# Horse canters too fast, sometimes bucking & galloping



## grayfalls (Aug 4, 2010)

I've been half leasing a horse since October, and before I started leasing him I nearly had two years off of riding. We are perfectly in sync when trotting and walking. We only started *attempting* to canter in the past month, and it is not going well at all.
One of the first times I tried to get him to canter, he bolted and ran out of the ring with me on his back, then proceeded to buck me off. I got right back on and tried to get him to canter again, hoping for more positive results, but he ran away with me and threw me off another time. I was discouraged with that and had him trotting and walking for the rest of the time. 
We have had very few positive cantering experiences. Most of the time he lurches right into a _very_ fast canter (honestly closer to a gallop) that is very hard to control him at, and after going around the ring halfway he starts 'throwing' up his front end, most of the time unbalancing me. He also is very terrible with riding into the corners despite all the leg and rein I am giving him. Most of the time he just ends up stopping or trotting really quickly. 

Also, for some reason, we can get a couple of okay canters when we travel along the ring counter-clockwise. But as soon as we go clockwise and approach the place where he bolted and tried to buck me off, he tries to _run_. And I mean RUN. After my first experience I know now to close the ring's gate, but that is exactly where he heads every time, almost running us into the fence. It is really disconcerting and makes cantering a totally unpleasant experience. I really want to try and work on this issue instead of avoiding it completely because I'd obviously like to progress. I'm also finally having an instructor come in on Tuesday to help me, but I can currently only afford to have her in once a month (I'm 17 and have to pay for all this horsey stuff all by myself). 
What is your advice? I'd really appreciate anything!


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Does he canter well on a lunge line? How about all tacked up on a line in the arena? One of my friends has a horse that is so unbalanced at a canter all by herself that trying to get her to canter under saddle right now is not only frustrating, but borderline dangerous. So, she's taking a step back and starting from the beginning and just getting the horse to canter well (balanced, relaxed, reasonable speed) on her own before adding a rider to the mix. Once she gets the mare to the point where she's not panicky and rushing on her own, then the plan is to add the rider back into the equation. Might be worth considering for this gelding since it seems like there are some significant issues potentially with the horse as well as this issue having the potential to erode your confidence.


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## grayfalls (Aug 4, 2010)

I wish I could tell you if he was good on the lunge line, but the owners don't even have a lunge line for him and the round pen at our stables has to be paid for if we want to use it. I've also (embarrassingly) never lunged a horse before!  Before I started leasing him, I only rode school horses, which only consisted of riding for 30 minutes, then grooming them and putting them away. However I do know that the girl who owns him rides him in shows and jumps with him and they have done reasonably well so I don't think it's a problem with his balance.

I was just reading through a few other posts and I am wondering if it's a problem with respect? I can quite honestly say that I don't think he likes me very much despite the fact that I adore him and try to let him know as much as I can.


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## EncinitasM (Oct 5, 2014)

I'm still a novice but it sounds like you are treading a dangerous path here. It sounds like this horse is too much for your current abilities and the horse knows this. I don't have any specific recommendations but I think you need to seriously rethink this situation before you get hurt.

I'll be interested in what the trainer has to say.


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## grayfalls (Aug 4, 2010)

I can agree with you that I think he knows that I can't get ahold of him at the canter, but he is just so willing to work at the trot and walk that I know I have to be able to find a way to work with him cantering. We have gotten slightly better in steps, but he still wants to bolt when we pass by the spot where he tried to throw me. He can go past it counter-clockwise, but if we try and go clockwise (the direction we were going when he first threw me) he turns wild. Is it a memory thing?

I also don't let myself get freaked out, I talk to him in a calm voice if he begins to rush, I say very softly 'Slow down, Leo, calm down' and he will listen a bit but it still isn't a canter where I can improve at. It's hard to get better at a gait when he's always trying to rush and becomes imbalanced. The funny thing is that I can trot him stirrupless, sitting and posting, and I have even trotted around the ring reinless with him before to work on my legs and seat. For some reason he just decides to fly away with me at the canter.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

You mentioned in one of your posts that the owner has ridden this horse in shows and jumped him. Have you ever watched her canter him? How has his canter looked when she rides him?

