[iluvannie412]

I KNOW THIS IS KINDA LONG....PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING, THOUGH!!!
I took riding lessons for a couple years and my favorite thing to do was CANTER!!! The only thing is....that was on nice....slow...lazy, lesson horses.
My previous horse was a standardbred....she was trained to be a trotter (harness racing). When I got her, she obviously didn't "know" how to canter. We trained, and eventually got her cantering, but it was VERY unbalanced and VERY fast!!! So, I was always VERY nervous to canter My worst fear is the horse tripping while I'm riding. Obviously the horse and rider can both easily get hurt if the horse trips. Annie never tripped at the canter.....thank god (if she would have, we would both DEFINITELY been hurt since she canters SOOOO fast).....But she did trip a few times at the trot, one time being a half-summersault and I fell off- no one was hurt.
I don't own her anymore....I now have a TB gelding...but now, everytime I canter, I get SO nervous! That causes me to tense up at the canter, which then causes me to flop all over the place, which then causes me to accidently squeeze or kick, which then causes him to speed up....a LOT!!!! Then, I get even more nervous because he's going so fast, so I usually just pull him down to a walk (which isn't pretty...since I'm so tensed up, I pretty much just land on his neck when he slows down).
So, I had a lesson with a really good horse trainer who lives near me, and he had me work on slowing Elway (my horse) down and having him put his head down at a walk and trot, then....we cantered.....I DID tell him Elway's canter can get FAST, but I DIDN"T tell him it's because I get nervous and tense up (i dunno why I didn't tell him that). It didn't matter that I didn't tell him though, I did a couple (...strange...) laps at the canter, and he told me to stop in front of him. The first thing he said was, "You're nervous at the canter...aren't you?" I'm like,"yep, pretty noticeable, huh?" He told me some things to do at the canter and had me do smaller circles so it would be harder for Elway to go so fast (I failed to mention to you guys....sometimes Elway speeds up W/OUT me squeezing or kicking). We finally had a nice, easy, COMFORTABLE lap of canter, and Dustin (the trainer) had me stop after that to end on a good note.
I'm going to work on the things he told me....but I'm sure I'll still get nervous to canter. I don't know if it's because of being nervous to canter my last horse or what....but i REALLY need to get over this cantering fear since I'm a jumper!!!
Anyone have any tips for preparing to canter...during the canter....and slowing down to a walk or trot after the canter????
ANY cantering tips are greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS!

[iluvannie412]

anyone??? I'm probably going riding tomorrow or sometime this weekend.
I need to work on the canter, though, because Dustin is coming back for another lesson in two weeks, and I REALLY wanna improve.

[glideride]

I can so relate to what you are going through and all I can say is to take things very slow and just keep working at it. That's what I have had to do since I do not want to be flopping around on my horse I will only canter a few strides and then come back down to a trot. I did have a horse trip and fall at the canter and it was not fun, I also had a back injury while working on canter transitions so I know just how tense you can get right before they do the depart.

One thing that did help me was some of the information from Jane Savoie, she's dealt with many fear issues and has ways to suggest working through them. The worst part is that your horse "WILL" sense your tension and that only makes the horse tense, that's why I think it is key to take things slowly in small steps...Trust me you are not alone on this one, I know several people that have the same problem but at least you are seeing it for what it is and willing to work towards fixing it! Best of luck, I know you can do it!

[iluvannie412]

Thanks glideride!
Another thing that makes cantering difficult is the arena at the place I board. There is sand around the outside (but not a lot) and grass in the middle and TALL grass right along the edge, then there are two trees-one on each side....which, by the way, both have thorns (and BOTH horses have run me into them numerous times).....and on one side there is a little hill...more like just a bit of a slope......it's kinda hard to explain..... that I always feel like my horse is going to trip on going down.
SO I REALLY have to have control of him so I don't run into anything (specifically the trees.....)
I LOVE the place i board at otherwise!!!

[doublebarr]

Lunge line time You say you board, do you have friends who can be your lunger? If you put him on a line, then you will "know" in your mind that he cannot take off and you don't have to worry about the trees or ground and you can just focus on getting comfortable riding the canter.

[PUtNEE]

Sounds like things are already going the right way

Don't think about anything but the rhythm in your horse's body, feel it, then give a good exhale to transition upwards and keep breathing!!

Have fun with it - remember why you like it and forget the past issues

[iluvannie412]

Originally Posted by doublebarr

Lunge line time You say you board, do you have friends who can be your lunger? If you put him on a line, then you will "know" in your mind that he cannot take off and you don't have to worry about the trees or ground and you can just focus on getting comfortable riding the canter.

mmk, yeah, I do have a friend who can do that for me. THANKS!

[iluvannie412]

Originally Posted by PUtNEE

Sounds like things are already going the right way

Don't think about anything but the rhythm in your horse's body, feel it, then give a good exhale to transition upwards and keep breathing!!

Have fun with it - remember why you like it and forget the past issues

Yeah...that would be something I need to remember........BREATHE!!!!

[Rhythm 'n Blues]

Get that friend to lunge you, and you get a bucking strap on your saddle and HOLD IT! (if you don't have a bucking strap get a piece of twine and attach it to each D-ring)

Then while you're cantering you count the beats 123, 123, 123 and count out loud (or at least just under your breath, but make sure you're lips are moving) That will help you regulate your horses canter, and it will ensure you keep breathing both those things will help you relax more.

A great thing to really get you to loosen up is to stick one hand up in the air as if you're waving to someone on the other side of the field. YES it looks dumb, but it's impossible to be tense in your hips while you're doing it. So WHEN you're ready, and your friend is lunging you, and you're holding the bucking strap with the other hand, try it out!

[iluvannie412]

Originally Posted by Rhythm 'n Blues

Get that friend to lunge you, and you get a bucking strap on your saddle and HOLD IT! (if you don't have a bucking strap get a piece of twine and attach it to each D-ring)

Then while you're cantering you count the beats 123, 123, 123 and count out loud (or at least just under your breath, but make sure you're lips are moving) That will help you regulate your horses canter, and it will ensure you keep breathing both those things will help you relax more.

A great thing to really get you to loosen up is to stick one hand up in the air as if you're waving to someone on the other side of the field. YES it looks dumb, but it's impossible to be tense in your hips while you're doing it. So WHEN you're ready, and your friend is lunging you, and you're holding the bucking strap with the other hand, try it out!

Ok, I'll try all of that! THANKS!