Yes, that is exactly it. I felt like I rode that canter like it was my first ever. Impossible to sit, for sure.
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Lol yes!!!
Pogo sticks is the exact word for my mare doing a bad canter. She has a high head carriage and is quite uphill so you don’t see it so much from the ground but it tosses you around. If she starts with that canter she works out of it in a minute or two.
My pony does it when he’s not reaching under and using his hind end correctly or if you try to hold him too much and take too much contact, it’s his go-to move. It’s like riding a pogo stick with very little forward momentum.
In dressage you do not sit on a green horse or in your case an old horse not ready for it. You bring your seat out of the saddle and do not sit until the horse invites you to.
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I would tell the clinician at the beginning that: 1) this isn’t your horse and (tactfully) that you have struggled with the canter when riding him; 2) you’d be happy spending the whole ride at W/T if she feels that’s most beneficial; and 3) you are physically and mentally comfortable cantering him if she would like to see that and offer ideas. I wouldn’t avoid the canter completely because you might learn something really useful. I suspect that if it’s so awful she feels it’s not worth addressing, she will have you go back to W/T rather than trying to solve all his problems in one 45-minute session, especially since it’s not your horse.
Have fun!!
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What is this? Which way does the pelvis tilt?
This may sound like a dumb question, but does the horse seem to know what you’re doing when you’re trying to sit the canter? Riding is always a bit of a dance, and the two of you are still figuring one another out. From your description of the owner, it doesn’t sound like she truly sits the canter. Even if she’s not in an obvious two-point, there might be a bit of hovering involved. So the horse doesn’t know how to interpret what you’re trying to do, and stiffens and gets more, rather than less uncomfortable.
I was riding a school pony normally ridden by kids, and any time the rider (myself, and others, after speaking with even more practiced adults who’d ridden her) didn’t ride in a hovering seat, shoulders-forward style, she’d grind to a halt, or, with lots of leg on, get very hollow and tense. She was mostly used in jumping lessons, so that’s what she was used to and expected. Sitting was “wrong” or meant “slow or stop.”
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anterior pelvic tilt, think back arched. Common to see in H/J. But either way she doesn’t truly sit.
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Yes I think the owner always hovers and does not sit. Not sure what anyone else has done on him.
It could be he’s confused. But today is the clinic so no more time to figure each other out. But hopefully the clinic helps 
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Also called the constipated duck look, as seen over jumps. 
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yes.
The pelvic tilt is the one thing I don’t do, but I try out a kinds of weird things with my body regularly 
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The woman who used to take lessons in the hour before me really arched her back and i was wondrous as to how she could ride like that without jarring her spine. Looked really uncomfortable.
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As someone who constantly fights against that tendency, I will confirm your suspicion. Riding with my trainer and learning how not to do it (I had to let go of shoulder tension to be capable of flattening my back) eliminated my back problems.
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It went AWESOME! Will update later but I’ll thank you all, this thread helped a bunch.
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can’t wait to hear all about it! got any pics?
So I rode in a Western saddle, because it is what currently fits this horse best and we thought that maybe it would be better for me versus the jumping saddle although I kind of started to doubt that right before the clinic. LOL
I told the clinician a brief history/ what my thoughts were and we got right to work on some suppleing exercises. She then asked if I would pick up the canter knowing that it would not be great but she wanted to see it to know how to better help me overall. She actually gave me some really good tips regarding picking up the canter as that horse is a little sticky for me as well in the transition. And she echoed what Abby above has said, you have to have a back that you can sit. If you don’t have that then you don’t try and sit. So I kind of just did a light seat with the closed hip angle but very relaxed and it went great! I mean the canter was just a smidge better, but I felt a lot of pressure that I had been putting on myself just melt away.
Everything else that she had me work on will only help the canter. I think it was really really good for the horse just to do exercises really focused on suppleness but also she had me call the horse out on his stuff too. Yes there’s some physical stuff but he can try a little bit too. I struggle a bit as a rider holding the horses really accountable so this is really good for me. And when I say that I just mean when I put my inside leg on is there any reaction at all? There needs to be, always.
I also got some tips and tricks that are going to help me with my own horse too although his personality is very different he also needs to become more supple of course.
Overall, I’m really glad I did it. Nothing was really earth shattering but I feel like I had quite a few light bulb moments this week and this weekend just really dialed that in for me.
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No photos yet. I think my family got some video but I haven’t received the video yet. If I’m able to get any I will post. I’m sure I won’t be thrilled with how I look but the ride was fun and felt very effective which is all I can count on right now
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Probably my favorite photo from the clinic. My body is collapsed a bit( but my elbows aren’t super straight which is a victory.) This was a good moment after a lot of work. Jessica pegged him quickly. He likes to kind of just dive his head down and then wants you to leave him alone. So we did a lot!! He is far from perfect here but from where we started, this was an improvement!
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