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Discussion on Need help learning to canter
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Member:
Sylvy
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 3:00 am:
I am a senior rider and own a finished Pintabian that has a rocking horse canter. Trouble is I am having trouble with the motion of the canter. I have no trouble riding her "through" at the walk and trot, and extended trot but can't seem to get the knack of cantering! I can't progress if I can't canter! Are there any exercises I can do that might help? My instructor said she could put me on the lunge line and have me canter without reins. That scares me a little as I know that reins don't stop you from falling, but you feel like you have no control! Years ago a cattleman told me that some people never get the hang of it. I sure hope that's not true! Any advise would be appreciated.
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Member:
Miamoo
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 7:18 am:
A woman I work with starts all new cantering students in a western saddle (even though it is an english barn), puts them on the longe line and allows them to hold the horn. She insists that they lean way back and push their feet way forward. It looks a bit odd but it does force the student to allow the seat to slide forward without bouncing and not allow the shoulders to rock too far forward. It works amazingly well. After a couple of lessons like this they are able to sit up in a more accepted position. Then they can move back to an english saddle.
Hope you find something that works for you.
Ella 
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 8:29 am:
Sylvia,
I agree with what Ella posts above. When I purchased my mare over a year ago (Warm blood with HUGE, lofty gates--very different from my TB and the QHs I've ridden in the past), I had real trouble riding deep in the saddle at the canter--as a result, she would speed up and we were headed for a wreck. My trainer and I have done a LOT of lunge line work at the canter. I've always used my dressage saddle for the longe line work, but was allowed to hold onto the pommel, using it to "pull" myself deeper into the saddle as I allowed my body to feel the motion. As I progressed, I would take one hand off the saddle, then 2 hands. We also used a little strap attached to the D-rings at the front of the saddle (came off my trainer's 4 year old daughter's saddle )so that I could position my hands more like they had reigns in them, without actually holding the reigns. I also lunged without stirrups, lifting my legs away from the saddle, swinging them back and forth and peddling them like a bicycle. On my own, I did a lot of sitting trot without stirrups. All this was designed to sit deeper, allowing me to flow with the motion. I was making real progress, then my horse injured herself, so I'm afraid I will have to start over at some point.
Two words of caution: If you use a saddle without a horn, wear gloves--I gave myself some nasty blisters from holding on to the pommel. And, of course, make sure the horse that you're lunging on is a well behaved on the lunge line. To do these excercises, you need to be confident and relaxed.
Best wishes,
Fran
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Member:
Lhenning
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 9:53 am:
Sylvia,
I too am in the learning stages of cantering. A few years ago, my instructor had me work on a lunge line without reins and it helped me a great deal. The idea is to help give you an independent seat and to stop relying on the reins for balance. Many people lose balance as the horse starts to canter, then inadvertantly pull back on the reins to re-balance, much like a see saw. By not having reins to hold it helps you learn to balance by sitting deeper and using your lower body for support. Another good place to learn is the book "Centered Riding" by Sally Swift. My cantering and riding in general have improved a great deal by following the teaching methods in this book. Good luck.
Linda
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 10:54 am:
Try this....loop the reins thru the bucking strap...if the horse takes off, you'll at least have some control. This is what I do to ease my mind... and no, I haven't had to pick up the reins once (;))))
Good luck!
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Member:
Miamoo
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 11:26 am:
Another thing,
Being able to let go of control is a good thing. Hard, but good. Take a big deep breath, then with your instructors help and a good safe horse try it. You may find it liberating. It may be that you are not relaxing enough to find the cadence to the canter because the extra speed is also making you feel out of control.
Ella 
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 11:37 am:
Ah yes Ella...letting go of control is a good thing...Unfortunatly I have to take baby steps 
A wise gentleman from this board -- I believe it was Christos -- also suggested the closing of the eyes while lunging....now THAT was an eye opening experience...you should try that too.
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 1:57 pm:
 This is great! It IS an "eye-opening" experience, but a great one. It's right out of the old cavalry manual. Shut your eyes and relax down into the horse. Then, when you get comfortable with that, bend down and touch right hand to right foot, left hand to left foot, then touch right hand to left foot and vice versa; lean forward over neck, lean backward over rump (you can do these with eyes open if you want,,,you start out doing these exercises at the walk, then work your way through all the gates, eyes open at first, then try them eyes shut. With eyes shut there are fewer distractions and you can concentrate on really feeling and moving with the horse's movement. By the time you can do all this, you will have a great sense of balance and good "feel."
