Help. I need some advice and feel like I've tried everything. I've been learning to ride for just over two years now, I still can't find the confidence to canter and I know it's linked to the fact that my horse just won't walk and often doesn't listen.
I get on in the school and sometimes he walks for a bit but soon enough he starts jigging like he's got ants in his pants. I put him into trot and he tries to canter. Eventually I get a nice trot but, when I try to go back down to walk, he takes about three steps and he starts jigging or just going back into a full-on trot. We wrestle, it gets worse, then I insist on stopping. He stands still like nothing happened and is very patient but, as soon as I ask him to walk on, he starts trotting.
It's not just me. He does it with my daughter and with my instructor. My daughter is fearless and doesn't care what he does; she just wants to jump and he loves that. When he jigs with her she is strict with him but I think she actually gets through it because she's not afraid of what will happen next so she just corrects as she goes along. Since the work he does with her is challenging he eventually gets focused and settles down. My instructor can get him going like a dream in a good frame after about five minutes but even she admits that it's hard work; she says that at heart he's a very good lad (I know he would never do anything bad) and he does as he's told, but it's as if he's always looking for a window of opportunity to take matters into his own hands.
I am not confident enough or skilled enough to correct or control the jigginess and it's putting me off altogether. I'm feeling really low about it and wondering if I'm just too old to be taking up riding when I had no experience of it as a child? And I just don't know how to find the confidence to move forward when I don't trust him to listen to me, but I need the confidence to stop fear getting in the way of working with the problem. I'm stuck in a Catch-22 situation and I think I've lost the will to go on...
Can anyone help me with some advice before I give up?
PS Some extra info and reasons to be cheerful:
Earlier this year he had injections into his hocks so has been regularly checked by the vet who says he's fine. He's been having physio every two months, his saddle has been checked, his feet are fine, his teeth are in good condition, he has a comfort bridle and he wears a Myler snaffle bit.
My daughter takes him to Pony Club and is jumping 80cm fences, which he loves. He never refuses a jump (touch wood). He's great out hacking, alone or with others, he just ambles along and enjoys the view (although he is insistent on being up front). He hardly spooks at anything. You show him how to do something in the school a few times and he nails it. If I hire an arena somewhere else he behaves perfectly and we have a great time. When he decides he's in the right frame of mind, I absolutely love riding him. He's a baby in the stable and attentive when doing groundwork. He follows me around and stays wherever I put him. He goes mental for dinner and treats but he never barges and is never rude. I know he doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he always tries his best to please. He lives for praise and is pretty smug when he gets things right. If either of us falls off he stops and gives us a sniff to see if we're ok. I love him. Everyone loves him!
I get on in the school and sometimes he walks for a bit but soon enough he starts jigging like he's got ants in his pants. I put him into trot and he tries to canter. Eventually I get a nice trot but, when I try to go back down to walk, he takes about three steps and he starts jigging or just going back into a full-on trot. We wrestle, it gets worse, then I insist on stopping. He stands still like nothing happened and is very patient but, as soon as I ask him to walk on, he starts trotting.
It's not just me. He does it with my daughter and with my instructor. My daughter is fearless and doesn't care what he does; she just wants to jump and he loves that. When he jigs with her she is strict with him but I think she actually gets through it because she's not afraid of what will happen next so she just corrects as she goes along. Since the work he does with her is challenging he eventually gets focused and settles down. My instructor can get him going like a dream in a good frame after about five minutes but even she admits that it's hard work; she says that at heart he's a very good lad (I know he would never do anything bad) and he does as he's told, but it's as if he's always looking for a window of opportunity to take matters into his own hands.
I am not confident enough or skilled enough to correct or control the jigginess and it's putting me off altogether. I'm feeling really low about it and wondering if I'm just too old to be taking up riding when I had no experience of it as a child? And I just don't know how to find the confidence to move forward when I don't trust him to listen to me, but I need the confidence to stop fear getting in the way of working with the problem. I'm stuck in a Catch-22 situation and I think I've lost the will to go on...
Can anyone help me with some advice before I give up?
PS Some extra info and reasons to be cheerful:
Earlier this year he had injections into his hocks so has been regularly checked by the vet who says he's fine. He's been having physio every two months, his saddle has been checked, his feet are fine, his teeth are in good condition, he has a comfort bridle and he wears a Myler snaffle bit.
My daughter takes him to Pony Club and is jumping 80cm fences, which he loves. He never refuses a jump (touch wood). He's great out hacking, alone or with others, he just ambles along and enjoys the view (although he is insistent on being up front). He hardly spooks at anything. You show him how to do something in the school a few times and he nails it. If I hire an arena somewhere else he behaves perfectly and we have a great time. When he decides he's in the right frame of mind, I absolutely love riding him. He's a baby in the stable and attentive when doing groundwork. He follows me around and stays wherever I put him. He goes mental for dinner and treats but he never barges and is never rude. I know he doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he always tries his best to please. He lives for praise and is pretty smug when he gets things right. If either of us falls off he stops and gives us a sniff to see if we're ok. I love him. Everyone loves him!