# That scary canter/lope....



## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

@Golden Horse, you should save that, and when people post about either being afraid to canter . . . or wanting to canter when their coach thinks they are not ready, you can post that. It is excellent.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

lovely! I like Julie Goodnight. She is very supportive and no-nonsense. 



I appreciate, Golden, that you are upfront about your difficulties. I can sympathize. I find it challenging to canter, . . . . I've had so many falls from the canter that I never canter free from a ghost of worry.. but, I do it . . now and then.


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## Volvo (Feb 11, 2019)

Thanks for the post. It's very helpful. Its hard to believe but once I get through the initial fear in the beginning I find canter a bit easier to execute than trot. I am able to wrap my legs around and not bounce around, and move my pelvis with the horse. 
But think it'll be long time before I trot better.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Good post!! I’ve mostly found that 99% of the time, the trouble with canter is that beginners’ bodies are saying “go”, but their minds are saying “no”, and that is totally confusing to most horses. The horse knows.....


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## Cedar & Salty (Jul 6, 2018)

I love to canter, I've just lost my confidence with canter departs and up transitions. Ha ha

My hesitation and awkwardness have interfered with Cedar's departs and he is kind of runnuning into his lope instead of shifting gears nnicely. Salty is the reason I lost my confidence.

I have a vacation at home coming up in two weeks. I am going to watch my Julie Goodnight DVDS and work on canter tranistions every single day. Hopefully, I will get my lope mojo back with both horses.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Good stuff. I learned to canter with confidence on the trail, following my instructor, so I only have to worry about staying on the horse. After I learned to stay on the horse, I learned to control the horse. By now, I can scan the trail ahead and prepare for the turns while my body does the riding. It's not magic or superior talent or a bomb-proof Steady Eddie (definitely not the latter), it's practice and confidence gained by incremental skill-building.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Good article
I do think that there's far too much pressure put on people to move on a step before they feel mentally prepared to do it. 
They might seem physically capable but if they're so nervous that they tense up and go rigid they're far more likely to have a wreck.
I was so young when I learnt to ride that I don't remember my first canter experience at all. I do know that I fell off trotting without stirrups many times but again I was young and it was on sand and I probably bounced!
My falls have mostly been when jumping - or actually 'not jumping', when the horse has gone really keen at a fence and then changed its mind at the last minute.
I don't like to see people learning to canter being asked to do anything other than sit on their backsides - leaning forwards should be reserved for the jumpers, extended canter or gallop or when cantering for a long distance


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

tinyliny said:


> I appreciate, Golden, that you are upfront about your difficulties. I can sympathize. I find it challenging to canter, . . . . I've had so many falls from the canter that I never canter free from a ghost of worry.. but, I do it . . now and then.


While I of course believe I am unique and special, I also believe that there are many out there who struggle, if we share our struggles maybe it helps.

The worst thing about my struggle with Chuck is I know 100% that this is entirely my fault. Why do I know, because history....

I never had issues cantering as a kid, like many others given a choice I would of cantered everywhere, much more comfortable than trotting. Never really had issues as an adult, maybe I rode good horses! Ben, the horse who eventually broke me so badly, the first time I tried to canter him, I did the self same thing that Julie describes, he went bronco on me, and I got dumped, landed on my face and head, so not much damage done!

Gibbs was awesome, of course, but we always had to go through that bone shaking trot to get to a canter.

Fergie, I thought it was her, didn’t have a lot of issue to start with, but every now and again she would run off with me, through the transition, and we would have to circle with Coach yelling sit up and let her head go. We could also do the most beautiful and elegant of transitions, at Dressage Camp last year we got a round of applause for our best ever transition, felt AWESOME, obviously looked as good.

Now Chuck, the 16.3hh TB, with the big long stride, who has all the buttons, but is sensitive. First time we tried, only time so far we have tried to canter, he was just like Fergie, skated off at a run. That was scary, but the horrid realization that the same issue on different horse means it is all down to me is depressing. I know what I do, but I simply do not realize i’m doing it, the whole leg way back and kick, while leaning forward and grabbing the mouth at the wrong moment causing issues. I’ve watched Chuck on the lunge, I literally have to whisper a kiss to him, and he transitions.