All this should be done on a lounge line and a trustworthy horse, at least at first. (This was how my dad was trained to ride & I still have an old manual packed away somewhere.)
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Member:
Roberts
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 2:00 pm:
I just went through teaching my 9 year old to canter. I knotted the reins and put her on the longe line. At first we just cantered half the round pen, to make her relax about it. But not until she could canter all around the circle could she get into the motion enough. Leaning back is better than forward. I heard, and found it true, that PUSHING on the pommel was better than PULLING. Also, what helped me the most was the book "Enlightened Equitation" which talks about the motion of the lower back during the gaits. It's by Moffet, I believe, Amazon has it, and Borders. Good luck! You will make rapid progress on the longe.
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 2:24 pm:
Sylvia--
Since you are a "senior" rider, I can post this without fear of offending you. I would say the best advice I received regarding riding the canter came from an instructor I had when I was a newlywed. She candidly told me the motion of the hips during certain "other activities" (wink) was what I needed to employ at the canter. She asked me to canter and try to feel that motion and exaggerate it in the saddle. Once I got past my red face and was able to concentrate, I found it was a very helpful comparison! Best of luck.
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Member:
Dtranch
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 2:35 pm:
Relax .... Relax ... Relax
All great points here, and I just wanted to add one more. Many of my students have trouble riding the canter primarily because they are trying "So Hard" to ride the canter. That is why eyes closed is so good.
Forget about trying so hard and learn to relax and ride with your seat. As Christos said, it takes a long time and a lot of practice to get good at it. That time is doubled when you are tense and trying too hard. Another thing I have had to work on with students is that they want to use the reins as handles to hang on to and maintain balance. This is extremely tough on the horse and will tend to make even a well trained horse a little choppy and harder to ride. Bottom line (no pun intended) relax and learn to ride with your seat and it will become more natural and easy for you. As always, a lot of great advice here. The best riders ride by the seat of their pants.
DT
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Member:
Christos
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 - 4:39 pm:
Hi, all,
There are a couple of things we should point out here.
First is the rein issue. If a beginning rider can not sit the canter properly, holding the reins is, at best, useless. The jerking in the mouth makes the horse angry, stiff and faster, making the canter very difficult if not impossible to sit in.
Sylvia, should the horse be ill-mannered enough to take off with a beginner on its back, pulling back on the reins will have no effect. Well, no effect that you'd like. I believe your trainer is right, you should practice without reins until you get the hang of it.
Second, there's the posture issue. Whenever you're in trouble , think rodeo. Push your legs forward, bring your body way behind the vertical and relax, especially around the lower back and hips. That's the most effective posture to absorb an unexpected movement, and all movement is unexpected in the beginning, isn't it ?
The classical dressage posture that textbooks describe will come, as experience and trust develop over the years. Trying to copy it in early stages will lead in frustration, stiffness and lower back injury.
All the best,
Christos
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Member:
Christos
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Posted on Friday, Sep 17, 2004 - 8:38 am:
For riders who reflexively grip with their knees and destroy their position, a good trick is to cover the saddle flaps with slippery plastic. Heavy duty garbage bags work great.
It makes supporting your weight with your gripping knees very difficult, if not impossible.
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Friday, Sep 17, 2004 - 10:16 am:
You are sneaky, Christos
But I so appreciate your input!
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Friday, Sep 17, 2004 - 10:18 am:
great idea! WIth some horses I assume you wrap the saddle before putting in on the horse.
When are you going to start giving clinics? Want a job in the US? You've a lot of knowledge and good ideas.
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Member:
Christos
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Posted on Friday, Sep 17, 2004 - 6:59 pm:
Thanks, Sara, I'm flattered.
I'd surely want to pay you guys a visit some day, hopefully next year. I always wanted to see the Western way with horses.
But I do not consider myself proficient enough to give lessons or clinics. Too many things I do not know yet. May be in some ten years or so...
