Relaxing on a horse - how?

[Tangle]

I had a lesson today, which went pretty well for the most part. (Oh - apart from having to start by doing round the world. I won't tell you how long it took because it would embarrass me :o.) I'm currently having lessons in a field, so spend most of the time on the lunge to save retrieving me and hoss from far corners :p. Walk was fine and trot was getting pretty good. I can stay relaxed in both of them if I concentrate hard enough.

Canter is another question. I've got a daft mental hang-up about canter anyway after I fell off after riding for about 6 months. Once I get into canter, I'm normaly absolutely fine (as demonstrated by my gallop a couple of weeks back - I'll even go as far as it was fun :D). But tell me I'm going to canter and I get into a "Oh - but that's scarey and I really don't want to" mental state :(.

So, the horse I'm riding has a really lovely canter, and last week we started on the problem by having two short canters. I walked him off to the far side of the field, and he cantered back to everyone else - he'll always head to people and always stops when he gets there. Tried the same thing this week. First one was fine, second one got a bit quick. Third time I couldn't canter - just got fast bouncy trot :(. The next time we got him to canter, but I was so tense he gave a couple of nice bucks and I went the rest of the way up the field holding onto his ears and sitting on his neck :eek:. At least I didn't fall off. On the last three attempts we managed to canter on the 1st and 3rd (thankfully a little less dramaticaly :rolleyes: )

But what do I do? I know it's me, because this is one of the easiest horses to canter I've ever met :(. Even now I'm catching a little voice in the back of my head saying "Canter? Oooh - scarey, fast, buck, fall off". I'm trying to drown it out with "Canter? Fun and nicer than trot!" but I'm not convinced it's going to work. Anyone got any ideas?

(oh and if anyone can tell me how to not write an essay everytime....... :rolleyes: )

[*lozza*]

i had the same problem so my instuctor tells me to sing a song in my head and think walk so the horse doesn't charge off at full speed

[Tangle]

Sorry - think I may have confused.

We think the reason why he bucked is because I was so tense he was getting very conflicting signals. I was actually trying to ask for canter at the time :o

Given that I know he can canter (very nicely ;)) and I know I can canter when pushed, how do I make myself relax enough to let him canter? At the moment I'm just getting the pair of us so tense and stressed it's all gone pear shaped before we even start :(

[ajhainey]

I'm sure you've tried singing/chanting in your head and positive imaging so I'll risk the ridicule and suggest my 'slightly bizzarre but works for me' tactic...I just fix my eyes on the horizon and refuse to let myself look anywhere else - seems to act as an automatic brain emptier - and stops you looking nervously at the horse/scary bushes etc. I don't know why but it works for me - so might be worth a try??

I also find I'm better if I have other people relying on me (lead file say, or knowing full well I'm on the sane horse and should lead the canters/ open the gates etc) and just have to get on with it - I use that little voice of responsibility in my head to drown out the scaredy cat :)

Other than that could you try changing the environment? I'm a wreck in the school at the moment but hacked out earlier today without a care in the world despite having two maniacs behind me throwing all sorts of tantrums (including a very impressive full height rear!) and being a complete pain half the time..

Give it time it will come back!

aj xx

Edited aftre seeing below posts to add: I assumed you can ride the canter and are just having nerve issues (thought you'd been about a while??) the above isn't too relevant if you are a new rider and just having trouble with a new pace..

[Colorado Sunset]

A tad confused here :rolleyes: :p do you canter on the lunge? Or just walk and trot? It will help, as your instructor will control the pace and ensure the horse doesnt go anywhere and all you have to think about is sitting there :D

If you dont why dont you try first holding onto the saddle. What i teach people to do in sitting trot aswell is to not just hold the saddle, but pull up with your hands and this really helps push your bum into the saddle. Then try taking one hand off, putting it out to the side, then second hand off etc. You CAN do it, you galloped the other week and you were fine :D Its only a mental block, you can do it!

Also when your cantering, concentrate on keeping your hips free and think about moving them in a circle- forwards, up, round and back down, helps to keep the movement going :D

Good luck

[laura jeanne]

I know just what you mean because I tend to do the same thing. The more you try to do everything right, the more tense you get.

Here's what I started doing- first, take a few minutes of time every day and just picture yourself riding and then taking a deep breath and relaxing while letting it out. Actually do that part. Make sure your seat is relaxing when you let your breath out and then just picture yourself giving the canter aids.

The first time I did this in my lesson, I actually got praised for a great canter transition from the teacher that was always criticizing me. It was hard for me to give the leg aids without tensing my seat but this helped.

