at my stables who actually seems to slow down when he goes from trot to canter - I'd never ride him at any other speed if I had a choice!!

[Cushionhj]

My instructor did in fact say that really what we needed to do was try canter uphill on a hack but the school won't allow it..... she's now gone home for a few months so i've had 2 different instructors since which I don't think has helped either. :(

I guess my trouble is impatience.. I want to be able to go out on a hack but the school I go to won't let you if you can't canter, I understand safety regs etc. etc. but it doesn't help me at the moment.

I actually feel very comfortable in sitting trot which amazes my friend who's ridden for years given that I felt the way I did with canter. I will spend more time with trot poles, no stirrups etc and hopefully next time round won't be so scary. fingers x.

thnx
H

[Piaffe]

Hey, don't give up!

how big was the horse you were riding at the time? - Some horses are bouncier/faster/slower than others - it might be an idea to have a go on a smaller horse?

My horse has long legs and many people find his canter (and trot) hard to sit to. I can't sit to his canter on a hack because it is too fast.

I agree with the others - the best place to practice is on a hack, where you can do a couple of strides in canter and then bring the horse back to trot, until you feel more confident - however a lot of riding schools won't let you hack out until they are happy you have control over your horse.

Next time you have a canter, see if you can canter off the lunge - going large around the school. This will feel less like the wall off death as you won't be riding a small circle!!

You've not had many lessons, so you've done well to get this far!

Well done and keep trying!

[Santorium]

My first canter scared the hell out of me (it was on the lunge and in the dark on my 3rd lesson), but I found that when my seat improved cantering was almost second nature.

I agree with the others that cantering around the school is easier to begin with (once you have the correct aids), but would caution against doing it on a hack unless you're on pretty smooth ground. I hack out in farmers fields where the grass (or whatever iit is) is about 2 feet tall so I don't get to see any holes until I and my horse have fallen down them!

Don't give up, your first canter where you feel in control is something you will never forget - trust me ;)

[mikka]

I agree with the others who've said that cantering on the longe is more difficult than cantering free. The one and only time I was cantered on the longe, I had to hold onto the pommel just to keep from flying off. I thought it would feel like a normal canter but it was quite different - and certainly different from cantering 10m circles freely. The horse seemed to lean on the longe line which perhaps threw his balance off. Maybe this is what happened in your case.

Ask for a school master who's balanced and is known to have a slow and gentle depart and a not-too-speedy pace. Some horses are much better than others at teaching canter. I'm certain that you'll find the experience is quite different from this scary one.

[virtuallyhorses]

Don't worry - goodness after a stunning 3 hours of riding I think your instructor was being a bit 'enthusiastic' (that's the nicest way I can put it) - she was thinking you were a 9 year old on a pony, not a 35 yr old on a horse ! :D

Tell your instructor you don't want to canter again until you feel secure at walk and trot - its a perfectly reasonable request - if he\she can't cope, ask if there's an instructor with more experience with adult learners (that's the polite way of saying - I think you're a boob and I'd like someone who's going to teach me how to ride please). I think I'd been riding 6 mths (might have been 3 but it seemed like a long time) before we attempted a canter some people do it in 6 lessons some people do it in 6 years - take it as it comes and just remember that the goal is fun and riding - not a particular 'tickbox' for things-done-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-that-scared-the-living-daylights-out-of-you :D

[tarkia]

I don't think I learned canter that early on, I think it was about my 20th lesson or something.
I remember my first canter and Ive got to say, it was MUCH easier to canter in a straight line rather than in a circle (lunge).
As your instructor if she could run with the horse for a canter so you can just get the feel of it, try not to stiffen up & grip with your knees as your more likely to come up the saddle and maybe fall off. Relax and if it helps, lean SLIGHTLY back. Try and put a little weight in the stirrups to make sure your not gripping with your knees. Once your ok in a straight line go back to lunging. It really helps.

[NuttyMare]

im 11 (12th in a week :D:D:D:D:D) and have done lots of cantering. Canter is the most comfortable gait EVER and once u progress to no stirrup work canter is easier than trot!

Think positive thoughts. Just relax, take deep breaths and concentrate on the horse's rhythm. Don't draw yourself into the saddle but think to lean back slightly, sit up tall and sit on your seat. You'll soon find yourself asking for more!