Knowing this can add important information for evaluating the situation.


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## Chicalia (Nov 5, 2013)

Please see if you can find someone with a longe line who can teach you how to longe your horse. Longeing would be good for you for two reasons. First, longeing will help your horse to get in shape to canter. My coach told me that horses will often canter faster if they are out of shape because it's easier for them. Secondly, longeing will help you build your confidence and help you build a relationship with your horse as his leader...which something that will help you two to get along better in the long run.


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## grayfalls (Aug 4, 2010)

TX I've only seen her cantering on him once, when I was going to try him out for the lease and she wanted to show me how he cantered. He was feeling very ill that day though, what with deworming meds, the heat, and him recovering from his past owner's starving (he was much thinner), so it looked labored, if anything. Other than that I haven't seen her around the barn at all, we ride on completely different days. I just keep in touch with her mum.

Chicalia, I don't mind buying a longe line myself if it's going to be very helpful!  Plus when I continue horse riding I will no doubt need it in the future. I'm just concerned with learning how to longe without the benefit of a round pen. There's also usually not anyone around at the barn aside from the owners when I'm up there, and they're usually very busy with farm work. Would more trotting and trotting exercises help him improve enough muscle for cantering slowly? He's definitely not a visibly muscled horse, he's pretty squishy at the moment. Lately I've only been able to get out there a couple times a week or sometimes even just once because of the weather, and only being able to ride him for 30-40 minutes at a time, but the owner also comes out and works him harder. I never really thought that he could be going faster because he's undermuscled, I thought it would be the opposite!


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## Chicalia (Nov 5, 2013)

You don't need a round pen to longe if you have a longe line because the line will set the limit of the circle for you. However, you should have someone show you the basic techniques that will work with your horse (like how to ask him to change directions and so forth and what to do if the horse blows you off when you ask). I've actually had a few lessons with my trainer just on longeing. I'm not an expert so I'm not comfortable giving you any how-to tips here, but I think it's something that might help if you had a really knowledgeable person to guide you.


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## Chicalia (Nov 5, 2013)

Wanted to add in something but the editing time limits for my previous post expired... 

My lease horse was only used by walk/trot beginning riders for about two years. Obviously, she cantered on her own in the pasture, but wasn't used to cantering with a rider. My trainer had me longe her at the trot (to warm up) and then work on the canter for about 15 minutes 3-4 times a week for about a month, just to help her build up her muscling for the canter before my trainer would even think about giving me cantering lessons. My horse just wasn't ready for it physically. She was cantering really fast, too, due to being out of shape, which would have made it even more difficult -- and maybe scary -- for a rider who was new to sitting the canter. The more she cantered on the longe line, the more she was able to slow it down. Honestly, I'm not sure of the physical reasons why out of shape horses would canter faster. Maybe someone can comment on that.

My suggestion (based on my limited and personal experience with my own horse) would be to work on more trot while riding, perhaps working on the sitting trot and posting trot without stirrups to build up your own balance and muscling, and in the meantime, get your horse in shape to eventually canter with you.


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## LoveofOTTB (Dec 7, 2014)

You don't NEED a lunge line to lunge your horse, yes it does come in handy, but I was taught to lunge a horse just with a lead rope at first. It was easier since it was a little shorter, and once I understood how to lunge i then bought an actual lunge line. But I still hardly ever use it, I only use it when I am 'free jumping' my OTTB (no way for me to fully free jump him where i board without the lunge line). I actually found it easier with the lead rope, because I could control the horse better, and like I said before, I actually lunge with my lead rope more still. 

My guy has a bigger stride since he is an OTTB, so his canter feels fast to other people. But me lunging him before I cantered him helped a lot with slowing his pace down just a little, also put down some ground poles and have him go over those. It will help control his speed, balance, and let him pay attention to his feet.


