Can't canter round corners!

[chickflick1066]

Hello, as Stumpy was being a bit nappy today I rode her in the menage instead. Towards the end of the lesson I cantered her down the long side of the school but as soon as we'd get to the end she would just abruptly stop or break into a very trot!

This basically means I cannot do a full circuit in canter, have any you got any tips or things I can practise to help teach Stumps how to canter corners?

Thanks - Araminta

[Miriam]

Are you manageing to keep your leg on stumpy when cantering? I've found that this is my problem when cantering. I dont seem to be able to keep the leg on to keep her going

[mazda]

As soon as you fell stumpy begin to slow put your leg on, keep your outside leg behind the girth and don't hang on with your hand (you might not but just a suggestion) also you didn't say weather you carried a whip. Some horses go fine as long as you have whip - so try that but don't get him so that he only moves with a whip keep changing it. Hope this helps.

[chickflick1066]

I did keep my leg on but she went right up to the fence, only stopping when she couldn't go any further! :rolleyes: I will try both of your suggestions again and hopefully she'll respond - thanks

[Painting Horses]

if she only does this while you ride her this might not work but if it's just corners in genaral you can prctie in a round pen it's like one big corner Lol and you can maybe ride / canter her in there it's how u got my mare to finally ben her neck to the inside :)

[SmokeKandeeBar]

How old is stumpy? How often is she ridden? I have a three year old, and it's hard for her to canter for a long while, she breaks too. Our trainers said that this is because she doesn't have enough stamina or endurance yet to keep herself going. I was just wondering if your horse was younger too, because this could be the case, or she might just need to get into shape. Hope I helped!:)

[Bay Mare]

What are you doing with the front end? Although you shouldn't be winching the front end in to keep her in an outline you do need to have a contact to stop her running out through the reins and onto the forehand. If she's falling onto the forehand she will eventually have to break into trot (or fall on her nose). Make sure that you use half halts and lots of inside leg.

How is her balance? Can she canter a 20m circle? It could be that she's not strong enough or balanced enough to canter the corners just yet.

What about your position? Could you be leaning or slumping? It could be that you are unbalancing her inadvertantly. Get someone to check your position out too.

How are you riding the corners? If you aim at the end and then do a fairly sharp turn she probably will stop (not many horses want to run into a wall ;) ). Try and think about getting into the corner but set up for it before you reach it so that you ride it like part of a circle rather than a 'square' shape. Use the outside rein to balance her and the inside leg to get her to bend, LOOK where you're going and make sure that you're in line with her as twisting too much or just not being in balance with her could cause problems.

[HunterSnaffle]

You could try to enforce your leg signals with a crop. I would not wait until he has stopped but try to PREVENT him from stopping in the first place. When you get close to the area where he tends to balk, apply your leg along with a firm tap with the whip. Just be prepared in case he jumps or rushes forward. I have personally had this problem in the past and it only took a few episodes with the crop to resolve this issue. :)

[Crazyhorse45]

Well what you have to do is (trot) her all the way down the back strech and then make a sharp turn to get her off balance and then ask for the canter. ;)