If she’s is easy to slow down/stop and is a level headed sort, try finding a more friendly environment for her to canter in. My youngster’s first canters under saddle were out in an open field up a very slight incline as the arena we had available to work in at the time was simply to small for him to easily “fall into” the canter and then have enough time/space to find his balance before a corner that would cause him to break to a trot snuck up on us. He could canter just fine on the lunge line and his saddle fit fine, he was just unsure that he really could canter with a rider on his back and after a few quick canter sessions in the field (I also focused on a looser rein, with a soft, following hand) he was able to canter in the arena.
[QUOTE=paulaedwina;7080172]
Um, no. Don’t keep trotting faster until they fall into canter unless you’re completely not interested in the right kind of canter! I say this as an owner of a cross of two breeds just unconvinced of the importance of canter.
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Connect the back to the front. This is not intuitive for some breeds/types.
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Train impulsion from the back and lightness in the front.
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Then put the horse in situations where canter will come more likely from the back -like inclines. BUT WAIT - don’t let your horse gallop the incline -galloping is much easier and unfortunately all on the forehand. Trot the incline then canter the incline.
Or you can run your horse into the canter from a fast trot and undo the messed up balance later. It would would work too. I guess it’s a question of how much of a hurry you’re in.
Paula[/QUOTE]
Don’t want to hijack the thread but just wondering if you mean incline up or incline down. Because at one barn we were taught to canter by cantering the lesson horses up a hill on trail rides.
I am assuming you mean up, but just wondered, because I read somewhere a long time ago that Saddlebred trainers teach rack by getting the horse into trot, then heading them down a slight slope and breaking up the trot.
[QUOTE=paulaedwina;7080172]
Um, no. Don’t keep trotting faster until they fall into canter unless you’re completely not interested in the right kind of canter! I say this as an owner of a cross of two breeds just unconvinced of the importance of canter.
-
Connect the back to the front. This is not intuitive for some breeds/types.
-
Train impulsion from the back and lightness in the front.
-
Then put the horse in situations where canter will come more likely from the back -like inclines. BUT WAIT - don’t let your horse gallop the incline -galloping is much easier and unfortunately all on the forehand. Trot the incline then canter the incline.
Or you can run your horse into the canter from a fast trot and undo the messed up balance later. It would would work too. I guess it’s a question of how much of a hurry you’re in.
Paula[/QUOTE]
I’m going to disagree here. The most important thing at this point is teaching the pony, “Oh! You mean this gait?” Not how to do that gait, where to do that gait, we just want the pony to canter. After the pony understands that it can canter, you can start to gently influence the canter with turns, circles, and transitions.
I also agree that at this stage, the important thing is teaching pony which gait is being requested and that is indeed possible with a rider under saddle. I didn’t worry about bending, turns (would only canter straight lines at first, or HUGE circles - 80 - 100 meters min), transitions within the gait, etc. The only thing I focused on was “yes! Good horse! That is the gait I want!” and encouraged him to continue cantering long enough to fall into a natural rhythm of some sort or another.
Heavens no, you will not ruin said pony by trotting forward into canter. We teach one thing at a time. You can’t train every aspect of the canter at once. Take what is offered you, that means the horse is trying to find the right answer. If you just keep punishing him for not being perfect, he is going to give up! The horse is not thinking of 100 variables, he will just know, “OH! I found the right answer.” THEN you develop the canter.
A correct, cadenced canter can take a lot of muscle, especially on a horse that is not accustomed to it. The pony will probably be physically unable to do it. That’s perfectly ok. But it’s hard to work on the canter if the pony doesn’t understand how to give it to you, as you correctly intuit. Baby steps.
often if you trot a cross rail the horse will canter after they land, just encourage her on!
I am teaching my green horse now how to canter. I pushed her up into a forward trot, until she felt like she wanted to canter, then slid my leg back and kissed, and we slipped right into it. I try to keep her as balanced as a greenie can be through the forward trot. And praise for any attempt at canter, no matter how crappy it is. Leads are inconsequential at this point. That’s for later. 
I have had success using very small crossrails. If you have sufficient impulsion trotting into the little jump, most will canter out on their own. It’s then a matter of encouraging them to keep the canter, and rewarding when they do so for even a few steps.
If pony is quiet/safe, and perhaps has been taught NOT to canter, then taking her on a trail with another horse, and having the other horse canter may help her loosen up and canter.
Jumping may also be a good plan.
If the horse just doesn’t know to canter, but wasn’t actually taught not to, then getting a nice (not rushing trot), and slightly changing your post rhythm to be ONE two ONE two, like you are lifting pony on the up phase can help shift the horse into canter. Even if you get one or two strides, be happy and take a break with lots of scratches and praise!
A ground person may be able to help too…like pretend longing, but I would actually ask the pony to longe at the canter with a rider for its first canter as the balancing may be frustrating for the pony.
I meant incline up. Sorry for the confusion -it hadn’t occurred to me incline down.
Paula
[QUOTE=Countrywood;7087441]
often if you trot a cross rail the horse will canter after they land, just encourage her on![/QUOTE]
OMG thank you! I think you might have helped me get passed my post-fall issues right here!
Paula
Friend of mine would set up low cross rails when she first started teaching her mare to canter. Trot towards jump, really squeeze through it, and more often than not the mare would pick up the canter on the landing side. She would praise the mare like crazy, rinse and repeat. Eventually they removed the cross rail and mare canters with just a squeeze.
[QUOTE=SillyHorse;7089288]
I have had success using very small crossrails. If you have sufficient impulsion trotting into the little jump, most will canter out on their own. It’s then a matter of encouraging them to keep the canter, and rewarding when they do so for even a few steps.[/QUOTE]
Ooops, you and I had the same idea!