And I suppose at the same time I may have been tense everywhere else too including the way I was holding the reins and so actually stopping the horse. If you go into canter from walk or trot, just picture it that way every time and try to imagine the way the whole thing will feel and then in the lesson just shut out everything else and do what you practiced in your mind.

[galadriel]

If you don't have room in your head for tension, do you think you'll still be tense?

I find it very absorbing to visualize what the horse is doing with all four legs (feel the movement of the back, imagine how it looks to an observer). This is also quite helpful in following the motion of the horse's back, as well as in using aids--if you're "seeing" and "feeling" what the horse is doing with his legs, then you can be more precise with the timing of your aids.

[Scarlett 001]

Well - I have the same problem as you!!! I have cantered in a few lessons over the past month and every time I know we are going to canter I cringe and get nervous.

Why do I still get nervous when:
(1) I *know* I have good innate balance in the saddle - I have been told this by instructors. So I won't just tip and fall off!
(2) I have cantered quite a few horses over the years and have never fallen off at canter (my fall a few years ago was due to bucking).


Mind you, I am *much* less nervous if the horse has a good canter departure, and if I only canter once around the arena - the longer I canter, the more out of control I feel! I suppose that is one thing that has helped me - to only canter for a short time and then to go back to trot as soon as my nerves are telling me it is enough for now. When I was cantering on Skeeter last year this is what we did - we gradually increased the length of time I cantered. Just did what I could handle and then we let my mind and body rest.

[Ashleigh]

Maybe you could try cantering behind another, sane, horse with a confident rider who can give you a lead? That might help you relax, and your horse might go into canter easier following the one in front.
Hope that helps.

[Drummers mum]

Can I go completely the other way and contradict everyone else?

Don't do it!

I'm serious, just get on with your ride and think "I'm going to enjoy myself, no canter, no stress"

Its what I did, then one day (actually I think it may even have been the same day!) I was just trotting along and I thought, "ooo, I think I will canter" there was no build up, no tension, no "oh my god its going to be my turn in a bit! :eek: " and I got the best transition, cantered a few strides, felt great and went back to trotting! :D

[artemis]

Humming relaxes you. (try 3 blind mice) or is that non PC now. :D

[Mazpup]

On the random thoughts that help you I've found saying the alphabet backwards works as you think it would be really easy but you actually have to think about it and it takes your mind off worrying.

[*toHorse&Away*]

Yep!
Stop trying to think of everything at once - the only times I ever do it well are if I'm not thinking about it otherwise its inadvertant tense up which just makes the while thing horrible.
i remember your post about the gallop - sounded great so you must be pretty confident and have good balance.
Maybe if you are not already do a bit of lunge at canter so you've only got relaxing to worry about - er! ooops, yeah right, that makes sense if yuo get my drift! ;)

[Tangle]

Lots or replies - lots of ideas. Thanks one and all :D

First off, I'll try and clear up some of the confusion. Yes, I'm perfectly capable of cantering (when I relax :rolleyes: ). The only time I'm trying to canter is in lessons. I only do walk and trot on the lunge - I've asked to add canter before, but my Instructor thinks it's easier going free as the horse is less likely to motorbike, etc.

In some respects I'd love to carry on the "don't do it until you feel ready" approach, and I've got away with it for over a year. Unfortunately I've recently left the riding school I was at due to an assortment of issues. There I could get in lots of adhoc riding and was gradually brining a horse I adored and trusted 1000% back into work - on him I think I would have had a lot more confidence, but I had to leave before he was fit enough :(. Now the only time I really get to ride is in lessons, and if I'm asked I'll always say "no" in a terrified little voice :o. Also makes it difficult to canter behind a sane horse, as I'm on private lessons. Plus the last time I tried that I wound up in a gallop :D

I do always tend to hold on, but I'm starting to wonder if that is actually part of the problem. Aparently when I tried to canter the third time in my lesson least week (after the one that got a bit quick), you could see from a couple of hundred metres away that I was really tense and had the tightest ever death grip on the saddle. I think I tend to focus on the "hold on" bit too much.

So, accepting the fact I can canter (I can, I know I can, honest!) I now have to think about:

singing,
looking at the horizon
breathing
visualizing nice transitions
working out what the horse's legs are doing
humming non-PC tunes ;)
saying the alphabet backwards
and not thinking about everything at once :D

sorry - I tend to be flippant when nervous :o

There's some really good ideas in there and I'll try and filter it down over the next couple of weeks so there's not too much for me to worry about and let you know how I get on :).

btw - AJHainey - I keep trying to come up with some positive visualisations (for some reason when I'm at work :p) but I'm not doing too well. Any ideas gratefully received....