Canter work
equestrian, I'm just about to my wits end. So I thought I'd turn to all of you for a few suggestions.
I am training a 6, coming 7 year old Saddlebred gelding for dressage and jumping. He was probably started at age 3, but just as a trail horse. While his owner then was a big man, he was kind to the horse and used him lightly. However, he also let the horse get away with just about everything. I started working with him in June and we have conquered many issues. He now has a nice walk and a lovely trot. He bends very well, though has more trouble bending left than right. At first, he did have some back and hindquarter issues that turned out to be tight muscles and a small muscle tear. With good massage and careful work, his muscles have healed nicely and that, of course, greatly improved his work.
My trouble, though, is his canter. While it is a very smooth canter, he travels on his forehand, all strung out. When I ask him to rock back onto his haunches, he simply tucks his nose into his chest and fight me.
Let's see. Important things you'll want to know...
1. I do ride him in a snaffle, he seems to like the bit.
2. We work a lot on his trot and transitions, changing directions, changing bend, leg yields and some shoulder-in (this is still pretty hard for him).
3. While walking and trotting, his hind end is engaged and he is working from back to front rather than traveling on the forehand.
4. His transition into canter is actually beautiful. I can feel him pushing from the back and stepping under himself. He waits patiently for the cue and then steps smoothly and effortlessly into the canter. We take two or three lovely strides, and then he falls onto his forehand.
I'm sure you'll want to know more. But I can't think what else I should tell you now.
Things I have tried to work on this situation...
1. I have tried doing a lot of transitions while working on canter, allowing him to just take those three strides and then asking him to trot again, get balanced and collected, and then canter again.
2. Cantering just on a straight line.
3. Asking him to trot in a series of circles that spiral in and out, always asking his inside hind to step underneath him deeply and to soften on the inside rein. Once he does that, moving back to the larger circle and asking for a canter.
4. Simply lunging him, allowing him to work on his balance without a rider.
5. Canter a 20 or 30 meter circle. This usually fails because he gets so strung out that it's hard to actually complete a circle.
My two big concerns are 1.) he's all strung out and on his forehand and 2.) he curls his nose to his chest when I try to balance, slow, or turn him.
No. 2 is true even if I am trying to push him up into the bridle or trying to softly ask for these things. Thus far, asking him to slow with my seat during the canter has been ignored or misunderstood.
I'm not really frustrated with him. I feel like I'm failing him somehow. I'm missing something. And I feel like I should have made more progress on this by now. As a trail horse, he was allowed to just canter out like this, and I feel like that is contributing to our problem. What does frustrate me a bit is that he listens better and adjusts his stride while we are jumping and doesn't tuck his nose to his chest. But I can't very well get very far in his jumping training if he can't canter nicely on the flat.
My next idea, aside from patiently continuing to work with him, was to ask someone to lunge him while I'm riding and see if the combination of a person on the ground and a person in saddle can help him understand what to do.
Ok, ask questions. Let me hear your ideas. I'm all ears.
I am training a 6, coming 7 year old Saddlebred gelding for dressage and jumping. He was probably started at age 3, but just as a trail horse. While his owner then was a big man, he was kind to the horse and used him lightly. However, he also let the horse get away with just about everything. I started working with him in June and we have conquered many issues. He now has a nice walk and a lovely trot. He bends very well, though has more trouble bending left than right. At first, he did have some back and hindquarter issues that turned out to be tight muscles and a small muscle tear. With good massage and careful work, his muscles have healed nicely and that, of course, greatly improved his work.
My trouble, though, is his canter. While it is a very smooth canter, he travels on his forehand, all strung out. When I ask him to rock back onto his haunches, he simply tucks his nose into his chest and fight me.
Let's see. Important things you'll want to know...
1. I do ride him in a snaffle, he seems to like the bit.
2. We work a lot on his trot and transitions, changing directions, changing bend, leg yields and some shoulder-in (this is still pretty hard for him).
3. While walking and trotting, his hind end is engaged and he is working from back to front rather than traveling on the forehand.
4. His transition into canter is actually beautiful. I can feel him pushing from the back and stepping under himself. He waits patiently for the cue and then steps smoothly and effortlessly into the canter. We take two or three lovely strides, and then he falls onto his forehand.
I'm sure you'll want to know more. But I can't think what else I should tell you now.
Things I have tried to work on this situation...
1. I have tried doing a lot of transitions while working on canter, allowing him to just take those three strides and then asking him to trot again, get balanced and collected, and then canter again.
2. Cantering just on a straight line.
3. Asking him to trot in a series of circles that spiral in and out, always asking his inside hind to step underneath him deeply and to soften on the inside rein. Once he does that, moving back to the larger circle and asking for a canter.
4. Simply lunging him, allowing him to work on his balance without a rider.
5. Canter a 20 or 30 meter circle. This usually fails because he gets so strung out that it's hard to actually complete a circle.
My two big concerns are 1.) he's all strung out and on his forehand and 2.) he curls his nose to his chest when I try to balance, slow, or turn him.
No. 2 is true even if I am trying to push him up into the bridle or trying to softly ask for these things. Thus far, asking him to slow with my seat during the canter has been ignored or misunderstood.
I'm not really frustrated with him. I feel like I'm failing him somehow. I'm missing something. And I feel like I should have made more progress on this by now. As a trail horse, he was allowed to just canter out like this, and I feel like that is contributing to our problem. What does frustrate me a bit is that he listens better and adjusts his stride while we are jumping and doesn't tuck his nose to his chest. But I can't very well get very far in his jumping training if he can't canter nicely on the flat.
My next idea, aside from patiently continuing to work with him, was to ask someone to lunge him while I'm riding and see if the combination of a person on the ground and a person in saddle can help him understand what to do.
Ok, ask questions. Let me hear your ideas. I'm all ears.