# How to stop anxiety about canter



## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I feel like this affects most people but i'd like any tips and tricks to stop it. It's a vicious cycle- if we as riders get anxious and anticipate the canter, so does the horse, and the horse anticipates it a little anyway. 

I just want advice as to how to stop that anxiety that comes with asking for the canter. I am perfectly capable and comfortable of cantering and really enjoy it, but along the way I've picked up nervousness about asking for the canter whilst doing flat work. I feel like this is something I need to get past in my riding as I am wanting to purchase a green project horse this year (most probably a ottb), and I want to give it a comfortable start to it's schooling.


----------



## Light (Mar 4, 2012)

Hi,

I know you didn't ask this, but I wouldn't recommend you getting a green or ottb horse at this time. 

If you have a competent instructor that you trust, do lunge line lessons. It really helped me allot. Tons of cantering without reins, cantering without stirrups and reins, and more cantering. In fact weeks of lunge lessons at the canter. My personal favorite was cantering without reins or stirrups while patting my head with my left hand and rubbing my belly with the right hand. It did get old but was very effective.


----------



## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

If you feel nervous about picking up the canter but believe you are capable and comfortable while cantering, I would suggest working on the gallop. If your seat is very secure at the gallop which is a rougher, four beat gait (usually best ridden in two point), then you will no longer feel apprehensive about picking up the canter. The roughness of the gallop simulates a rocky start to a canter transition, or gentle buck, so will help you be able to ride through those easily. I wouldn't suggest getting a green project horse until you are comfortable galloping, because you will probably end up there at some point with a green project anyway.


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Get on a larger circle, ask for a canter, two strides, back to a trot, two strides and canter. Keep doing it the horse will start to anticipate and you will not have time to get anxious!


----------



## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I am 100% comfortable cantering and galloping. I obviously didn't make this clear enough. I am a capable rider. I have brought green horses on before, but not in specific a TB. Tb's have more body issues and past issues with riding and so need more softening and flat work then I'd do with most green horses. They also tend to be hotter. I have NO apprehensions of cantering and galloping whilst trekking etc. and I have competed successfully to 1 m (3ft 2) showjumping... While cantering. I am not really looking for advice as to whether or not I should get a green horse. I am getting one regardless. I know my own experience. I would just like advice about this apprehension of ASKING for the canter on the flat... Which likely came about from naughty horses who did naughty things in the canter.

Thanks Foxhunter! I was thinking similarly. Heaps and heaps of transitions. Gottatrot, that was interesting, I didn't think about the gallop like that. Perfectly comfortable going for a good gallop, no anxiety there weirdly enough.


----------



## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Sorry, was assuming that apprehension picking up the canter meant you were not perfectly comfortable in all gaits.

What you are talking about is something else, the natural way the body anticipates that bad things have happened in the past, so expects them to possibly happen in the future. That is something I believe every rider deals with, at different times. It might be picking up the canter for you, or going down a busy road for someone else if they've had a bad experience with a horse slipping on pavement or spooking. Or heading toward a certain type of jump where you got chucked off badly. 

How I deal with it is by first asking if the "warning" from my body is because I'm about to do something stupid. If not, then I mentally ignore the feeling while going through the motions as if I did not feel nervous. For me, this retrains my body after a few times of doing the activity that the apprehension is unfounded. Then I find that the nervous feelings go away. I think we believe these feelings come from our mind, and our mind _can_ make them worse if we dwell on them. But they often come first from our body releasing chemicals that make us feel jittery because our brain interprets what we are doing as something that has required a "fight or flight" chemical response in the past. So we have to retrain our body to not give off those chemicals through practicing the same activity.

I find that sometimes on a new horse with unexpected reactions I'll start to have these feelings for several rides, if I can't easily interpret what he's going to throw at me. But when I keep riding the horse more, any nerves go away as my body and brain learn how the horse reacts and what I can expect from him, even if it is rather wild. I'm sure riders at all levels deal with this. Some people interpret nervous feelings as a bad thing, and I see it as part of the body's natural reactions to riding a large and flighty animal.


