Cantering trouble-should we take a break?

[impressive_gunner92]

So my boy and I are having some issues lately. He’s been going AMAZINGLY at the trot. He’s been uphill, balanced and has lots of impulsion. It’s been wonderful and he’s made so much improvement.

However, the canter is a whole different story. He and I are just not connecting at all. It’s only been the past month or so but he’s been pulling, on the forehand, falling in, and overall very unbalanced. I can’t tell if it’s my riding, or him having winter crazies or a mix of both. When he used to get strong I would have lots of exercises to fix the issue, but recently not a single thing seems to make a difference.

I was thinking of taking a break from cantering for a couple weeks, and just work on trot stuff. I hate being frustrated with him at the end of a ride (even though we always end on a good note) and I’m sure he’s frustrated with me too.

Any suggestions or tips Are greatly appreciated!

[Rerider54]

Does he work on the lunge? Maybe do you trot work then wrap it up with him on the lunge. Barring that ( my horse HATES to lunge) be patient and stay on a large circle. Lots of trot-canter-trot transitions. Though we have taken a ‘day off’ from canter work when we concentrate on lateral work I usually have a couple transitions. But when the balance falls apart we come back to trot. No sense practicing unbalanced canter.

the usual caveats about health, fitness and saddle fit apply

[Hej]

It’s not unusual for strength and balance to develop at different rates in different gaits.

Something in your training has made his trot stronger and he’s showing you that he’s very comfortable trotting (yay!) but that cantering is
harder right now so he’s showing some resistance.

IME the answer is not to ignore the canter, but maybe do shorter, good quality canter sets until he gets stronger. YMMV.

[merrygoround]

Has anyone watched you work at the canter. Is he worse on one lead than the other?

[Manni01]

My advice would be to reduce trotting to a minimum and only canter. And if the canter goes bad, go back to walk or trot and start over… also not what level you are but I would do Counter canter… it’s great to strengthen the canter

[stryder]

I would do a few steps of canter, halt, reinback and canter again. As horse gets stronger, add a few steps. But don’t allow crappy canter. And eyes on the ground could tell you if you’re falling on him.

[netg]

Is he growing? That frequently makes the canter fall apart, in which case leaving it alone is smart.

Are you keeping his head down/nose in? Maybe try getting up in a light seat/two-point while thinking of how up and open baby racehorses are ridden so you can stay with him, but let him move easily.

I agree on not letting him canter along unbalanced in a lousy canter. Almost trotting while in the canter can help balance him, just a few steps then returning to the trot, balancing, and back in canter can also work well.

[Myout]

Get in two point and go around the arena with minimum rein (stay safe)…if he is better it’s you. If he is fine on lunge it’s you or you in the saddle, so possibly saddle. If he is awful on lunge both with and without saddle, probably worth a vet visit.

[merrygoround]

If he bears out on one rein on longe, that is also a clue to an unsoundness.

[enjoytheride]

First, can he canter on the lunge line?

Second, can someone else canter him fine?

Third, try a different saddle. When both of the first two checked out I switched saddles. I had one saddle that was too wide and would rock on my mare causing mare drama. I had another that had to wide of a twist so I sloshed around causing mare drama. The right saddle for both of us and it got so much easier.

[MsM]

When I got my horse he was not cantering under saddle - at six years old! He had been cantered but the trainer I got him from felt he was not balanced enough and had worked on his walk and trot. When I first cantered him under saddle I did find balance issues that lead to rushing and leaning. (It didnt help that he didnt seem to know any know aids to canter but just ran into it) He also got quite anxious and strong. To address that, we did a lot of canter work on the longe. He learned his voice commands and before long became better balanced. After a while I sometimes used side reins, but I mostly let him balance himself and learn to relax.
When I resumed cantering under saddle I stayed on a 20m circle for quite a while. He was better balanced and less anxious. Doing trot-canter-trot-canter transitions tended to work him up, so at first we did canter, trot walk, reward. Repeat once calm.
He developed quite a nice balanced canter. And then went lame… (But that is another story)

[EventerAJ]

Most canter issues, not soundness related, are caused by lack of strength or straightness. Work on straightness at trot, perfecting shoulder in and prompt response to outside rein and lateral aids. Build strength with lots of transitions between gaits, maintaining straightness. At canter, don’t worry where his head is; focus on his shoulders, slight s-in position. Work on square turns, to a walk transition. Counter canter will also help with straightness. Work in short bursts, get 3 good strides and release, or down transition to reward his effort.

[alibi_18]

@impressive_gunner92

It’s only been the past month or so but he’s been pulling, on the forehand, falling in, and overall very unbalanced.

Did something happened prior this past month?

How does he look when you lunge him? Look carefully, it might be some lameness. The canter asks for 1 limb support in two of its phases.

I can’t tell if it’s my riding, or him having winter crazies or a mix of both. When he used to get strong I would have lots of exercises to fix the issue, but recently not a single thing seems to make a difference.

