Ok so I’ve been cantering for a while now, and no matter what I do, I can not get the canter seat. I’m always bouncing up and down which causes me to hold on to the saddle/mane which is a habit I really want to break. I have done tons of research and I have tried imagining my legs are being pulled down by weights, I’ve also tried imagining there is a $100 bill under my bottom that I don’t want to lose. I put my weight into my heels and lean back a little also. People say to “sit deep” but I’m not sure exactly how to do that. Another problem I have while cantering is that my torso is constantly rocking. I’ve been told to use my core and engage it at the correct times but I’m not sure exactly how to do that either lol (I do have a pretty strong core already). While I’m in the saddle I feel like I’m perfectly still and vertical, then I see a video and I cringe. I always make sure I completely relax because I know that tensing up will only make things worse. My instructor has moved me onto a horse with a very slow, smooth and collected canter, and I do great on him (except the torso rocking) but when she puts me on a faster more “normal” horse, I’m back to bouncing and hanging on. A lot of people have said to ride bareback to develop a good seat, but the only horse I can ride bareback on is very fast and doesn’t listen very well. Please help! All the research I have done has said the same things over and over but nothing seems to help! Thank you 
I also struggle with canter and a few things are helping me (still a work in progress), the most helpful is riding with one hand on reins and doing arm circles, stretching, reaching overhead etc with free arm. (because I have no access to lunge lessons so do it on my horse holding one rein) . Many advise riding with no stirrups and that also helps, however that can make me grip too hard so I find using one or no hands on reins helps the most, I do it with and without stirrups.
can current instructor lunge you on horse, or can you find another instructor or means to do so?
thank you, my instructor has lunged me before and it goes well for a few beats, then I go right back to bouncing. When I ride the very slow, smooth horse, I do not need to be on a lunge line and I am fine except for the rocking of my torso.
I know it is hard but the only way to “sit” the counter is to relax. Practice at the walk. Put one hand on your stomach between your hip bones and feel the motion of the walk in your pelvis. If you are a little relaxed you will feel it go back and forth. If you really relax you will feel it left and right with each step. The canter seat is the same as the walk the only thing that changes is the motion which will feel sort of oval shaped. Your pelvis will go forward, up then backwards and down, you just have to relax enough to let it happen.
Rocking back and forth is fighting the motion.
thank you, how do I keep my torso from walking and “use my abs correctly”
If you are “trying” to ride rigid, i.e., fighting the rocking, then you will bounce. Here is how I learned – I just rocked with it, from the pelvis not the shoulders, keeping my butt in the saddle, if that makes sense. Ever done those kegel exercises? like this: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283
Once you find that rhythm with your pelvis, your shoulders will stop bouncing. From there, it’s a matter of practice.
A horse with a nice canter helps, for sure. If you are doing well on the slower, smoother horse, then maybe just keep practicing there awhile longer before moving to a more difficult ride? Just be sure that you ARE doing it right on the slower horse, you know it’s not just practice makes perfect – it’s PERFECT practice that makes perfect!
You may also be bouncing because you’re tightening up your lower back, which is making your entire core rigid. The visualization that makes sense for me is to think about my hips as moving independently from my shoulders, like they’re on ball bearings. The only way that works is if your back is relaxed. You don’t want your upper body flopping around, but you want to be able to move your hips without moving your shoulders. Like a belly dancer or hula hoop-er, except your motion will be forward-backward, instead of side to side.
Try sitting on a balance ball in front of a mirror with your legs on either side and your feet on the ground (like riding a really fat, really short pony). Then sit up straight and rock forwards and back slightly. Watch your shoulders in the mirror and try to keep them as still as possible. That’s kind of the feeling you’re going for at the canter.
Your strong core will help you but you don’t need to be actively tensing your abs. I think about lifting my rib cage instead of putting my shoulders back. I have a long torso so can very easily let the motion move me more than it should. It takes time and practice to develop the feel that let’s you know you’re staying in the correct position.
Some horses have bad canters. I have one that is so bad it hurts my back to sit deep. So I two point her and sit the others. I agree learning on the horse with the better canter would work better for you.
thank you! I will try these exercises
It’s vital to relax. You know how if you fill up a beach ball with air, so it’s really tight, then bounce it, it bounces really easily? Ten if you take some of the air out, it won’t bounce? Same thing. If you tense up, you’ll bounce.
Maybe think of “scooping your crotch” forward and back it might help. Your hips need to be relaxed.
Practicing a hula hoop can help relax your hips.
You may be gripping with your thighs too. At the walk (big forward walk) try lifting your legs totally off the saddle and let your back and hips follow the motion. You should be sitting only on your seat bones for this. Then do the same thing at a slow jog, and then a brisk trot. That will show you how much you need to absorb the motion in your middle.