----------



## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

I am struggling with this myself right now. I've had my newer horse for about 4 months ago, she's younger and fitter and bigger strided than my older mare who I've had for years and would do just about anything on. For me, something about that bigger stride and the powerful LEAP into the canter has really psyched me out. And, she loves the speed and really enjoys the canter, so once you do it once, or do a predictable pattern of trotting right before the canter, she knows it's coming and is READY to do it. Fortunately she's so eager for the transition that I don't have to worry about her doing that awful out-of-control trot that some horses will do when they're anticipating, so that's at least one less thing to worry about :wink:

Just like you said in your second sentence, when you start anticipating, your body does weird things that make the horse nervous. For me, it's pinching with my knees and thighs, so I'm blocking her ability to transition. So now she's started crowhopping into the canter, which of course freaks me out more. And I have the tendency to want to curl into the fetal position when she's doing that, which means crowhopping followed by speeding off since I'm so tipped forward. It is indeed a vicious cycle. I'd actually really like my instructor to put me back on the lunge line for a lesson or two so I can get through it, but she doesn't think I "need" that.

Everyone deals with anxiety in different ways. For me, it's simply repetition and practice. I just need to make myself do it. I also have a bit of stage fright and hate when things aren't "perfect" with people watching me, so I am going to pick a couple of mornings when I know the barn will be quiet and just go do a bunch of transitions, as ugly as they will be, until we're back on track.

Are you getting lessons? Would you want to post a video here and see if folks can give you some tips?

If you want to commiserate, I just wrote about this in my journal earlier in the week after a lesson.


----------



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Your anxiety is caused by "What if?", and the only way you can get rid of that anxiety is with confidence that you can handle it when "What if?" actually happens. It's like the old saying that the bird doesn't trust the branch it sits on, it trusts its wings. I currently ride two OTTBs, one that will give me at least one happy buck early in the ride when I canter, and one I might have problems slowing down/stopping when she's too amped up because she hadn't been ridden in a while (even though she's practically on 24-7 turn-out, with hilly pasture). Once they are a bit sweaty, they are both dolls and can either walk or run as appropriate.

So start your methodical flat work after they had a chance to stretch their legs to mitigate their level of excitement - two or three runs up a hill that makes them slow down before they reach the top should do the trick. (Did you know it's extremely hard to buck when you're going uphill, as opposed to a flat?) And know that *you *will be able to handle what's coming, reassurances regarding your experience notwithstanding. The former will mitigate what you will have to deal with so you can learn and adjust to it, but only the latter will take care of the anxiety altogether.

A personal plea, which you may ignore, of course: Please don't just run your horse in a tiny circle to wear it out if you are too nervous to get on.


----------



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

What I have done in a situation like this, is start trotting and count out the one two beat, out loud if that suits and do some loops, serpentines and some circles, concentrating on doing them well and try not to think about the canter, then when the horse is going nicely and you feel he is in a good position for it, just ask for a canter.
Sometimes when you feel a bit anxious this can transfer to the horse and this is not good.

Don't hurry when thinking of the canter, get the trot work going really good and the horse bending well for you, you can try singing if that relaxes you when you feel good about the request, try the canter.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Ok, lets try this again, seeing as I lost my last attempt!

You are definitely not alone OP, there are many of us who have been through the same thing. What helped me was setting definite start and stop points for the canter, rather than riding for ever thinking about the transition, canter at A and trot at B, is far better than just striking off when all the stars eventually align. I did a great exercise with my trainer, that I have repeated with having kids be the caller, (that gives interesting results) that is calling transitions, walk, halt, trot, halt, trot, canter, walk, etc....means that you have to have your horse awake and balanced ready to do anything when it is called, it can be great fun, and that is how I eventually managed walk/lope transitions.