Hardest thing in the world....YES it is all your fault
Best thing in the world....if it IS you you can fix it.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Wonderful article! Awesome!

I, too, have had trouble cantering. This, because I have trained my now 9 year old mare myself from an unbroke 4 year old when I really didn't have the skills and confidence to do so (not recommended). I have learned through lessons, and it has been a really long slow process. Last Fall, I finally realized that either I was falling apart at about 5 strides at the canter, or my mare would (or both), so I thought that by using trot-canter-trot transitions would help lessen the pressure on us to both to get into the canter and keep going. I had worked a lot with walk-trot-walk transitions, so the logic of using transitions and concentrating on the cue and depart made sense to me. It has really worked well and I am very close to a continuous canter in which my mare waits for the trot cue instead of fading. It didn't really take that long to progress from 3 strides and transition, to 5 strides, then 8, then halfway around the arena and so on. I am so excited to begin riding regularly again to continue my progress. Thanks for the article!

I plan to attend Equine Affaire in April and really want to see Julie Goodnight, this makes me even more excited about that prospect.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I've always enjoyed Goonight's articles, when I can find them. That's why I quit using metal 'speed clips' on our reins. We use leather slobber straps or water loops now. Y'know what else? Not only does it not set off a constant metal-on-metal sensation in a horse's mouth, but it nips people robbing your reins in a pinch... and never bringing them back. Since switching to water loops (and on Trigger's headstall - pineapple knots), NO ONE that comes out to ride or we go to ride with has robbed any of my stuff, swapped bits and headstalls around, etc.

It's been a zoo here this morning, so I've skimmed the OP. I want time to read it and hopefully, since it seems couched from an English rider's perspective (It may not be, not had time to fully process it), I still want to digest it and see what will translate into western riding.

I do like this:

_"Nice stretches of trail can be awesome for learning to ride the canter. A long, straight, slightly uphill grade with good footing is ideal for training both horse and rider. Few horses will buck going uphill. Arenas aren’t the easiest place to learn to ride, just the most controlled and convenient for teaching."_

I felt safe in an arena to let out on Trigger's brakes - he couldn't scrape me off under a tree or bolt all the way back home and lose me. On safe stretches of trails is where I've grown comfortable with him though and that's been a joyful thing. I still have a terrible seat and start to bounce loose early on. I've even kicked him up, wasn't prepared for the IMMEDIATE launch from fast walk to GALLOP NOW and nearly rolled out backwards off his butt... I managed to grab the horn and re-seat myself that time but for a couple of heart stopping seconds, I was wondering what the heck I was thinking when I asked him to GO NOW.

As an aside, was watching my son yesterday. Superman got his first right in several months put on him - his weight is back up, it's time to start getting him back in shape. Son tried to ride him my parent's house, 400 yards away. Supes would get to the edge of our property, turn back to the 'barn'. Son intuitively let him go at the pace he wanted - a lope, then worked him in circles and backing up at the 'barn', then set out again... and Supes turned back again... Son let him lope. It was Supe's choice... but he had to pay for his play when they got back to the barn... rinse and repeat. Each time they got further down the road, and each time, Supes had to work his old butt off at the barn then they set out again.

Son was doing it right on the barn soured thing, but I wanted to share this here because for all he rarely rides, Son has the most amazing, comfortable seat on a trotting or loping horse. I was in the Ranger, watching them come across the yard at a lope, son is riding like a cowboy who spends every day in the saddle, not the least bit panic-grabby like me, not the least bit bouncy in the seat. They moved as one and I was so impressed... and also so envious.

I could kick his butt for not being a regular rider. My goodness, he is so GOOD at it.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

greentree said:


> Good post!! I’ve mostly found that 99% of the time, the trouble with canter is that beginners’ bodies are saying “go”, but their minds are saying “no”, and that is totally confusing to most horses. The horse knows.....


I've told this story before, but it matches what you said:

When my daughter told me she wanted to canter, I put her on Trooper. She had already been taught cues by an instructor and cantered briefly a few times on lesson horses. But Trooper would not canter. I had cantered on Trooper a number of times, and my cues have never been more subtle or more complex that simply squeezing, so I was sure it wasn't a cueing problem. But Trooper would NOT canter.

