Alrighty I feel like I am such a beginner again when I am on this horse.
She is forward.
I thought Sky was forward, and he is..
But she is FORWARD.
Now my question is how do I keep myself from pulling back when I ask for the canter?
She'll have a lovely forward trot and then I sit to ask for the canter and I start pulling back even with my leg urging her forward, basically confusing her..
I do admit I feel a little intimidated when she is cantering because it is forward and has shorter strides than my horse and while that's usually not a problem I don't feel in control of her at all. I am sure it is because I am pinching with my knees so my seat and leg aids to make a downward transition are blurred..
But I am SO focused on resolving these issues of mine
Well, speaking fron experience here with squiggy, when I ask for the canter, I like to half halt to bring her under herself and rating down, then I take up a firm contact and ask for the canter. And then just go with it, even if you have to two get into a half seat a bit to get yourself set. The horse might be going a bot faster than you want, but when you sit back down, the horse should feel it and also slow down
As this horse has a shorter stride, she will naturally feel faster, as she has smaller, faster strides.
Make sure you don't pinch with your knees as this encourages the horse to go faster.
The advise given by QHriderKE is very good, and that is something I do myself one Candy, as she has an extremely tiny, fast stride and tends to become unbalanced in the canter.
Try asking for the canter from a slower trot, and only going into a corner, then just ask for a nice circle until she slows a bit. Be careful not to be "thinking" about how fast she is going, but relax and breathe, sit BACK, so you are not urging her on.
Yes Candycane I did notice I was pinching with my knees. I was apprehensive to sit still because she'd fall out of canter despite my leg being on. So apparently instinctually my knees clamped on.
It's not fast, it's powerful. I honestly feel I am being launched into space when she canters.
Forward as in like a jet engine.
~~~
Thanks all for the advice. I'll try the halthalt from a slow trot. That's what I was trying to do but since my knees were like vice grips, it didn't help.
Keep us updated!!
It was tough to get it down on Squiggy, even western, but going into the half seat to encourage her to use her back instead of just launch herself into a run right away helped a ton.
You have to relax, relax your seat, lean back, don't brace on the reins, don't give her anything to pull against, circles, and half halt but mostly with your other aids, barely any rein.
If she is falling out of the canter when you sit still, then she isn't as forward as you think. It might just be the size of the horse means that she has to canter as a certain speed in order to stay balanced. I agree that starting her from a slower trot or a walk may help with this, but you learning to stay with the big motion will be your big challenge for the next lessons. let me know how you do it , then help me to copy!
If she is falling out of the canter when you sit still, then she isn't as forward as you think. It might just be the size of the horse means that she has to canter as a certain speed in order to stay balanced. I agree that starting her from a slower trot or a walk may help with this, but you learning to stay with the big motion will be your big challenge for the next lessons. let me know how you do it , then help me to copy!
Ask for the canter and as you feel her taking the first canter stride, already start half halting her. And keep it up until she comes back to you then reward her with a release
I know it probably sounds counter intuitive, but if she's fine in other respects I'd start taking her out, asking for a canter on long, straight perhaps slightly uphill sections with a loose rein. And just riding it. Get used to her strides, get used to slowing, and speeding up. Often a canter can feel too forward in an enclosed area because you're fast approaching the end and have to start preparing for a corner, balancing them etc. Out in a straight line, well that doesn't matter so much. Once you're confident riding her canter, you'll be confident in riding her around corners, in asking for a shorter canter, or a longer one.
For arena work I'd work on doing lots of transitions and circles. When I ask for a canter I'd ask it coming out of a corner, letting her go down the stretch and coming back to a trot or walk before the end, doing a few circles, then moving up to the canter again. Once she's used to the idea she's not going to be tearing around, and they'll be changes coming, she'll start coming back to you, and you'll start feeling better about it.
For arena work I'd work on doing lots of transitions and circles. When I ask for a canter I'd ask it coming out of a corner, letting her go down the stretch and coming back to a trot or walk before the end, doing a few circles, then moving up to the canter again. Once she's used to the idea she's not going to be tearing around, and they'll be changes coming, she'll start coming back to you, and you'll start feeling better about it.
I definitely worked on this yesterday and it was very helpful.
The first time I cantered her was on the beach and really wanted to stretch out and go, which I was not ready for at all haha!
Yesterday my instructor put her and I on the lungeline and we worked on keeping my hands lower, pushing her forward and asking for canter with rein and seat aid. At first she didn't want to listen so my coach asked verbally and she was happy to do so. Then I started asking with my cues and she very nicely stepped into the canter.
I managed to ride her canter for a good 20 laps around the arena (not all at once, we had trot transitions and walk breaks inbetween) but my butt did not come out of the saddle like before!
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Thank you for all the tips! The main issue was pinching at the knee and then bracing against the stirrups and pitching myself forward. Hopefully next time there is video to share (no one came out and I don't own a tripod)
I was just about to suggest you try working it on a lungeline! Glad you did and it seemed to help
Keep us posted! A video would be great!
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