# how long before cantering?



## lexypoohhorton (Oct 11, 2010)

To tell you the truth i think you start cantering when you and the horse feel ready. It took me 3 weeks before i stated cantering. I wasn't very good at first but after a few times of doing it i cought the rhythm and stuck with it.

Each horse has their own rhythm. some have a smooth canter, some bumpy. when you get better at riding you will know how to ride with each rhythm....


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

It depends. I suppose a new person could be cantering that quickly on a well trained horse that was doing as it was told regardless of what the rider was doing. Many lesson horses listen to the ground person/trainer.
I wouldn't have a new student cantering until they had the W/T down, along with seat, rein & leg aids & a rock solid seat. Heck, when I start someone they start walking bareback on a lunge line with no reins. 
Every trainer is different though. Maybe you're a quick study?
Do you feel you were pushed too fast?


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

Like mentioned above its really personal preference, if you feel ok with it then why not? You gotta learn sometime. Personally i cantered about 30 minutes into my very first ride, i was a bit of a dare devil. Everyone is different and progresses at different paces. Its great that your enjoying yourself so far =]


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## scarymoon (Jan 28, 2011)

at first i was nervous doing it as i didnt feel secure but then the second time i did it it felt better because i was able to move with the horse. my trainer said she wants to introduce me a small bit to cantering at first so its not such a big thing later on. I enjoyed it and I was a bit surprised she asked me to canter on my second lesson - but I guess its better to start gradually right?


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

Just do whatever your comfortable with, if you don't feel safe and secure about it then simply tell your trainer that you don't feel like doing it. Im sure they will understand and if they don't its time to get a new trainer ;]


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## Lonannuniel (Jun 13, 2008)

I had been riding for 3 years and hadn't cantered. I left that trainer, and the new one had assumed that anyone who had been riding for 3 years would know how to canter, so in my first lesson with her she told us to canter, and I got to canter! ( thanks to the horse infront of me cantering & my horse mindlessly following along lol )


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## raywonk (Jan 9, 2011)

when i give a lesson i take it slow but i work with a lot of kids. i wait till they are begen me to canter. i also make sure they know how to stop very well. when you get scared your brain will forget things sometimes.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

I can't remember when I started cantering, but I can tell you what I do with students. 
If I'm starting with a raw beginner, particularly a child, they absolutely MUST have impeccable balance at halt, walk and trot before they canter. I work with them in 2 -point, no stirrups, standing vertical in the stirrups, no reins, etc. 
They must have very good control when riding around the arena on their own, in walk and trot and have an established 'stop, go, turn' button. They must have found their centre of gravity, so their legs aren't swinging wildly around, and they must not still be relying on holding onto the saddle for balance. 

I start them on the lunge in canter, just for a few strides at a time and gradually increase the time as the student becomes more confident and balanced.

I am a firm believer in not allowing a person to canter until they have excellent balance in the saddle.


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## RockandRide (Jan 23, 2011)

I took a while to start. Maybe about 4 months into riding I started cantering. I was riding with a trainer who let someone jump a crossrail (low ones) after 4 years of riding. Eventually I switched and I started cantering.

It all depends on how well you feel about cantering and your riding ability. It also depends on the horse and your instructor...It's a personal thing.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I cantered on about my 5th or 6th lesson? A really awful instructor parked one of her horses at one end of the arena, then put me on a very herd bound horse at the other end and smacked him on the butt. Well, I cantered alright, my horse literally crashed into the other....I was stupid enough to stick around, so she then put me on another horse, told me to hang on, smacked it on the butt, it took off at a nice fast canter, the saddle slipped (she'd saddled it!) and I ended up on the horses side. I was smart enough to call it quits after that! 

Found a real trainer and she had me canter on the lunge line on my 3rd lesson with her I think? Only for a minute or so, she just wanted me to get over my fear of it thanks to the few wild rides I'd been on! 

My lil kiddo was cantering on her 4th lesson or so. The kid has incredible balance and absolutely no fear. She was riding a 16hh warmblood with absolutely no issues at a posting and a sitting trot and in 2 point so my trainer put her on a lil pony and she was able to canter without a problem.


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## A knack for horses (Jun 17, 2010)

Gosh, I waited three years before I got to canter. (But I was taking once a week, 1 hour lessons in the summer, about 15 lessons per year) It was pretty difficult for me, with the limited riding time I got and the rough gaited mare I was riding. 

I technically haven't gotten a solid canter yet with the "beautiful" postion that many riders can (and I envy those who can do it without holding on). I'm hoping I'll be able to finally truly canter horse this summer (that is my main goal this year). my trot has improved tremendously this past summer, so I'm sure its not far off.

Kudos to you for being able to do something like that!


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## EquineLover (Jan 24, 2011)

About 5-7 weeks probably before I started cantering, and that was on a lunge line! But yes, its all about how confident you feel and how quickly you learn.


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## Opus (Jan 3, 2011)

-- The first time I started riding in college, I think it was 6 months (2x lessons a week) after we first started riding. Honestly, we could have very easily started about 2-3 months after we started, but we were in the Walk-Trot IHSA class, and my trainer wanted to make sure we had VERY solid seats before he started us cantering.

-- Currently, it took me about 5-6 weeks (10 lessons) to go from not having been in a saddle for 10 years to cantering. Even then, that was with my trainer pushing me a little. I'm not afraid of cantering per se, but I'd like my balance to be better. (My trainer would probably add here that I'm crazy and my balance is fine. :lol: )

I think it all depends on the student/trainer and the horses involved. I don't think I'd personally ever do that, but so long as she doesn't have you jumping 3' oxers during the next class, I don't see it being a problem with it. So long as *you* are comfortable with it, I think that's all that matters. If you feel balanced, if you can control your horse and trust him/her, I think you'll be fine.


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## Sarahandlola (Dec 16, 2010)

I cantered in my second or third lesson.


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## LauraKate (Jan 9, 2010)

I just loped my new horse for the first time! I lope pretty well on slow wp types, but this guy has a big motor! He is also pretty unbalanced. My ridding teacher had us on a lunge line. I kept losing the stirrups, and could not for the life of me keep my seat still. But, it's only the first time. (On him, anyway.) Now she says, since I have the trot down alright, I need to lope, and lope, and lope, and... Gaaaah! Help! 
I probably loped on my second lesson. (On another, slower horse.)


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