What were your go to exercices?
Why was he getting strong?

Training means that things should improved. If you’ve been correcting the same issue for some time with the same exercices and still ended up regularly with the same issues, you might have just desensitize your horse.

Corrections should fade away and only become some little reminders here and there. Exercices should improve suppleness, straightness and lightness.
They are meant to muscle up the horses too.

I was thinking of taking a break from cantering for a couple weeks, and just work on trot stuff. I hate being frustrated with him at the end of a ride (even though we always end on a good note) and I’m sure he’s frustrated with me too.

Any suggestions or tips Are greatly appreciated!

Frustration, as normal as it can be, has no place in a riding session. You should never be frustrated at your horse. It only does whatever you are asking. If it’s not clear, the reaction will be as unclear.

If it’s not a pain reaction, I’m not sure I would stop cantering but only doing short burst here and there when you walk and trot are « perfect ». Concentrating on good transitions and a few steps of quality canter.

Lessons are in order.

[Tyrus_Mom]

My 6 y.o. is weak cantering, even taking separate leads front and back from time to time. I started lunging him every day for a short time, including several trot-canter-trot transitions. He is figuring out where his feet are and the lunge practice helped him tremendously. I have been slowly increasing my under saddle cantering asks. It is going well. His breeds (Friesian/Percheron) are not horses who do much cantering, so it is a gradual process for us… until I had a recent lesson and found I could ask for quite a bit more. Of course he showed my trainer his best canters! Not one with separate leads… I was hoping he had moved past that stage, but of course then the next day he showed me he hadn’t. It is my opinion that consistent work and repetition on the problem will eventually fix it if there are no other underlying issues for you, OP.

Be careful because frustration can cause accidents and the possibility of resulting bad habits. My guy started bolting with me at one point, so I had to slow down that part of his training under saddle for a time.

[J-Lu]

You have some good advice. Given that your horse has no health issues…

i’ll add: does your horse know how to leg yield? Leg yielding out at the canter will fix the falling in. Even if he doesn’t actually leg yield (cross over), he’ll straighten out. He leans in because it’s easy and, I think, you might let him. Your inside leg and thigh can straighten that.

Is he strong enough and are you backing him off of the canter? I used to do clinics with a German woman who was very into FORWARD to straighten the canter and build strength at it. As in, half seat and make your horse go FORWARD down the long sides, come back to handle the corners and short sides (not collection). She shaped the horse’s frame around this forward way of going to build strength over the back. It really worked, I’ve not worked with an American trainer who used this approach.

I recommend having a good rider/trainer ride your horse and canter him, and recommend steps you can take to build strength if everything is OK. Do you have hills where you are? Walking or trotting up them are great. Cavalletti or raised poles, or even poles on the ground will help build strength.

Have someone video you so you can see how you are riding your horse. Backed off? Above the bit? Round over the back? On the forehand?

Lastly, try schooling a small hunter/jumper course in a hunter frame. Get in half-seat, even if you only have a dressage saddle. Give him his head to look up and canter around. Put little (little) jumps in the arena/raised poles/poles on the ground and just canter them. Space some in a canter pole exercise. Once your horse figures out that he has to canter the poles you point him at and you aren’t trying to put him in a frame, does his canter improve?

Canter poles and canter or trot cavalletti will help strengthen any horse.

Having not seen you ride or your horse go, I’m throwing out ideas that may or may not apply!

[Scandias]

I could write a book on cantering trouble…

My mare will become unbalanced when:

1. her hocks are sore and due for injections

2. when she canters barefoot in bad footing

3. when the saddle doesn’t fit

4. rider error: gripping with legs, sitting too deep

5. when she has trouble shedding a follicle

6. when her SI is misaligned due to compensating for problems 1 through 5

[impressive_gunner92]

Wow thank you all for the wonderful advice! I’ll respond individually as well!!

[impressive_gunner92]

@Rerider54

Does he work on the lunge? Maybe do you trot work then wrap it up with him on the lunge. Barring that ( my horse HATES to lunge) be patient and stay on a large circle. Lots of trot-canter-trot transitions. Though we have taken a ‘day off’ from canter work when we concentrate on lateral work I usually have a couple transitions. But when the balance falls apart we come back to trot. No sense practicing unbalanced canter.

the usual caveats about health, fitness and saddle fit apply

I’ll definitely try that! He works on the lunge pretty well, thank you!

[impressive_gunner92]

@Hej

It’s not unusual for strength and balance to develop at different rates in different gaits.

Something in your training has made his trot stronger and he’s showing you that he’s very comfortable trotting (yay!) but that cantering is
harder right now so he’s showing some resistance.

IME the answer is not to ignore the canter, but maybe do shorter, good quality canter sets until he gets stronger. YMMV.

Okay - thank you!!

[impressive_gunner92]

@merrygoround

Has anyone watched you work at the canter. Is he worse on one lead than the other?

I haven’t had anyone watch me ride that knows anything in quite a bit, but he feels equally unbalanced on both leads.