MORE CANTERING

[stella]

Hi Folks
I've been riding only a few months and am just learning to canter. Fell off last week cantering in a corner but thankfully landed on my feet by some miracle. Managed to stay on this week.
However, I have really no control over the canter. I'm ok at getting my riding school mare into canter but once I'm actually cantering I just go with the flow and come back to trot when SHE wants to.
It's quite exhillarating bu a bit scary.
Last time my instructor tried to get me to do a 20m circle in canter but there was no way I could manage to keep on the animal and steer at the same time. It just seems so fast!
I suppose it was like this when I first started trotting - all I could do was go large and in those early stages it seemed I was going at full pelt.
How do you get more control?

[Wally]

Practice, practice and more practice!

Don't worry, it'll come in time, It a whole new balance technique to learn, one you have it canter will be an easier gait than trot. Keep on going, you'll get there.

[Maci]

Practice and Patience!

Try asking to be lunged for the first while, that way you can work on balance and don't have to worry about steering. For balance, ask for a neck strap to hold onto if you feel out of control, or grab a part of the mane. Judt don't pull on the reins, because you will end up in a big fight and the horse will end up winning!

It'll Come!
Maci :)

[horselover]

Wally mentioned practice, practice and more practice. I know it might not be what you want to hear, but it is so true. The canter is very diferent from walking or trotting (mostly b/c it feels so incredibly fast when you first start). Just keep doing it in small stages. Instead of cantering around the ring three times, just canter down one side. Going straight is much easier than turning.

Don't get discouraged! One day, you will get on and it willl just be like "Wow! I can do this!" and you'll get it. Sounds strange, but that was my experience when I first cantered.

[Pamela 85]

Everyone so far has said practice is the secret, sorry to say it's probaly the only way to fix your problem!

Remember: keep your hands quiet and soft, because the best way for you to hold on is with your legs. Concentrate on holdong on with your WHOLE leg, not just with your heels.
Breath deeply and stay calm, it will get better, I promise.
I had the same problems, so don't worry you'll do fine!!!

[stella]

Thanks for all your encouragement, folks. I'll bear your tips in mind and keep practising.
Here's another one for you. How do I slow the canter down whilst keeping it going. How do I ask for this without going down a pace to trot?
Stella

[Pamela 85]

Thats a tough one, I honestly don't know. Sorry!!

[Jodie]

The main way that i think of to slow the horse down at canter would be that when you are cantering make sure that you sit deep and with each stride come down hard on his back with each of the canter bounces (if ya get me) If you can almost do kinda a rising trot he'll be uncomfortable and will slow down but he'll be actually be slowing down to a trot so ya gotta stop before he slows down that much.

[Flo]

Coming down hard in the saddle might have some effect (or make the horse go faster in a bit of a panic) but anyway, its not very kind. I've been taught that the outside rein is the speed control (used with plenty of inside leg to maintain the canter and outline), but that probably won't have much effect until you're seat is sorted out properly in the saddle as you won't be able to keep you hands still enough. In the meantime the only advice I can give you is to make sure you're not gripping with your lower leg and - as everyone else has said - keep at it.

[Jodie]

I spose if your on a flighty horse it may make it go faster (and as horses have there own minds and arnt machines anyone would understand thatit cant be garranteed to work) but ive been taught it shouldn't as on a well schooled horse the less contact your seat has the faster your horse goes the more contact the slower the horse goes and it has been proven with me riding as whenever a horse rushes into a jump it always works even in a cross country paddock where the horses get particulary excited.

As for it being unkind I would never deliberately cause a horse pain and all it does is make the horse that little bit comfortable and horse then realises you dont want him to be doing that and slows down the moment he does as required he stops people use there seat in this way all the time. Discomfort is the way horses are trained you doing it every time you squeeze your horse to get him to move you squeeze he becomes uncomfortable and the horse moves away from your contact and then he learns to associate moving away from your contact to the relief of that discomfort so if i'm unkind when riding so are you and everyone else i can give countless other examples that people use it for. Also it could also be seen in a similar light as teaching a begginer to ride you yourself learnt to ride you couldn't just imediately rise to the trot you would of bounced around on the horse back a little at some stage well i suppose you are also unkind for learning to ride in the first place.