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## grayfalls (Aug 4, 2010)

Chicalia, thanks for all the help!! Now that I think about it, even though he is getting ridden at least 3 times a week because he has two riders, he still isn't very muscled. Because he's been recovering from his starving period with his past owner he's been on a whole bunch of high calorie feed, and his body has obviously focused a lot more on building back fat rather than muscle, especially since it's the winter. I also emailed the mum of the girl who rides him and I got an answer back from the daughter saying that he will often bolt with her on his back too! I'm glad to hear I'm not the primary reason for his behavior, but also a little not-so-glad because that means it's a habit I'll have to work on a lot with him. I've never tried to really train a horse out of anything so this will be quite the challenge! She also revealed to me that he did in fact used to be a lesson horse, and that's probably why he's _awful_ about his corners. This horse will cut his corners to no end, sometimes even moving diagonally because he doesn't want to listen to my leg aids. She also said he could be running really fast and skipping his corners because he thinks it takes him longer to get around the arena that way, and he dreads the extra work.
I went out and rode him yesterday but didn't get the chance to canter him because the footing was so terrible, but hopefully it'll be better by Tuesday and I'll update you all on what the instructor says!

OTTB, I'll definitely have to try the lunging with his lead rope! We have a pretty long one for him as well as a shorter rope so I think that's an awesome idea. I think I'll have to try out some ground poles when I feel like I can get some more control of him at the canter. He's not very 'surefooted' and he trips from time to time, so I'm a little cautious to get him to go over the ground poles when he's all wild at the canter.


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## NightFell (Dec 3, 2014)

I'm going to second/third all the comments about safety; it sounds like you may be a bit over-horsed and your lease rides may need to be supervised at first until you get more comfortable. In addition to lunging, doing some groundwork refresher wouldn't hurt either!


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds (Jul 9, 2009)

Just a tip, if he starts to tense and feel as though hes going to run, turn him hard, don't ever just pull back on the reins.


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## Valentina (Jul 27, 2009)

Two things to try:
1. When you ask for canter (clockwise) only allow a *few* steps of canter then bring him back to a trot (before he works up too much speed). Doing this MANY times will build up his muscles and get him accustomed to listening for your trot cues. 
2. If you loose control and he bolts then do a 1 rein stop. That's where you take one rein and jerk it back - HARD. (I usually grab mane with the other hand while retaining the rein in that hand.) Just be ready because he'll probably slam on the brakes (that's what you want). When he does praise him but make him stand for a bit then walk (until you get his mind back under control). Do not trot or canter until you have his mind under control. 

In the interim I would work on getting him to listen to you - ALL the time. What happens is he decides to take over (whether its because he doesn't have the muscle to carry himself and a rider at the canter, he's unbalanced or he just likes to run), so you need to constantly keep his mind busy by:

a. changing direction
b. asking for a small circle (making certain you don't just bend his head inside the circle but that you use the OUTSIDE rein to move his shoulders on the circle.
c. ask for leg yields. It's hard to bolt/rear if your hind legs are crossing over each other. So train him to leg yield at the walk, then trot so you can use this at the canter. 
d. trot/halt trot/walk walk.halt transitions - every few steps. Be INconsistent in how often you ask for the gait change so its hard for him to correctly anticipate. Don't let him stop before you ask for it - make him wait. 

Once these techniques work I'd share them with his other rider so he doesn't maintain a bad habit. :lol:

Forgot to say - the bucking COULD be of the saddle is resting on his withers. make certain, after you place the saddle before tightening the girth, that you can get your fingers between the saddle and the top of his shoulder blades (BOTH sides as hoeses aren't always 100% symetrical). If it's on his shoulder it would be more uncomfortable, especially during the canter when horses are more likely to buck.


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## beverleyy (Oct 26, 2011)

Maybe I missed it somewhere, but is this a full/part/or free lease? 
Is the owner aware of what is going on? If I were this horse's owner and the leaser was not making me well aware of the situation the FIRST time it happened, I'd be more than ticked.


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