Young Canter

plcgirl

At the moment im currently schooling my pony that has just been broken and is a 3year old.

She isnt fased by any thing and have even done some jumping in trot!! shes is very willing although i find a problem with the canter.
She dosnt seem to uderstand the signals and when she gets it, she gets frustrated and bucks afer 1 stride.

i was just wondering does anyone have any advice with what i shoud try.
Soud i keep pushing her or will she develop it herself when she finds her balance.
any advice will help :)

convert

I'm breaking a young horse at the moment and have just started cantering him.

It took him a little while to learn the 'aids', but it helps that he doesn't mind me kicking him into a canter, as well as using my voice - clicking and saying 'canter on'. Although he's learned what to do, it still takes him a few quicker trotting strides before he actually canters.

He's just started to think about bucking, but hasn't done it too much, yet. But when he did try to buck, I've just kicked him on and ridden him out of the buck rather than take him back and start again. Is there any way you'd be able to do this with your pony? It would mean that you're not making an 'issue' out of the bucking, instead just riding her on.

You just need to remember that riding her out of it doesn't necessarily mean going quicker - it's just raising her head slightly and keeping her going.

How does she canter when she's on the lunge? It might be worthwhile to go back cantering her on the lunge (also teaching her what 'canter' means) and then, when she's got that and is balanced, try it when riding her. That she's happy to trot with you on her suggests that she's only finding her feet, literally, and when she figures out what's going on she'll probably settle down a little and become less frustrated.

Most importantly, just take your time and don't rush her.

plcgirl

thanks for the advice.
i have been cantering her on the lunge alrite and she seems to have a grasp of it, its just i dont think she quite nos where to put her legs when someone is on her.
Woulg u suggest cantering her in and areana with corners or a straight line in the field. i have been advised both waqys and dont no which 1 to listen to abd which one she would work better on.:)

Chicken Run

I broke mine as a 3.5 year old, don't have access to an arena so was advised to canter him on a gently sloping uphill track (we have a lot of forestry tracks where I live)
Nice and straight so no worrying about cornering and easier to do short bursts in canter as they get tired due to the slope.
He was a little unsure of his feet at first but soon got the knack of it. Bucking with him anyway was just a sign of exhuberance, but as was said above, just use legs and push on, gently holding his head up.

plcgirl

thanks for the advice, ill try that tomorrow and c how i get on!!..as long as the bucking is nothing to worry about im happy...:D

convert

I've always tended to canter in straight lines initially as it gives the horse a chance to get used to cantering with somebody in the saddle before asking them to canter around in circles or on a bend.

plcgirl

thanks ill try that so...just one more question...do u think its a good idea to use a whip to help get her into canter or just rely on voice and legs aids??....dosnt seem to mind being whiped on the shoulder bt kcks out a bit when i use it on the hind quarters.
i just want to make sure i do everything right so not to make problems that will have to be undone later on!!??

s-cogan

on any horses iv broken and brought on(all 3yr old racehorses, so bearin mind your prob gonna want to tweak this bit), when we got em cabtering, just get onto the gallops,sit down, with ur legs slightly in froont of you, and if regular aids arent sufficient, a gentle tap on the hind quarters with a fairly mild whip just to get em cantering on. stay sitting back until your confident to stand up. if you stay sitting, you can ride out any bucks without much disruption to your positon

hope this helps