[Tim]

I'm surprised your school won't let you out on a hack until you can canter! Mine wouldn't let me canter until I'd been out hacking. The instructor told me that cantering is quite hard to do in a school situation but easier in a straight line. I've since cantered on four different horses, all out on a hack, and it's been great!:D I can't see why you have to be able to canter first, it isn't necessary, you won't get the horse to canter unless you ask for it, though having said that one of mine decided she wanted to canter anyway, just rein in and slow her up to a trot. Contrary to other opinions here I was told to rise up slightly so my backside is out of the saddle, lean slightly forward, shorten the rein as if for jumping, look up and between horses ears, heels down and grip saddle with knees, and it works ok for me. Last week I had a semi psycho horse who tried to throw me off during canter, but I eventually got a good canter out of him when he realised I wasn't movin' from the saddle. I've been riding for 5 months and started the cantering about 5 weeks ago. Good luck and keep trying, it'll get better, 15 minutes into my first lesson, I was told to try the rising trot....couldn't do anything like it, nor the next week, but soon the light started to show, now I don't even think about it.



Timages Photographic (http://www.tjsmith.fsworld.co.uk)

[Equine Queen]

My first canter was an accident. The pony I was riding saw a jump that was set up in the middle of the sand school and made a beeline for it with me on top! So I got my first canter and my first jump all by accident all in one go. LOL 14 years later, I am about to become a horse owner and I look back and laugh about it. ;)

Kate

[Cushionhj]

Well I certainly don't feel quite so defeated now after reading through other peoples experiences, however the utter lack of fear of the young made me chuckle. oh those were the days...

I've actually just booked with another local school that i'm told has an excellent record with adult pupils. My first lesson is tomorrow but I'll be taking things slowly I think at first to build my confidence back up. The only thing is I couldn't get a private lesson so hopefully things will still go ok. if not it's back to the riding school list.....:D

[Equine Queen]

I find that it's only now I am an experienced rider that I appreciate private lessons. Group lessons were so much better for be at a beginners level, as you can all share your experiences and while the other members of your group are being taught, you get a rest from all the hard work until it's your turn again!

:D

Good luck!

Kate

[Lovecat]

I think you will definitely find things easier in a group lesson - 3 hours is not much experience before you canter! I think I had about 6 months of half hour lessons before I cantered 'properly'!

In my school we have a similar rule - you can't hack out unless you can control a canter without stirrups - although cantering on a hack is so much easier than in the school because you don't really have to think about impulsion, your horse just follows, the first few times you do it it's also really scary, so I actually think it's a good idea to get used to the canter pace in the safe environment of the school first. It's actually a really comfortable pace, much more so than trot.

Having said that, I've never cantered on the lunge as it looks terrifying! The only time I've seen someone do it was when they had already mastered canter in the school and wanted to gain a deeper, more balanced seat - I'm surprised that they used the lunge to introduce you to canter, that's really scary!

Good luck!

Cathy:D

[kyanya]

I agree with the fact that cantering out on a hack is easier than in a school, and I also had my first canter on a hack. But I'm not so sure this is always the right way to do it. When I got back in the school I was full of confidence for canter, I thought 'hey, this is so easy' but it wasn't, it takes a lot more concentration and impulsion. I found it difficult, and yes, I had to learn how to canter, improve my positon and seat in it etc.

My point is, if you can learn to canter in a school or on a lunge, you have been prepared well. It is the most difficult way, but then nothing should phase you. And also, it is the safest place to learn. If anything does go wrong you will sustain minimum, damage there, whereas on a hack there are so many more dangers and worries

[Cushionhj]

I DID IT! I can't believe it, I just got back from my lesson at the new school and I'm grinning from ear to ear:D My husband thinks i've lost the plot but I don't care. When I got to my lesson I told the instructor how scared I was and what had happened last time and she was great. When the others came to canter she said see how you feel but that there was a chance my horse would canter on her own when she saw the others. She told me to come in off the track if I wanted otherwise to just keep trotting.

I stayed on the track and yes she broke into a canter, it was fine!:D much much easier than on the lunge in fact so much easier I did it 5/6 times and even managed to canter round the corner. :D I even had a go at a small jump.:D

It was better in a group situation seeing how the others were doing things and realising that actually my seat isn't half bad really helped alot.

thnx to you all for spurring me on to have another go I loved it and can't wait to do it again. i know it'll be a while before i'm really comfortable and can ask for canter properly but hell i'm on cloud nine now:D thnx H

[Equisgurl]

sounds like u had fun! I had my lesson yesterday and my canter is still pretty unbalanced, but I did very well without stopping for like 9 laps one way and other. The only thing I need to work on is my horse slows down on corners and makes really sharp turns and I feel like I'm falling to the side, but I'm working on it. it has been a blast!!

[Lovecat]

Yay you!:D :D

So glad it went well and it sounds like you had a great time.

Isn't it brilliant when something comes together like that?

Cathy:D

[tbone]

I'm11.5 years old and have been cantering for awhile and know how you feel.I accidently started cantering when I was about 7 I didn't know how to slow the horse down and fell off.after that I was scared to canter.I finallay made myself canter and it was much better because I knew how to handle it better.
Now I can gallop etc and not be afraid (my first gallop also was a mistake and was very scary at the time because my horse seemed to have no brakes!!!)