cant sit to happys canter

[hApPiNeSs]

happys canter is really springy and FAST and i find it darn impossible to sit to it. i have no problem cantering on riding school horses but happy goes like shes got springs on her shoes and rocket on her bum!

i think it has something to do with the way she was trained. basically, the only way you can get her to canter is to trot like a loony and then just kick on! (and this is an improvement since i got her)

is their any way i can retrain her, considering half halts and such would go right over her head.

oh another problem. when i try to stop, she doesnt for ages. then when she finally does, she swerves around into a rushed, flat trot - not very nice!

and just one more porblem. since my legs are tres long and happy is rather short, i cant HELP but draw my leg up and grip like mad, which is probably the reason i bounce so.

any help would be grand.

thanks

[notpoodle]

ha! angel is going through one of these 'trot like a loonie before you canter' phases at the moment :rolleyes: we also take up to half a lap of the school to get back into trot once she has started :rolleyes:

you could try cantering without stirrups (if you dare ... i only do it when i feel REALLY brave!) which might help you to stop gripping as much with the legs (i know what you mean about short pony-long legs! my legs jump forward for not apparent reason every now and then, ahem)

julia
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[hApPiNeSs]

hehe i would have to be very brave!

i forgot to mention that happy has not been trained to canter on a certain leg. just kick with both legs in the same place :o :o :o

[notpoodle]

i suspected the same with angel, because she was quite hard to canter in the school at all when i got her. she was mainly hacked out before and seems to have used just the right rein for canter.

i ended up not cantering her in the school at all for months and tried to sort out the walk and trot instead. i think it paid off because we can now canter circles (well, eggs but still!) on both leads

julia
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