> A personal plea, which you may ignore, of course: Please don't just run your horse in a tiny circle to wear it out if you are too nervous to get on


I'm trying to figure out where that thought came from, I don't see the OP saying that they are scared to get on, or anyone suggesting running it in tiny circles..

I will say when I first got Fergie, and yes I was nervous of her, I DID lunge before riding, not to run her until she was tired, but to work her until her brain engaged, you could see when that happened. Now I have no need of that I can ride her until the brain engages....but then, no, it woul dnot have worked.


----------



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

What Golden Horse says about picking a spot for the canter is a good idea, but when I was first starting with a horse I found it put too much pressure on me the rider to ask for a canter like that as the horse may not be ready to step off into a canter and I might be setting myself up for a failure. In the beginning I would only canter when I felt the horse was ready and even if we got the wrong lead I would canter a few steps then come back to a trot and do some other stuff before asking again, also once you do get a good canter don't keep asking, just let the horse know you are pleased with him and do other stuff for a while.

If you are feeling some anxiety about the canter to start with, this might add to the pressure having to canter at a specific spot and your horse may pick up on this and this is something you don't want, the more relaxed the better.

Once we got our canter departures going well then I would ask at specific spots in the arena and usually it worked well for me doing it this way.

I remember one gelding went well on one lead when I started him under saddle but the other lead we had so much trouble. One day when I asked he got it right and I was so pleased and made a big fuss over him. He got it right again and again much praise. Then after schooling a bit on different things I was going the opposite way and asked for the canter he always got right and guess what? he went on the other lead. I guess he thought if it made me so happy he should do it all the time.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Woodhaven said:


> What Golden Horse says about picking a spot for the canter is a good idea, but when I was first starting with a horse I found it put too much pressure on me the rider to ask for a canter like that as the horse may not be ready to step off into a canter and I might be setting myself up for a failure..


:rofl::rofl::rofl: It worked for me because otherwise the perfectionist, coward, what ever would NEVER find a good spot to ask.....I could trot for ever. You are right, you have to find whatever it takes to set yourself up for success rather than failure....


----------



## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

You are right there Golden Horse what works for you is the best way to go.

I guess not the same for everyone, that's what makes riding so fascinating


----------



## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

I can give firsthand experience here as well! My mare was fairly green when I got her, and while I've had my amazing trainer work with her and myself a_ lot_, she still doesn't have a ton of cantering under saddle. Sometimes I feel cantering her is easy and sometimes I get a few jitters. What I've done is lunged her at the canter a lot. This way I can see what her reactions are from the ground, when I don't have to worry about riding them out. I normally lunge her as a pre-warm up anyways before I get on, so it also gives me an accurate prediction of what our ride will be like. I've taken to saying "now" every time her leg hits the ground that I expect her to use to push off on the canter lead. So when I say "now" she knows specifically which leg I want her to kick off from, and she anticipates the canter. So the transition is a lot more seamless. Of course, she now tries to pick up the canter when I say "now" lol. 

I've also been riding her canter in two-point. That way if she does break into her bone-jarring trot or starts off with a much bigger stride than expected, I'm floating above her back and it's easier to ride out. It's also easier for her that I'm off her back. Previous to asking for the canter, I work on other transitions to ensure I'm relaxed enough to communicate effectively; it's a good check for me. Plus, when she listens to me at the other gaits it gives me more confidence that she'll listen at the canter. I also like doing half-halts and sponging the reins to help her relax as well! I agree that counting out a few strides and then bringing them back down is good. Transitions are always helpful! My mare knows vocal cues so I'm going to incorporate those as well so she further understands. Effective, clear aids are everything to me; after all, riding is really about communication!


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

RedDunPaint said:


> I've also been riding her canter in two-point. That way if she does break into her bone-jarring trot or starts off with a much bigger stride than expected, I'm floating above her back and it's easier to ride out. It's also easier for her that I'm off her back.


