can anyone help me with my cantering mistake.

[obsessions]

i just started riding 6 months back and i have just learnt to canter. i see everyone cantering with nice beautiful posture but i on the other hand just can't seem to get it right. whenever i start to canter, my back will automaticlly fall backwards and i look like i am leaning back. i could even feel the saddle touching my back. how can i correct this? any help would be lovely.

[Wally]

Have you been told to "polish the seat of the saddle"? Some folk teach canter like this, try to think of letting your pelvis rock forward then back to upright instead of rocking on to the back edge of your seatbones.

If you let your hips roll backwards you'll get left behind, lift up your rib cage on each upward swing of the horse and rock your pelvis forwards.

[obsessions]

thank you wally! will try to practice that on my next riding lesson. i hope i can get it right. anymore help and suggestions are welcome :)

[SailleCinza]

My suggestion: relax, and don't worry. I've been riding for 6 years, and my position isn't perfect. Your basic position at all the gaits is something that has to evolve. So don't think you have a *problem,* you are rather learning the basics of things that even more advanced riders work on... for their ENTIRE lives.


I've spent time studying the proper position, as I'm a dressage rider now. The most fundamental thing is an easy balance, and free hands. STRETCH BEFORE YOU RIDE. Remember to relax and sit tall, but not lean back. Your lower back will rise up and down with the horse - encourage and expect this movement. Spend time "softening" your vision and just feeling the horse move under you, until you realize what kind of balance is required. Never sit stiffly, you must move with the horse. It's easy to think that you must always sit tall and straight, but realize that this will vary with which part of the canter the horse is in. Just keep cantering, and relax!

Believe it or not, some of that natural balance will come from riding through varied situations, such as bolting horses and taking jumps... especially ones in which you have no idea how high the horse will jump. Then, you will learn to adjust your balance without thinking about it.

Good luck, and more importantly, have fun!

[obsessions]

hey! thanks so much for the advice. really appreciate it ! will try my best to relax

[cvb]

hmmm - ponder mull ponder.....

just wondering - are the ponies/horses you ride quite forward going ?

There is a general principle, in terms of balance, that your centre of gravity should stay over the horses. Pretty much the saddle sits over the horse's c.of.g, but as they go faster, it will move forward a little. (In general horses carry 60% of weight on front legs, which is why c.of.g is in front of the "midpoint").

Now, if a horse if moving foward, and hence their c.of.g is moving forward too - to keep YOUR c.of.g over their's, you need to be moving forward at the same speed. From the ground it looks like you are still cos you are moving together ;) (hopefully !)

This may sound like a statement of the obvious, as the horse will carry you forward anyway. But - as they go into canter they are going to accelerate, before settling down to a steady speed. SO - do you think your 'backwards' position could be down to not keeping up with this initial acceleration, and then finding it hard to regain your position ? (By the way, canter isn't necessarily faster, but in practice it can be, especially when you are first learning.)

In terms of changing your "feel", you could try things like riding deliberately in a forward position (like a half-seat, almost jumping position). You could try this prior to the transition so you are already forward, or wait for canter then move forward. This will give you a very different feel and help you be more aware of where you are. It may require you to work on your abdominal and back muscles ! (and thighs). (if you're not already strong/toned). Riding uses some muscles that we rarely use otherwise.

You might also think of trying to keep your c.of.gravity over the horse's not only before the canter, but during the transition (and acceleration) and then during the canter itself.

(Of course this then all gets reversed in the downward transition from canter to trot/walk).