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Member:
Sylvy
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Posted on Friday, Sep 17, 2004 - 9:59 pm:
Thank you everyone for all the good advise! I usually start out trying to remember all the things I've been told, but I've been ending up in the crouched over position ( for preservation of life) so I thought, but I have been told that this is a defensive position. Obviously I've been trying to do everything right and by trying too hard, I'm not relaxed enough and my horse knows it and very soon comes to a halt. ( better than taking off) I like the idea of the western saddle approach, and will try and relax more! Pray for me!!!!!!
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Member:
Miamoo
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 - 9:18 pm:
Good luck and have a good try Sylvia. Careful of the crouched position. Anytime your shoulders to forward it makes your seat bounce unless you are up in a jumping position (learn to sit first though before you think about the jumping position).
Think about using your seat as though you were pulling a chair in at a table. With your shoulders leaning back, reach back with your butt and slide the chair forward under the table. Then reach back to get another chair and continue the process. Maybe even use a kitchen chair and try the movement in the house before you go to the barn.
Don't forget to have fun. Riding is a journey, not a destination!
Ella
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 28, 2004 - 1:23 am:
These comments are all right on. When I used to teach, the main problem I encountered was the stiff, tense, student. There is really just one major secret to riding - Balance. You will not ride well or comfortably until you are balanced. Actually, you cannot skate, ride a bicycle, or pump a swing, unless you are balanced.
I never let my students trot, until they had mastered the walk and exhibited total confidence and ability in maintaining balance and applying all aids. You must learn and master all your aids at the walk, where you have little or no fear or anxiety ( when you're tense, you can't balance ). You're lower body belongs to the horse, it travels totally in sync with the animal.Your ankles and knees are flexible shock absorbers that allow your seat to remain planted on the saddle. The hip angle opens and closes, supported by your "incredibly powerful" abdominal muscles - NOT YOUR BACK - your back must remain flexible to absorb the the verticle movement of your horse's back. This enables your head, shoulders, and arms to remain independently quiet and not distract the horse. It is best to use two hands on the reins. Keep them low, on either side of the withers about 10 inches apart. This is best for balance. Reins go in through the pinkies, out through the . Close your on the reins and leave the rest of your fingers relaxed and open. Slightly tip in. Wrists straight - not broken up or down...in or out. There should be a straight line from the bit to your wrists to your elbows.
When you first mount, stand in your stirrups. And I mean STAND. Get your balance, get comfortable and stand up straight - chin up -shoulders back....quiet...balanced. Next, DrOp your heels as low as you can. Finally, without leaning forward, sink slowly, straight down, into the saddle. You might feel like hell, but you're balanced. Your shoulders should be parallel to the horse's and your chin should be up. Mastering this balanced position is probably the most important factor in becoming a competent rider. Be aware that every move you make that deviates from this position has an impact on your horse. Know that each time you ask for a stop, if you get that stop and are not balanced or prepared, you will pitch forward, which brings your heels up, your feet back, and makes you squeeze with your knees. Leaning forward and squeezing is a request for forward motion...yet you are pulling on his mouth for a stop. Riding without balance causes the rider to inadvertently give conflicting nonsensical signals to the horse which is very frustrating for the animal. When you ask for a stop, keep your chin up, shoulders back, sit deep and straight in the saddle and weight your heels by pushing them way down. Feel the energy of the motion travel down through your legs, and out your feet ( thus, securing your seat ), instead of up from your seat and out through your chest, head and shoulders ( unseating you, as happens when you lean forward ).
So, Sylvia, if you're still with me, the key to everything is balance. Practice your walk, jog, trot, extended trot and back while employing a sequence that uses all your aids and cues, until you've mastered balance...I think you'll find the canter will come easily.
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Member:
Kckohles
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 2, 2004 - 7:14 pm:
Difficulty riding the canter is usually based in the fear of being out of control and going too fast. If you are riding this horse at an extended trot you are probably already going faster than you will at the canter.
Knowing the cadance of the canter will help. Cadance being how the feet strike the ground. Getting your feet out in front of you and your shoulders back will really drive the saddle down into the horses back and not help the gait be very comfortable for the horse or you.
Think about lifting instead of trying to sit. If you are trying to sit it will be at the very moment the horse is trying to lift into the saddle. If you have heard people talk about sitting down and driving in the saddle that is the perfect way to describe what is happening. You are driving the horses' head up, and yes you might drive them ahead but with a stiff hallow back. Stiffness in you, will translate to stiffness in your horse.
Lift rather than sit!
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