sitting the canter

dancing-horse · #1 31st Mar 2005, 06:20 PM

I ride english and I just started cantering again at a new barn and Im wondering if anyone can give me any tips to sitting it properly. I can sit it a few times, but then I propel forward really far and it messes my balance up. I know I have to be tighter in my thigh and Im working on it. Any thigh strenghting exercises or extra tips for sitting in the canter would be great. Thanks.
Jean

Zara · #2 31st Mar 2005, 06:22 PM

If you can book some lunge lessons and do some work without your stirrups - will help to deepen your seat and improve your balance!

zara x x x

momofsix · #3 31st Mar 2005, 06:56 PM

I am not an expert at all but I have had the same problem. It really helped me to canter without stirrups. Lately I have been cantering on just a bareback pad on the mare we are leasing and it made such a difference in my balance. Of course I only do this on a calm horse that I really trust.

#4 1st Apr 2005, 10:40 PM

I found that when I first started to ride I would lean forwards all the time. So when I cantered I could do it for a little while then would lose it like you described.

Here is a picture of someone "Leaning Forward"

http://www.kahlin.net/noir/dressyr/t...chair_seat.jpg

Here is a picture of what you should be aiming for in terms of your seat/position.

http://www.kahlin.net/noir/dressyr/t...odrat_sits.jpg

I am sure someone will come along who can more aptly describe what you should be doing.

Here is a link to a thread that I started a while ago, it has many helpful tips.

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showth...threadid=41092

Good Luck

♥~Alice~♥ · #5 7th Apr 2005, 09:48 AM

I used to have this problem for ages, then one day it finally just 'clicked'! I had been trying too hard to sit deeply in the saddle and actually making it harder for myself. Now, I just sit lightly in the saddle and let my upper body 'float', and use just my lower back and stomach to follow the movement of the horse. It's kind of hard to explain, and plently of work without stirrups or on the lunge will help a lot.

Alicat · #6 7th Apr 2005, 10:33 AM

Hi Dancing-Horse

I used to think I would never be able to sit to canter, but then one day it did just click. However, I was taught that if you hold the front of the saddle with your inside hand and pull yourself down, it helps you get the feel of where you should be sitting and stops you leaning forward and loosing your balance. Depending on how confident you are at cantering I always felt that cantering without stirrups was a bit daunting (actually prefer it now), so tended to use the holding the front of the saddle method.

Sorry that probably won't help, but good luck and it will come.

Alison xx

cvb · #7 7th Apr 2005, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancing-horse

I ride english and I just started cantering again at a new barn and Im wondering if anyone can give me any tips to sitting it properly. I can sit it a few times, but then I propel forward really far and it messes my balance up. I know I have to be tighter in my thigh and Im working on it. Any thigh strenghting exercises or extra tips for sitting in the canter would be great. Thanks.
Jean

tighter ?? this may just be down to choice of words, but "tighter" is not the word I would choose

Its amazing how even if you MEAN the right thing, the choice of words affects the result !

To absorb the horse's movement through your joints, they need to be open and soft. NB this does not mean "floppy"

If you "tighten" muscles and/or joints - it tends to have the opposite effect - making them tense, closed, "hard" (and less moveable).

There's a neat demo on the Mark rashid DVD I just got (name dropping - sorry - but its soooo good). He sits on a barrel and shoes how the way you sit affects how you absorb the movement. And if you can't absorb the movement, your upper body is all over the place, affecting you AND the horse.

So - for now I would lay "tighter" aside. Tone and fitness will come with riding - let it come or work on it off the horse (swimming, cycling, pilates etc). Think about keeping your hips open and soft, and your back soft and flexible. And BREATHE - Mark R (back to him again - sorry) talks a lot about this. Mainly cos a lot of us breathe too rapidly and shallowly when we ride. make sure you take full deep breathes - count how many strides it takes to breathe in, and then out. At walk he was talking about 6-8 strides for inhale and a few more for the exhale.

I always think of cantering as a bit like surfing the wave

(not that I ever surfed

). As long as this image doesn't make you lean back - its a good one

The "wave" of the horse's energy comes up behind you, lifts you and carries you forward. You need to "surf" that wave without losing it - not falling off the front or the back or you lose the wave. And not sitting too hard or you'll squash it

Does that help at all ?

NoviceNic · #8 7th Apr 2005, 03:27 PM

I couldn't get canter at all as I couldn't sit in the transition. I was too tense and too tight with my legs so it pushed me forward and off balance. Everything fell into place when I started riding wearing a body protector. If I can feel the protector catching the saddle I am straight. Do you wear a protector? Can you feel it just above the back of the saddle?