The other thing to think of at the canter is pumping a swing to get it to swing higher. Use that motion to polish the saddle, exaggerate it at first until the motion makes sense to your body, then you can fine tune it a bit.
My horse has a nice canter but it’s very “bouncy” It is so much easier to ride that flat moving kind of canter…still, a good rider can ride any canter. My trainer sits my horse beautifully, of course. She has longer legs than I do which helps.
I am improving though…having a grab strap helps. But honestly, riding a half way round the arena with one rein and stretching etc with free hand/arm has helped me the most.
Another thing that has helped me is to look up between his ears. I think sometimes we are looking down or bobbing our head and that leads to body rocking.
Keep trying different things and it will get better! (sometimes counting helps as well, you could be either ahead of or behind the motion)
Have you been riding long? It sounds like you still need to develop your independent seat, which means no stirrups, no reins, on the longe line. You can have a bucking strap to hang on to. Sometimes it’s just too much for a green rider to “put it all together” at one time. Letting someone else control the horse while you focus on the rhythm is the key to developing that seat. Take the stirrups off the saddle. Find the “sweet spot” in the saddle (where you’re comfortable sitting). Ideally, you won’t need to hold on to the strap.
An exercise my instructor had us do was what she called “Indian position.” Sit with your arms down and your hands palm-up. It opens up your chest and shoulders, and gives you better balance; it straightens your spine and engages the core. This always helped students find the right spot for the canter and get relaxed enough to sit it.
Also, make sure you fit the saddle and that the saddle fits the horse. If you’re fighting it (if it makes you sit too far back, or it tips your forward) you will never be able to get properly balanced.
I have been riding for 10 years but all of my instructors have kept me at a walk (I mastered the trot on my own) and never did anything more. I just moved to this new barn which had me cantering on the second lesson. I have cantered before this barn, but could never get the seat and its driving me crazy because I want to move forward in my riding.
Some horses have a “difficult” canter (particularly if they are short backed and close coupled). Some have a “millpond” canter. My regular mare does. She does not “strike” the canter, she “flows” into it. She is so smooth that some riding instructors have “borrowed” her use from me to teach new student how to transition and sit. Then, after they are comfortable on her, they can move to a more challenging horse.
If the OP’s horse is of the more difficult variety then perhaps she can find an easier horse to work on until she can develop a seat and associated “feel.”
G.
Are you able to sit in a chair, and move your pelvis independently of your upper body? i.e. roll it forward and back? If you can do that, that is essentially the movement you want through your hips when you’re cantering.
Also, there is a difference between engaging your abs/core and being too tight/tense. If you’ve ever read Sally Swift’s “Centered Riding” she has some really good exercises to help you practice the feeling of being engaged through that area, but in a relaxed way.
Riding a smooth, comfortable horse helps a lot as well!
You need to think about pushing your seat down and forwards, like when you are on a swingset and trying to gain momentum. At the end of that motion your pelvis will be scooped forwards a bit, sort of like “elvis” and then it’ll roll back to neutral and down and forwards again. The canter motion is like a simple wave, the way a cartoon wave is drawn.
http://www.downloadclipart.net/large/8036-wave-pattern-design.png
down,forward,up,down,forward,up… 1,2,3,1,2,3 … three beats to each stride of the canter…
Good Luck. Glad you are at a new place and moving on. 10 years is a long time to be walking.
What style seat are you learning? I’ve taught hunt seat for many years. Riders that have trouble with the canter seem to do better in a half seat or two point position. This way you strengthen your core and your thighs. You can grab a little piece of the horse’s mane to help you. I assume you have stood at the trot, so its similar. This way you can get a feel of the canter motion without bouncing. Once you are comfortable with the canter beat you will be able to gradually lower your seat and ride in a three point, or sit the canter. Don’t be too hard on yourself, it takes a while. You’ve gotten all good advice here. You basically need to relax and go with your horse. But that’s easy for me to say and harder for you to do. Try to take the pressure off by realizing it just may take a while. I’ve had students who took forever to learn diagonals. We all learn at our own pace. You’ll get it. Oh, and it certainly helps to have a really comfy horse 
I haven’t seen any mention of breathing. Very, very common to hold your breath at the canter which blocks up your whole body and is a sure-fire way to bounce.
Try singing out luoud “happy birthday” or “Mary had a little lamb” or whatever rhythmic song you want. It’s a magical cure to force you to breathe.
I grew up riding hunt seat and rode that way till recent past years when (trying) to transition to dressage. It is so much easier (imo) to ride in a light half seat or two point, because you “hover” just above horses motion. To ride now in full seat contact dressage position is really hard for me now… Iwish my background had been western riding , would have been easier imo.