By the way saying this is not at all disreguarding your method or saying mine is any better than yours as yours also sounds effective although i'm simply not going to not reply when you say the way i ride is cruel (or unkind as you so nicely put it) coz i would never be and i spose to not support my statement would be to admit i am.

Sorry for the long post (but i had to clear that up...lol)

[Jodie]

It makes the horse a little bit uncomfortable the moment he slows down the rider stops and the discomfort stops.

[Flo]

Jodie

I've read your message a few times now, but I still don't really get what you mean about coming down hard in the saddle. If you're sitting deep in the saddle then shouldn't your seat be in constant contact with the saddle with your lower back acting as shock absorber? Then again if you're doing cross country in the two point position I have even less idea... Is this something you do in an emergency or as a regular aid?

The image I had is of something like what a girl I rode with years ago used to do when her pony bucked - which was to smack down so hard in the saddle that the pony used to stagger to keep its balance. Some of the horses I ride now are "flighty" as you put it, but others are about as laid back as they come - I would say that all of them have the right to react as they see fit to that sort of behaviour - but I'm hopeing this isn't what you meant.

I sincerely hope that riding isn't about making the horse uncomfortable - I always think about it more like a sort of touch sign language. That isn't to say that I don't think I've ever made a horse uncomfortable as I know full well that I have - but that I try to be as kind as I can. I didn't mean to upset you by suggesting that you were being deliberately unkind (if you reply to this I hope you'll tell me that you were doing something completely different to what I imagined) - but there are plenty of riders and teachers out there who will teach people "common sense" stuff that is really out of order.

Happy to carry this one on (nicely though:) ) if you want.

[FRED]

Hi,slowing down the canter,I've been taught to lean back to slow down and lean forward for more speed ,{I'm not with this banging down on the saddle}{this only happens to me if I get out of sink with the horse}I feel quiet guilty as well.
ps;haven't done a lot of cantering as yet.

[Maci]

Riding, in fact, is the exact opposite of making your horse uncomfortable! You should be able to ride like "one" with the horse, through the years, and feel it's every movement and tension.

To slow the canter down without bring your horse back down to a trot, restrict the head movement ever so slightly with your hands, or in other words, keep your hands a bit more steady, but still light handed. Lean back a bit, and squeeze you butt muscles together. Do this only a bit to slow the canter down; if you want to bring him back down into a trot, do this to the "full extent".

Leaning forward tells them that you want to gallop, so they go faster because none of your weight is in the saddle to slow them down.

Hope This Helps!
Maci :)

[FRED]

Hi,thanks for that info,I can understand why I wasn't told the sqeezing bit!,it would have caused blushes alround!!,
riding in the great outdoors,people would wonder what on earth is going on!!,nosey parkers they are.

[Jodie]

hmmm ok well this is kinda hard to explain i'll try and use an example its a different situation but the same principle can be applied to slowing down the canter. When i'm jumping and i only want the horse to trot it and she canters i keep rising now its not comfortable for some to be rising while the horse is cantering so they will slow down into a trot.

Now keeping that in mind if you think about when you want a horse to slow down a pace from any pace walk, trot, canter, gallop one of the main aids used is to deepen your seat or make it heavy in the saddle even before you have any contact with the horses mouth and with that in mind i have always been taught that you should beable to stop a well schooled horse without any reins if you use your seat properly and what i talked about above is an example of that (slowing the horse from canter to trot without your reins) which if you think about it is actually kinder becuase the horse does not have a person yanking on the reins and hurting his mouth (which could also help the horse from becoming hard mouthed and coz most of the school horses i ride are because they have begginer riders constantly hanging onto their mouths and use it as the only way to stop a horse when i have always been taught its the last thing you do.

