Hey everyone. I have been practicing riding in my english saddle for several months now. I can jog correctly with or without the stirrups on it too. But every time I ask my horse to canter, I have an issue sitting it.
I have been riding for over 10 years, me and my horse do barrels and other games, and my horse used to be a champion hunter before I owned him. So it's not lack of experience on his part. I've started to wonder if my saddle was just too small for me. Would that be the cause?
Thanks so much for helping me!
~spirit1215
It may be that the saddle is too small for you.....
It would be hard to tell without a picture so I would ask someone experienced for a word of advice.
However, maybe you just need to lengthen your stirrups a little. From your post it seems like you haven't been riding english all too long (correct me if i'm wrong!) so in case you didn't know when you hang your stirrps down with your feet out of them the bottom of the irons should reach at your ankle. Sometimes it's easier to make them a little bit longer, especially if you've come from a western saddle with long stirrups!
If you're still having trouble, try to ease into the english canter- pop on your western saddle with maybe a shorter stirrup, then change to a dressage saddle (if you can get hold of one!) as the longer stirrups and a seat that allows you to sit deep may help a lot; before moving back to the full english saddle.
I understand where you're coming from because I dabble in both disciplines too, but I went the opposite way. I learned to canter in an English saddle, and I'm still not 100% on my western lope.
When you're in a saddle you aren't used to, the first few strides of that transition from trot to canter can be really tricky to sit, especially of your horse is the time to go into a really big trot first. The only advice I can give you is keep trying! English saddles put you in a different position from western saddles, and if you're used to one it can be tough to get used to the other when you get to the faster gaits.
Practice a lot of transitions - just try to get him to canter, and then canter around a bit, get a feel for the rhythm and where you can sit securely in the saddle. Then bring him back down to a trot, and canter again. Each time you do that, try to make the intervals shorter and shorter. Ideally, switch back to a trot after you've gotten yourself organized and had a nice canter down one long side of the arena.
As was said above, it's hard to tell if it's a saddle issue or if it's something you might be doing without any visuals. A good rule of thumb though is check the stirrup length as mentioned above, and when you're sitting properly in your saddle, you should have room on the back of your saddle for your four fingers to fit horizontally - so reach back and try that out. If you have too much room, your saddle may be a bit big. If you don't have enough room, your saddle is too small.
Maybe you could try some work with no stirrups. It really helps your position as it lengthens your leg and deepens your seat and in turn will help you sit to the canter.
But, make sure your saddle is long enough for you first
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