Canter Help! wrong lead/no roundness??? help

[_Bex_]

At the moment I have found that my horse cannot be round in canter, Im not really sure why, unless it has something to do with balance? Or maybe it is because Im not doing it right?

Also we cannot get the correct canter lead when it comes to going anti clockwise. This is not only when I ride him but when I lunge him too. It also probably doesn’t help the situation when I cannot tell if he is on the wrong leg when I ride him.

If anyone has any tips, suggestions or activities that we can do that would be much appreciated. Bex

[Tangle]

Hi Bex,

Can you get someone else to ride/lunge him and see how he goes? That will both allow you to really watch his action, and also get confirmation of whether you're part of the problem ;).

The other thing I'd do soon is get his back & saddle checked. In order to canter happily, the horse needs to be able to bend/flex to the inside and step under will with his inside hind. Even if his tack is just fitted & brand new it's worth getting his back looked at by a physio - something as silly as rolling on a stone may cause problems :rolleyes:.

Once you've (hopefully) established there's nothing wrong, I'd work on his general flexibility. You can do carrot stretches from the ground and serpentines and lateral work under saddle - they'll all help him to get more supple, which should help him strike off correctly. You'll probably also notice he's stiffer on one side (my guess is he'll find it easier to bend to the right than to the left). Try and be aware of it and don't force him to do more than he's willing to offer or you could make it worse ;).

If none of that helps, I did know a horse that had a complete mental block on right canter. He'd HAD a sore back (sacro iliac) that had been fixed and he was good and supple, but in his head it was going to hurt so he wasn't going to do it :rolleyes:. The only way anyone could get him to canter on the right rein was to get him on a nice circle in trot and then push him over a small jump - he landed in canter with the correct lead every time :).

Hope that gave you some ideas :)

[Mehitabel]

echo tangle - first off, get physical things checked.

chances are though, that they are two mainfestations of the same problem - if he is stiff enoguh that he can't go on one lead, then he is too stiff to even be thinking about roundness in canter. he has to be strong and supple to be able to carry himself in a way that he is rounded in outline.

walk and trot work, with an instructor at least to begin with to point you in the right direction, as tangle says on general suppleness and bend, will do the job, once you know nothing is hurting. if the walk and trot improve and the one canter lead doesn't, then it's likely to be a specific problem, normally with the outside hind somewhere, as it's the outside hind leg that has to step under and take the whole weight of the horse during the transition - if everything else is fine and it's just that one thing he can't do, then it's likely there's a problem there.

[jUmPingIsLifE]

i would get an instructer, without seeing your ride we cant tell you why your horse is picking up the wrong lead.

however timing wise it might help you to post on the wrong diagnol when asking for the canter.

i would not worry about making your horse round yet though.
how are you asking for your horse to round up though?

[_Bex_]

yup he is not sore or i wouldnt push the issue, thanx for your help guyz, he has had both bowen and physio and he is fine, though he does get a bit stuck in the neck everynow and again. for now i think i need to supple him up a bit more, however i think that our biggest issue is at the moment is that he isant strong enough as yet. but we will try thanx

[jacstar]

Try more inside rein

or id sugest get an instructor.

I have had the same prob with our left lead canter my TB is off the track
so she has a weaker side more than normal horses.
its all in the inside rein and flexing to the inside

so try excerises like spirals, serpentines, 10/15 metre circles

or try riding a 10 metre circle in a corner twice then ask for canter as your coming out of your 10metre circle and go large if that makes sense :rolleyes:

or you could put a pole in the corner and ask you horse to canter as your going over it which will help with your strike off (advise your instructor helps you with this)

[jacstar]

Oh i forgot to mention that i found that my TB wasnt cantering on the left lead because she wasnt moving forward

try getting you horse to move forward to the point where you can feel there hind under the saddle