So when a horse is cantering with each stride there is an opportunity to sit heavier (harder is maybe not so good a word to explain it) in the saddle which the horse will see as the aid to slow down when he does you canter with him as you normally would.

Well this is what my instructor has taught me and whether you agree or not is up to you tho i dont see it unkind as when the horse is well schooled he will feel it very quickly and know how to respond. I dont know if this makes it any clearer but i really cant think of any other way to explain it.

[Dizzy]

what you have said, is that you create the tempo by asking the horse to join in with the rythym you are setting, eg when trotting, if you slow down your body movement, the horse will slow down, so it can catch up with the rythym you are setting. I too have been taught that way, I think it was the way you explained it, by saying bang down on the horses back, which sounded severe. It should be a relaxed slow down, gently changing the pace, but I think for the less experienced they will find this pretty difficult if they aren't balanced.

When you first start to canter, it is exhillarating and exciting, which means you probably tense up and make control a little difficult as this excitement transmits through you to your horse, one of the easiest, but also hardest things to do is relax and keep breathing nice even, deep breaths. This also transmits through you to your horse.

If cantering on a circle is difficult, ask your instructor if you can just canter up the long straight sides of the school. Set in your mind (at a certain letter) where you intend to slow the pace down. When you can achieve this, set yourself a longer task, in this way you will build up your ability to control the pace and you will move on to cantering on a circle when you feel you are ready.

As has been said before it is practise, practise and even more practise. I know sometimes you think you'll never get the hang of it, but you will, just don't ask too much of yourself too soon. If you feel your instructor is rushing things, tell her. Confidence is a very precious thing, it takes ages too build and unfortunatley seconds to destroy.

Good luck, and happy cantering!!!!

Lesley

[Jodie]

anyone trying to figure out my explanation read dizzy's its a better one....lol

[horselover]

I always use what is called a half-halt when I want Rascal to slow down his canter.

Use a small amount of pressure on the reins- not as much as you would to slow to a trot- and at the same time, very gently squeeze with your legs to keep the horse from completely slowing. This helps them keep engaged in the hinquarters while you are having them slow down. Also, sink into the saddle and shift your wieght to the furthest end of your butt (it sounds dtupid, but it is the way I think of it, and I can't think of any other way to say it.) This should slow your horse down but not bring him down to a trot.

Remember, since you only want to slow down, make the movements very small and light.

[JackiAH]

Ahh, I love the cantering threads! Ok, why dont you just try cantering on the lunge until you feel comfortable enough, then try again on your own. I know it can feel hard sometimes, the first time I cantered I ended up on my bum in the sand! But, keep trying! You'll get it soon enough. And also, the neckstrap is the most wonderful invention in the world when cantering for the first few times!!

[Maci]

I agree with Jacki, but to add to it, you don't learn to canter in one, continuous, long canter that lasts a few minutes; the best "canter learning" comes when the horse does a few strides of canter at a time and you can concentrate to balance yourself during that time. I don't know why and can't find a good reason, but, I think it is easier learning this way, because you're able to learn to balance yourself during canter and going back to trot, and once you find that balance during canter, you can shoot for more longer canters!

Good Luck, And Take It Slow!
Maci :)

[stella]

I've had some great replies here and can't wait to try out some of your suggestions. Thank you, guys.

Horselover, when you say "shift your weight to the furthest end of your butt" (!) do you mean try to imagine you're sitting on the back pockets of your jeans?

I read something about back pockets the other day and certainly be interested to know when you do this.

Stella

[Maci]

If you mean in position, she means that you are supposed to "tuck in your butt", sit up straight with your butt tucked under yourself. That's part of the proper riding position.

Hope This Helps!
Maci :)

[horselover]

yeah, I guess you could think of it that way, although I never have. It certainly sounds better than The furthest end of your butt!:) Just be careful that you don't lean back- that's not what I am trying to say. I just mean shift your weight- your center of gravity if you want to get technical.