I need help,if someone would reply it’d be amazing

sarvinnnn

New Member
Apr 10, 2021
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hii,so ive been starting canter and it really isnt going good,im the leader of the line which simply makes me more scared because my coach just yells saying im not paying attention to the line,i only canter in a line of 4-5 so when the class ends i canter for some minutes and i have to change my horse,the horse i use to canter with is literally a beast,even my coach once struggled controlling it,so i canter with him and i cant keep myself on the saddle!and my coach just yells which makes me more anxious and makes me do even worst.i keep falling on his neck no matter what i do!i just get bounced up and to his neck and some people watch me do it and its so embarrassing,i dont know how to fix my canter and i really need help!itd be wonderful if someone could tell me how to control the horse and keep myself from bouncing.
 
I think everyone is a bit wary of replying to these sorts of questions. Your coach is supposed to be the one teaching you to ride, so if that is not working for you (and it obviously isn't), you really need to see if you can try a different coach. Once you have a coach you "click" with you can then potentially try some private lessons if needed
 
I think everyone is a bit wary of replying to these sorts of questions. Your coach is supposed to be the one teaching you to ride, so if that is not working for you (and it obviously isn't), you really need to see if you can try a different coach. Once you have a coach you "click" with you can then potentially try some private lessons if needed
Thank you,I go to an expensive barn and I expect the coach to be good but seems like it’s not
 
I have no idea who posted this question nor how it has been answered in private.
I do know that there have been many threads on New Rider giving advice on the first canters and I suggest your search to find them.
Two things stand out. Almost everyone finds it hard to learn to canter and there is no hurry. I was told at our RS that the best rider now took ages to learn canter.
There are things a learner rider need to do before they canter. You need to learn sitting trot and you need to be able to ride sitting trot smoothly round corners. You need to be able to trot with no stirrups including round corners. Some brave new riders are encouraged to canter before prreparing properly and secretly is scares them. And they stop riding,. So do all this trotting stuff first.

Then you need to think about the canter. What is canter? As you start to canter the horse is pushing off with its outside hind leg so your seat on that outside will first fall and then be pushed up in an almighty heave.
To avoid being thrown out of the saddle and forward (as OP describes) you need to breath deep and relax.
Count the three time pace of canter and you should find that you can feel that lift and be comfortable with it.

Then the question of corners.
Beginers are usually asked to start canter at a corner as the horse will usually pick the correct lead.
But a corner in canter is more of an arc. It isnt a right angle . Imagine a curve. Richard Davison the English coach says the place where you leave the track to canter the arc round the corner, should be the same distance from the corner as the point where you are going to rejoin the outside track.
Beginners tend to let the horse cut the corner. That doesnt matter, Hold the outside rein and get back to the track in a perfect curve.

If you wobble on corners, it is good to have a lunge lesson. A rider on the lung doesnt need to worry about steering or brakes and will be cantering a continuous arc, going round a circle. Dont twist your body as you go round a corner or round a circle. Imagine the long minute hand of a clock and keep your body on that line. Charles Harris reports that the person lunging at the centre should never be able to see the outside shoulder of the rider he is lunging.

Most of us are slightly crooked and find it easier to canter corners in one direction than in the other. So I found this advice about imagining the centre point and staying aligned with it very useful out hacking. In the end I could canter a left hand beind as easily as I could a right.

If you still find you cant canter, my own best advice is to learn out hacking with no pressure and perhaps up a short hill. Some of us here learned to canter for long distances out hacking before we got our act together and managed it in a school. And most riding schools teach the first canter in a private lesson so you get the idea, before being obliged to wait in the queue or fail in front of other people.
 
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