# Help! Roughest canter on earth...can't sit it!



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

She may need a refresher on cantering. When did she become yours and when was she last cantered BEFORE she became yours?

Horses are athletes so if they haven't cantered for a long while, it won't be as smooth or balanced if they had been cantering properly over a period of time.

Also you need to take into account their conformation too because that can affect if their strides are smooth or jarring.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I have same problem with my new horse. She has spent years as a pasture puff, and probably never allowed to get into a canter, Her gait is smooth and she has a nice smooth run walk, but her canter is bouncy as all get out. Not sure what to do. Speed up ? slow down? hope it gets better with better conditioning ?


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

It could be any number of things but I think it's just a lack of cantering. It takes different coordination and strength and balance to be able to canter, especially with a person on her back.

Do you know how to lunge? Does she know his to lunge? I'd lunge her or free lunge her so she'd get her bearings without a person on her.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

milleniumgirl67 said:


> I really need help. I am not nor have ever been a disciplined rider; I grew up with a couple horses my parents had, totally for pleasure riding. Then we had a couple of babies, and inherited a couple more. I've probably ridden 10 different horses in my life, had a few English lessons, but found I am a Western rider at heart...completely for pleasure and to relax.
> Haven't had a horse for years, but finally my husband and I got a couple of horses a few weeks ago, and we have so been looking forward to trail riding together. Since I'm now in my 40's, and not a "trained" rider, but very confident and comfortable with horses, I didn't want a "spirited" horse, just one who would relax and ride. I found my dream horse! ...almost!
> 
> She is 10yrs old, lets me mount her without moving a step or holding the reins until I TELL her to go, walks nice and relaxed, waits patiently for everything. I am in love with this horse! ...until I asked her to canter. Granted, at first her trot was extremely rough, but within a couple of rides it's now normal. I cannot sit her canter! I tried letting her decide when to canter, following behind my husband and his horse...almost fell off! That was the first time.
> ...


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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Skyseternalangel said:



She may need a refresher on cantering. When did she become yours and when was she last cantered BEFORE she became yours?

Horses are athletes so if they haven't cantered for a long while, it won't be as smooth or balanced if they had been cantering properly over a period of time.

Click to expand...

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Skyseternalangel said:


> _
> 
> Also you need to take into account their conformation too because that can affect if their strides are smooth or jarring._


 


I just got her at an auction, so I have no idea when she cantered last, or anything about her, really. I talked to the lady, she let me ride her, I walked and trotted, the woman said she loved to take her on trail rides, so I took a chance. She might not have cantered her much at all.

Thank you all for the great advise; I'm going to try lunging her tomorrow, see if I can SEE what she's doing, maybe do that a lot more often to give her the exercise and see if it helps her to practice her canter. It's also been mentioned to me twice that her head being way up in the air might be part of the problem, so I'm going to get a tie down. I will update you! Any more great ideas... let me know!


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## Michele Day (May 30, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> I have same problem with my new horse. She has spent years as a pasture puff, and probably never allowed to get into a canter, Her gait is smooth and she has a nice smooth run walk, but her canter is bouncy as all get out. Not sure what to do. Speed up ? slow down? hope it gets better with better conditioning ?


 
maybe work on line. make sure head is tuck. had a horse would lope in front and trot in back and the same time. boy it felt weird..


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

milleniumgirl67 said:


> I just got her at an auction, so I have no idea when she cantered last, or anything about her, really. I talked to the lady, she let me ride her, I walked and trotted, the woman said she loved to take her on trail rides, so I took a chance. She might not have cantered her much at all.
> 
> Thank you all for the great advise; I'm going to try lunging her tomorrow, see if I can SEE what she's doing, maybe do that a lot more often to give her the exercise and see if it helps her to practice her canter. It's also been mentioned to me twice that her head being way up in the air might be part of the problem, so I'm going to get a tie down. I will update you! Any more great ideas... let me know!



Yes that's a great idea  The more she can work on her canter without a person on her back, the more balanced she will be and then you can help her out when she cross-fires or if she is on the wrong lead. 

Looking forward to updates  You can PM me too if needed


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

Okay, now I don't know what to think. Was going to lunge her today, but a friend came out and wanted to ride a little bit, and I thought, okay, we'll see what she thinks of her canter. We were in a pasture next to the barn, and she was acting so badly, I ended up getting on to try to get her to ride out, but every time we went away from the barn she acted crazy, shaking her head, trying to buck. Finally caught me off guard and reared on me, a good one, too, and I almost fell off. She was so mellow the last three times we rode, I don't know what I'm going to do. We checked her girth and saddle, nothing going on there. Remember I said I'm getting old and didn't want too spirited of a horse? Uggghhh....