Another interesting difference, my trainer has me very much sat back on my pockets to canter.....fighting the whole time my natural tendency to try to get into two point......She thinks it is safer for a rider to be sitting up and back, so easy for the nervous to be forward and then go into fetal position, also in my particular case, it is easier for my mare if I keep my weight central, or I dump her on her forehand...there is also the small point that there is a tendency to mark down dressage riders using 2 point


----------



## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

Golden Horse said:


> Another interesting difference, my trainer has me very much sat back on my pockets to canter.....fighting the whole time my natural tendency to try to get into two point......She thinks it is safer for a rider to be sitting up and back, so easy for the nervous to be forward and then go into fetal position, also in my particular case, it is easier for my mare if I keep my weight central, or I dump her on her forehand...there is also the small point that there is a tendency to mark down dressage riders using 2 point


Haha yeah it's so weird since I also ride dressage to be in two-point; this is, however, a temporary thing. But I haven't actually had a problem with falling too far forward, the thing I have to watch out for is arching my back! My mare used to have a history of falling forward and running away, but she's been as happy as a clam and balanced as ever, so nothing to complain about! My trainer was actually the one who suggested riding in two-point to see if it made it easier. I must say, I can't wait to go back to sitting the canter though!


----------



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Golden Horse said:


> Ok, lets try this again, seeing as I lost my last attempt!
> I'm trying to figure out where that thought came from, I don't see the OP saying that they are scared to get on, or anyone suggesting running it in tiny circles..


It's preemptive, because I see all too often, "I gotta lunge my horse before riding..." And the OP is nervous about what she's getting into when she asks for the canter, which is usually the reason for the above treatment. Other commonly encountered practices include "supplements" (a.k.a. drugging) and underfeeding the horse. 

Just today, BO took back an ex-Amish Percheron that the owner took to a fancy barn, where they tried to turn him into a dressage horse. Because of the treatment (ahem, "training") he received there, he was finally too afraid to leave the barn. I don't know OP, I don't know how she treats her horses - all I'm saying is that a lot of "experienced" equestrians who are too intimidated to let their horse run under saddle will resort to all kinds of methods to "take the edge of". My personal plea was not to do that.

Yes, I realize this makes me come across as cynical.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

If this is something that only happens when you ride a strange horse then you need to try to ride as many different horses as you can. 
The only way to not be worried about something going wrong is to be confident that you can deal with whatever a horse is going to throw at you. 
You won't know if you can deal with things unless you have a horse that does them so to me learning how to keep yourself calm under pressure is the solution. No one wants to fall off but when you ride horses its something you have to accept can happen.
I was taught to use 'full seat' at canter right from the very start, it will give you a more secure seat - 2 point is reserved for when you start moving up a notch to extended canter, gallop and jumping.


----------



## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

I figured out that I was apprehensive of asking for canter because I wasn’t sure I would get it. It felt like my instructor was disappointed in me when I failed. I got over it by riding a horse which wasn’t as opinionated as my mare is and which would pick it up straight away. Then I just blamed it on my mare whenever I failed  Of course, it is my fault that my mare sometimes refuses but I am aware that I am not at a level at which I can actually fix long standing issues on an older mare.


----------



## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Canter departs or anything else related to riding, whenever I'm having trouble doing it well, I'm over thinking it. Make a plan, pick a corner, half halt the trot to balance your horse, soften the inside rein and think "allow the canter". If your horse rushes off at the trot, re-balance (half halt) again, pick a spot again, soften rein and ask again. Lather, rinse repeat. With the greenies, it's really about taking care of them and letting them know you're there to help them figure out what you're asking. Look for signs of frustration, ears back, tail swishing, rushing at the trot, etc. Any of those require a reset. Go back down a gait and work your way calmly back up. Have a plan and ride with a goal in mind for the horse. You'll find, the more you have to focus on the horse, the less you'll have time to over think it.


----------

