Concentration at Canter???

[ponypinkyp]

How on earth can you actually concentrate on all of your leg movements and tipping forward when your just TOTALLY scared to death aof falling off at canter?

I am at my wits end,,,,,, really tring to concentrate on what I should be doing with other parts of my body at the same time as nearly falling off and grabbing at neck straps and clumps of mane,,, :o


please help?

[PromiseMe]

If thats the case than i recommend that you get started on the lunge line first....where your instructor controls the horse and you can just work on your position and getting use to the canter...that way you dont have to be all concerned on making the proper aids and doing everything right....its taking things one step at a time :)

So just get use to the canter first....enjoy it, relax, flow with it....
and once youre used to it...than you can start working on your position...

And I know that some instructors like to teach their students to learn to canter in the 2point to get use to the canter first...but i dont really recommend it. THere are too many likely problems to it.

It comes in time...I remember being in the same position as you once before...practice! :) Good luck and be careful!

[Bay Mare]

How comfortable are you at rising and sitting trot? It may be that you're not ready to canter yet if you're really so unbalanced and scared of it.

I agree to do some lunge work as that means that you don't have to control the horse as well as everything else.

On a positive note I find the canter MUCH more comfortable than the trot, if you can try and relax and ENJOY to start with and then work on your posture once you feel happier with it.

[nirikina]

I agree with PromiseMe about trying canter on the lunge first to get the feel of it. The only problem there is if the horse motorbikes (leans in) on the circle. Or try it out on a hack? Not as safe I grant you, but it's how I started and gradually got the feel of the movement and speed. Just following the rider in front in a straight line. Also out on a hack it's easy to go from walk to canter without sitting trot. Most people will tell you canter is more comfortable. This is basically because it's a backward and forward rocking motion rather than the side to side bounce of trot. You're less likely to slip off sideways in canter than you are in trot. But, you should be confident in sitting trot before you try canter on the lunge or in the school else it will be harder for the horse to pick up and maintain a nice steady canter.

[PromiseMe]

I think Bay Mare makes a good point there....are you very comfortable with posting and sitting trot?
Even if you can post but cant do sitting trot well yet, you might want to work on the sitting trot first, as you need a good base with sitting trot before asking for the canter!
If you arent you might want to rethink it before you start cantering...


Trying how to canter on a trail ride as Nirikina says has its good and bad points.
its a wide, unenclosed area so its way more dangerous. But most horses are really good following each other and you dont have to worry about using the right aids to ask for the canter. BUT it hurts WAY more falling outside than inside a sand ring. And riding in an enclose area (arena) you'll feel a lot more safer, knwig that your horse wont take off on you. And I dont even care about falling in a sand ring, it doesnt even hurt...so dont worry so much about falling, and just RIDE! :)

I still recommend thte lunge line...talk to your instructor about it! (and yes, as nirkina said, the horse does lean in after a few circles, so dont panic and DONT lean in with him! just continue sitting up straight and tall.)

[Tangle]

If it makes you feel any better, I was totally unable to steer while trying to do sitting trot last week :rolleyes:. In between trying not to fall off and trying to keep the horse balanced I didn't seem to be able to cope with directions as well....

I also went through a phase of being totally terified at canter. I only had to hear the "C" word and I'd turn into a quivering wreck - I still do to a certain extent. What I found helped was having a sympathetic instructor - is this happening in lessons and, if so, have you talked it over with your teacher?

Things that made it easier for me included:

Keeping a death grip on the saddle :rolleyes:,
Having another horse to follow (if you really get stressed you can scream and the other horse acts as breaks ;))
Having a horse you trust 150% to stop at a given point (if all else fails - usually the gate...)
Basically try and get to the point where you minimise the things you have to think about other than your position. The best way to do that may be on the lunge.

Good luck - we've all been there :p