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Sounds like she's VERY barn sour. How long have you had her? Did you correct her behavior, and if so, how did you do it?

Glad you're okay OP :/


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

That's strange, because the first 3 times I rode her (I can only ride once a week, due to my work), she didn't act anywhere near that bad. Not bad at all, actually. She didn't want to go out in the field, but I just gave her a few good squeezes, and she went...but she wasn't flighty, crazy like today. She was mellow stubborn, lol, which was fine. When we took them across the street on the trails, she was great. Today it just seemed out of the blue. I rode her last weekend, which is when I cantered her the first time, and was the subject of my first post up there.

What we did, is my husband said, "oh no you don't!", and hopped on her and took her out, made her go for a bit, then we were done. She tried to act up a couple times, but he got her under control without her rearing again.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

That's the thing, horses test. She was fresh when you tried to canter her the week before and so she decided to up the anty when you began to go away from the barn.

Horses can exhibit barn sour behaviors just to see what they can get away with, especially with a new owner. As long as you correct it, then it should dissipate in time.

I'm glad it was corrected. You'll keep getting tested until she deems you a good herd leader. 

Just keep working on it with her, on the ground (important) and then finish up under saddle. The more plainly you lay things out for her, the easier she will be able to understand what is okay and what is NOT okay. 

You're doing great, OP! It can be tricky


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

I definately think that she is testing you. What type of bit do you ride her in? This link I'm putting in is from Julie Goodnight Julie Goodnight Natural Horsemanship / Horse Master TV Show

It is about the horse that throws their head in the air while in the canter, I watched this on tv and it made a lot of sense to me especially when riding the canter can be intimidating, in my 40s as well and don't really want to hit the ground lol


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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Skyseternalangel said:



That's the thing, horses test. She was fresh when you tried to canter her the week before and so she decided to up the anty when you began to go away from the barn.

Horses can exhibit barn sour behaviors just to see what they can get away with, especially with a new owner. As long as you correct it, then it should dissipate in time.

Click to expand...

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Skyseternalangel said:


> _
> 
> I'm glad it was corrected. You'll keep getting tested until she deems you a good herd leader. _ _
> 
> ...


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_*Thank you for your kind words and encouragement...I needed to hear them. I definitely am going to lunge the hell out of her, lol, before I get on her again next weekend! I'm going to get some help from my friend, because I'm not experienced at lunging, and don't even know if the horse is, so I don't want to do anything wrong. Thank you again...*


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

You're welcome! Remember to lunge with purpose though! The more focused you can get her, the better she'll be under saddle I bet


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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chandra1313 said:



I definately think that she is testing you. What type of bit do you ride her in? This link I'm putting in is from Julie Goodnight Julie Goodnight Natural Horsemanship / Horse Master TV Show

It is about the horse that throws their head in the air while in the canter, I watched this on tv and it made a lot of sense to me especially when riding the canter can be intimidating, in my 40s as well and don't really want to hit the ground lol

Click to expand...

_*I ride her with a small curb bit, almost a walking bit. I wanted something that was close to nothing, because the first time I rode her at her new home, I didn't have a bit (buying everything, as I said, haven't had a horse in years) so rode her around with a halter and rope for reigns, lol. She did so well (pulling alot, but still listening) I thought, awesome! I want a bitless bridle on her anyway, so now I know it will work! I've never used them, but I've always hated the thought of metal in a horses mouth, I just always think it's going to hurt. But, I couldn't get the one I wanted (Nurtural - $80+) yet, so got a $20 bridle w/bit set down at the local horse store. She rode excellent with it the 2nd and 3rd time we went, once in the pasture and then across the road on the trails. Now I think I'd be afraid to ride her without a bit, she was so out of control with one! This is the bit: Abetta Engraved Show Curb Bit - Stainless Steel - 5 - Horse

I just read that article you sent, and it sounds interesting; not sure it applies to me, since I'm always sensitive about their mouth, as I said, I've never liked the idea of bits even though I've always had to use them growing up. Had one appaloosa once we used a bosel on, which I liked much better, but since then I've read so much about how you could ruin a horse I'm scared to death to use one now, lol. I definitely like what they are saying on that site, though, so I'm going to go through all their training vids and articles to get what I can out of it; I know there's so much I don't know, so thank you! As I said, I grew up with horses (my first pony was a Shetland when I was 5), riding all the time until I was 16 (old style morgan mare, really stubborn, huge thick neck), but that was going out in the pasture out back and hopping on bareback with a halter most of the time! (couple other quarterhorses, then a big appaloosa)

Thank you again for your ideas and suggestions... hopefully my body makes it through her testing period! 
*


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm the same way about worrying about if I'm bothering the horse with that piece of metal in her mouth. I hope you don't think I sent the article because I thought you were hard on her mouth ;-) I actually watched a segment on RFD-tv about that subject by Julie Goodnight where a lady's horse was already that way and she taught the lady how to get the horse not to fear it was going to happen. I had noticed she was 10 so you never know what they experienced before. 

