Strong in canter

[Edie]

I take riding lessons and only ride once a week. At the moment I am riding a lovely little chestnut who is wonderful in walk & trot, but in canter he puts is chin to his chest and gets very strong. I currently ride him in a pelham. I try to keep my hands light, as I find he will start to pull if you restrict him too much. Can anybody give me some advice on how to prevent him from overbending and getting his chin to his chest?

Edie

[AJB]

assume this is a riding school horse?? -I would say loose the pelham-if a horse has a tendancy to overbend the pelham will just tuck him up further...talk to the owner and see what she suggests-the problem is that he is probably very strong and the pelham has been used over the years to give brakes which may be seen as more important than the way he goes in the school...

[Edie]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. You are correct in assuming it is a riding school horse and yes I think you are also correct in suggesting that the pelham is used to give brakes. My question no is if the pelham is used to give brakes, what do I do without it.

I am a adult rider, who has only started riding approx. three years ago, so I am not very experienced.

Thanx

Edie

[galadriel]

Rather than using the bit, you may wish to experiment with seat aids to slow him. If a horse is overflexing his neck, you usually need to push him forward to get him to take a better contact. It sounds like you may not feel comfortable doing that, since he is already feeling strong and a little uncontrolled.

Instead, try slowing him with your seat and not doing much with the reins. You'll want to try it at slower gaits to get the feel of it, but once you know what you're looking for, you should be able to use it at the canter also.

There is a very good description of seat aids in the Kinder Way section of this site; in fact, I recommend the whole Kinder Way section :) Here is the page specifically on seat aids:
http://newrider.com/Kinder_Way/The_Aids/seat_aids.html

Good luck :) and I hope it works for you.