However loads of trotting without stirrups will help. Relaxing and not to trying too hard will also work. Hold onto the saddle with your inside hand and pull yourself into the deepest part of the saddle. You should be able to feel yourself sitting on your 2 bum bones. Practise will make perfect. Don't worry it will all click into place one day.

nakedescapee · #9 7th Apr 2005, 05:05 PM

When I got back inot riding after 25 years off, I had a problem sitting the canter and would tend to lean forward. My instructor had me lean way back at a walk and put my hand on the horse's rump alternating hands evry quarter way around the arena. In the beginning, I felt like I was was leaning back so far that I would fall off but, after a few times practicing this, I began to ride more upright and I now keep my seat secure in the canter. The more I sit back, the more secure my seat is.

Chile Pepper · #10 7th Apr 2005, 06:47 PM

I have just started cantering myself, and my instructor is using the "holding the saddle with the inside hand" method. On Tuesday it felt great. I really felt like I was going with the horse instead of against her. Today--different horse, different experience. At the moment I am sitting gingerly because I seem to have bruised my tailbone. So much for sitting on my two bum bones, NoviceNic! Was it the saddle? the horse? Was I leaning too far back?

larryt · #11 8th Apr 2005, 07:46 AM

I have been riding nearly four years now, and and was the despair of my first Instructer (since retired - I've been at a new stable for 18 months) in respect of canter. I've been riding motorcycles 35 years now (yes, I'm 50) and one tends to grip the tank with the knees and steer accordingly. But grip the saddle with your knees and you pop up (and off!), and leaning into corners either confuses the horse, or gives him/her naughty ideas (and off he comes again). But now I have a Custom Harley (you might be able to make it out in my avatar) with wide forward footrests, so I don't grip the tank. Also very good for practising keeping the heels down. I ride fortnightly (money!) and the other day canter began to 'click' - THIS is what it should feel like! I'm not 'there' yet, but I'm on my way. So perseverence, working without stirrups, good instructors and friendly horses. Mind, the horse I've been cantering on the last couple of sessions, I first rode over a year ago and couldn't control at all! We're pals now, though.

Larry T

kate_yates89 · #12 8th Apr 2005, 11:40 AM

Deleted

nakedescapee · #13 8th Apr 2005, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chile Pepper

At the moment I am sitting gingerly because I seem to have bruised my tailbone. So much for sitting on my two bum bones, NoviceNic! Was it the saddle? the horse? Was I leaning too far back?

It sounds like you may have taken a couple buonces out of the saddle and landed hard.... OUCH!! I found that, when I was hurting, I was forced to sit correctly to stay off of the painful area. It actually helped in the long-run but, in the short-time, it was quite uncomfortable.

NoviceNic · #14 8th Apr 2005, 10:18 PM

Chile Pepper - Loads of sympathy. I am sending a very fit massuese over to yours now to rub it better.

Cheeky · #15 13th Apr 2005, 03:39 PM

Sitting the canter eh? Never heard that one before ... hmm ... well with the people I teach, I always say "sit deep" ... easier said then done, eh? Try moving into canter, and totally relaxing your body. Purposely go "floppy", and hang there. Think "slob" and you will relax and automatically sit deep. Yes, that means your legs too - relax your whole body. Another thing to try is to get on a lunge lead, and canter with no reins, but dangle your hands behind your legs - you will sit how your meant to garenteed.

If all else fails, when your cantering, think that someone has tied your hair to the back of the saddle and leaaaaaaaaaaaan that body bak!!

Experiement ...

kelsey · #16 13th Apr 2005, 03:55 PM

To me sitting the canter is like skipping on the ground...you are leading with your inside hip (unless you are in countercanter....another story) and following along with your back and seat.

Mary1 · #17 17th Apr 2005, 02:55 AM

As a matter of fact, It reminds me of how my friends and I would canter around on our make believe horses when we were children!
It IS like that!
But I was going to suggest thinking about it a little like posting. You do want to lean back or sit up straight, and rock your pelvis. But the motion of the horse doesn't propel you up as it does in the trot. (Unless you grip with your thighs or stiffen your back as opposed to rocking it)

Kanuma · #18 17th Apr 2005, 06:57 AM

anouther problem you could be haveing is that you grip with your knees, it is an unconciouse reaction to fear i do it all the time but it makes sitting to the canter even harder as it pushes you up out of the saddle
relax, if you can go bareback or take away your stirrups for a while let your legs hang and dont grip with them!

dancing-horse · #19 17th Apr 2005, 01:07 PM

I had a lesson last week and my canter was much better. My thighs were bruning because I had made them a bit stronger and everything. Im starting to rock with the horse a little more. Thanks for the replys.

sarahbeth · #20 17th Apr 2005, 08:49 PM

Yesterday I had my lesson, and it just clicked then for me when I cantered

You have to be very forward: In other words, make your back as straight as possible. Imagine that someone is pulling up your spine with a string. It sounds stupid, but it helps!
Also, put your weight towards the saddle. When your horse's hooves leave the ground, there might be a gap between you and the saddle, but with enough practice, you'll sort of "stick" to the saddle.
Don't let your body go with the horses movements too much, you'll flop around. Let your hands ease up so your horse's head can move though.
Hope this helped