My new mare is 13 and last week on our 3rd trailride together, although hubby and some friends have had her out a lot before I worked up the nerve ;-) she was really pulling and I felt like I had to really hold her back, my husband says its because the young girl who was with us was cantering a lot and our other horse wanted to go fast too, I'm not sure a little worried that maybe I wasn't riding well enough to get the best out of her. I'm self taught as well. My mare has a very powerful feeling in her canter that I feel kind of intimidated about.
She was broke to a curb and I like them, but she really did a lot of weird mouthing with it so I went to a broken bit with very short shanks which seemed to stop all that mouthing she was doing.
I know that considering she was a broodmare for the past 7yrs before I got her I'm pretty lucky and I too just want to do right by her ;-)
Good luck!


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

My computer is slow at the moment so I can't remember the first page perfectly, so sorry if this has been addressed. Though it is probably behavioural and/or lack of practise at cantering. Has this horse been checked for pain. One of mine can go a bit nutto if he is in pain even if he seemed fine before that moment.


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## ThursdayNext (Oct 18, 2011)

+1 on making sure the horse isn't in pain. I'd check the saddle fit and the horse's teeth - especially since the critter came from an auction. Is the horse flinchy at all when you rub her back? Not saying this isn't behavioral - could be - but it's important to rule out pain first...not all the awesome groundwork and training will help if it hurts to canter...


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

ThursdayNext said:


> +1 on making sure the horse isn't in pain. I'd check the saddle fit and the horse's teeth - especially since the critter came from an auction. Is the horse flinchy at all when you rub her back? Not saying this isn't behavioral - could be - but it's important to rule out pain first...not all the awesome groundwork and training will help if it hurts to canter...


My husband was wondering about her mouth; when I asked him to put his fingers in her mouth because I can feel a small piece of tooth in the gum where there should be a space, he said she doesn't have her wolf teeth, which he thought was really odd. He then noticed our other new horse didn't have his, either. Is that something normal? We didn't think so. I'm wondering if the bit is hitting that small piece of tooth, and he's wondering if the bit needs to go up higher than normal because there isn't a tooth for quite a ways back? We did notice she was favoring her front right leg last week and the week before, but it seemed to have been all better this past week. He noticed that she has no hollow in her hooves, so she's got almost completely flat frogs all the way around. He was saying we should get her shoed to help that as soon as possible. The favoring on the one leg looked like it was due to a gouge/crack in the very back of her front right hoof. We treated all her feet with hoof treatment for a few days in a row, and that's completely healed now, it looks like. She definitely isn't flinching anywhere else...the first thing I do for every visit since the first day is rub her all over, to spoil her and make sure she's used to me touching her everywhere. BTW, she didn't come from a big bunch of horses at the auction; the guy said he lived 20 miles down the road, locally, which I thought helped the odds. Said he had 23 horses and needed to pare down a bit. He only had the one at the auction. Said she rode trail rides a lot.


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

Most mares don't have wolf teeth and not all geldings have them either. I just learned that mares don't usually have canine teeth either although they can have what they call tushes, I guess thats sort of like a canine that didn't develop all the way. 

I know when I lunged my mare she went into the canter very powerfully and I was pretty sure that it was going to be kind of rough which it was, but my friend assured me that it will get better with more riding.


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## Foxtail Ranch (Mar 10, 2012)

OP, I agree she is testing you. Correct her when she is misbehaving. She knows better, so you could try a spank with a crop, but it sounds like she may just react to a spank with more bad behavior, which is what my testy QH does. So the other way to correct is with more work.

More work is lots of turning, like small circles, s curves, figure 8's, etc. Make her work near the area they want to be(barn, gate) and rest away from it. 

If she ever does something that makes you feel unsafe, jump off and make her work on the ground (lunge small circles, yield front and hind, backing up). Be intense (not angry)and make her move! I always kept my mares halter and lead rope on and wrapped on the saddle horn so I can jump off and work her at any moment. I was recovering from an accident and just didn't feel confident when she would threaten to buck and rear. I still don't think it's worth the risk of injury, so I hop off whenever I feel unsafe. 

The other thing I want to share is that April also had a terrible canter. She kicked out and I thought she was gonna buck. Even when she was honestly trying, she was so rough I was afraid I would fall. I read somewhere that riding up a hill could be helpful. So I found a nice hill in a neighbor's orchard, not too steep, gradual and inviting. The very first day, first time, there was great improvement! We worked that hill every day, starting short and going longer to build her strength. She actually seemed to enjoy the hill as she hated the arena!

April is a great horse now, beautiful canter. She only tests me a little and quickly gets in line. And I feel like I can handle anything without fear because I just get off.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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chandra1313 said:



Most mares don't have wolf teeth and not all geldings have them either. I just learned that mares don't usually have canine teeth either although they can have what they call tushes, I guess thats sort of like a canine that didn't develop all the way. 

I know when I lunged my mare she went into the canter very powerfully and I was pretty sure that it was going to be kind of rough which it was, but my friend assured me that it will get better with more riding.

Click to expand...

_My husband says that's quite possible, since he's mostly dealt with geldings/stallions on the two ranches he worked on. I'm still worried just a little about that little piece of tooth sticking up... it ends up right in front of the bit. So we probably shouldn't raise the bit higher because of the teeth situation then, since you say it's normal. She has just slight wrinkling, which is the way both of us were taught to bit a horse.

I'm just going to lunge the hell out of her, working hard on her canter...see if she improves. Also, lol, want her a bit tired before I hop on from now on until I can be sure she won't get nutty again!


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

Have you had a vet or dentist see her? It can make a big difference.


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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tiffanyodonnell said:



OP, I agree she is testing you. Correct her when she is misbehaving. She knows better, so you could try a spank with a crop, but it sounds like she may just react to a spank with more bad behavior, which is what my testy QH does. So the other way to correct is with more work.

More work is lots of turning, like small circles, s curves, figure 8's, etc. Make her work near the area they want to be(barn, gate) and rest away from it.

Click to expand...

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tiffanyodonnell said:


> _
> 
> If she ever does something that makes you feel unsafe, jump off and make her work on the ground (lunge small circles, yield front and hind, backing up). Be intense (not angry)and make her move! I always kept my mares halter and lead rope on and wrapped on the saddle horn so I can jump off and work her at any moment. I was recovering from an accident and just didn't feel confident when she would threaten to buck and rear. I still don't think it's worth the risk of injury, so I hop off whenever I feel unsafe. _ _
> 
> ...




Wow! That information was so helpful, especially sharing your situation, which is exactly how I feel right now (even without the accident). Thank you so much, I'm going to take all of your suggestions and implement them! My husband just said he didn't think jumping off would help, he thought it would reinforce that the bad behavior works, but since you have the lead and halter right on to IMMEDIATELY work her, that makes a big difference in my mind. I feel much more encouraged! FABULOUS... THANK YOU TIFFANY!  ...now, to find a hill... :lol:


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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apachewhitesox said:



Have you had a vet or dentist see her? It can make a big difference.

Click to expand...

_I have not had a vet or dentist see her, but I will be doing that soon.


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## Ian McDonald (Aug 24, 2011)

No offense, but I think you answered your own question in the first sentence.


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## ThursdayNext (Oct 18, 2011)

It's not so much that I think she is a problem because she came from an auction, but it seems like a fair number of horses that wind up at auctions haven't been properly cared for in the period before that - many of them seem not to have had visits from the farrier and the dentist, in particular. That's what I'm wondering...do you know when this horse last saw the dentist? My guy (who is 18) needs to see the dentist every 8 or 9 weeks or he winds up with ramps that make his bit and bridle less comfortable than it ought to be. He's got to see the farrier at around the same intervals.

I also agree with the people who pointed out that it may be that the horse needs to muscle-up and get more fit before cantering. This is a pretty aerobically-demanding exercise, and if your horse hasn't been doing much of that, it's going to need to smart small and work up.

But it still sounds like it's time for a trip from the dentist and the farrier - get a good trim and an opinion about whether shoes are needed.


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## chandra1313 (Jul 12, 2011)

My mare although bred to have muscles was surely out of shape having been a broodmare for 7 years. So I definately think that working them and getting them in shape will help their canter. 

I don't know about your area but a dental float around my parts cost about 70dollars and definately encourage you to get your mare one. I'am myself planning on my mare getting one, the vet last year said her teeth were fine but she is 13 and hasn't had one in quite awhile. The hardest part for me is I have to drive her 2hrs roundtrip to a vet who does it, my regular vet doesn't ;-( 

The hill idea is a great one. I learnt how to canter for longer periods of time in a roundpen, but my first attempts at a canter were on a nice uphill area and my husband would ride out in front so that if I couldn't get the horse to stop, (more my fear) ;-) The mare I did this with has a nice canter but because I wasn't there myself, at first I felt like I was bouncing around so I would reach back and grab the cantle to pull myself deeper into the saddle as I learnt to move with the horse, it helped alot and I don't have to do that anymore.


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## milleniumgirl67 (Jun 8, 2012)

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Ian McDonald said:



No offense, but I think you answered your own question in the first sentence.

Click to expand...

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Which first sentence would that be?


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