Afterward, she told me she didn't really WANT to canter, but she felt she was SUPPOSED to be cantering by that stage. Trooper followed her heart, not her head.

Some months later - don't remember HOW much later - we returned from a trail ride. As we turned into our little arena, my daughter and Trooper started cantering. They did a bunch of laps as my daughter tried to get the feel for it. Afterward, she told me she wanted to canter but was afraid to ask me to do so on the trail. But when we got back, she just...wanted...and Trooper moved out. They did plenty of cantering after that. Like me, her cues never got more complex that an extra squeeze or saying, "Come on, let's go!"

I also don't recall her ever cantering on any horse other than Trooper. Now she is in the military, stationed 1,000 miles away. I may have to figure out how to teach Trooper to be ridden by someone else...:frown_color:


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Chuck is a big guy. I think cantering the big guys can be intimidating just because , while the turnover rate is slower, each stride is so big that you feel like you are whizzing through space mighty fast!!


for a few years I rode an Appy who preferred to lope over the trot. if I asked for an increase in speed, he always jumped into the cutest lope. It was ridiculously easy to ride. I loved it.


But, on a different, larger horse, it was big, fast, and I came off when he dodged, so it brought back all my fears.


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## aussiemum (Apr 11, 2013)

I love this post. I love to canter, but the one fall I've had was when I lost my stirrup in canter just as I was asking horse to slow to a trot and turn the corner, and I popped off the side. Broke my coccyx, but that was all, so wasn't too bad. But I still have a little residual fear. The horse I ride now, I rarely lose a stirrup, but she is a Clydesdale and she trips a lot as she doesn't pick up her feet. Admittedly the tripping is usually at walk or trot when she isn't picking her feet up enough, and she does REALLY pick them up at canter I'm told, but I have a fear that she will trip at canter and down we'll both go and she'll kill me. I'm a widow and cant afford for my kids to lose another parent. So that fear keeps me from truly enjoying it and I think I do mentally hold back, and probably physically hold back too. 

A couple times in the arena I've just let her go and given all the rein she wants and it is exhilarating, but she has the tendency to drift or even veer sharply to the inside if I give her any leeway. Where I ride we don't have any easily accessible trails with an open space to canter, but the property has a reasonably steep hill we all canter up, but because its pretty steep Blossom (the horse) cant sustain the canter for very long, and i'm obviously more concerned about uneven ground on the trail than in the sand arena.

Even though rationally I know she hasn't tripped at the canter in all the time I've ridden her, I just cant help thinking ''what if...''.
I think I need to just toughen up and give her her head on the trail, maybe add a neck strap and/or grab some handfuls of her plentiful mane, and just GO!! All she needs is for me to say ''Ok, ready, lets go'' and she breaks into canter.


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## Volvo (Feb 11, 2019)

Okay my fear is backkk with a vengeance ! today my horse almost broke into a gallop ,it was crazy fast. 

So what happened was, I was cantering away congratulating myself on not losing my stirrups , when I don't know he got excited, from the horses practicing jumps in the nearby arena, but he went fast! In a second and I was just trying to hang on and I got scared and ended up in the forward position, with tight reins, which led the horse to think Go Go Go, , and my instructor told me to pull the reins toward my stomach and sit back to try to halt but I couldn't slow him , I ended up speeding him. Then I remembered the one rein stop , so I kept turning him into a shorter circle and I stopped him. 
Ugh I feel so weak now. It's like my trust and confidence with the horse has eroded again. 
I cantered a smaller circle after that. But I was still scared. And also I don't know he was really excited to see his friends in the nearby arena that he sort of did an almost buck, I don't what it was, like a side hop. 
Well, here I am again. Back to square one. 
How do I practice stopping a canter , without a chance of speeding him?


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Just a suggestion, but maybe if you canter in really big circles in the arena, practice spiraling in and out and practice getting different speeds (strides). I would not suggest doing this for a long length of time, circles can be hard on a horse and you need to reverse directions back and forth, of course. I'm not sure if I am clear in my explanation, but maybe ask your instructor about spiraling circles mixed with straight down the rail and then back to circle. Hard for a horse to gallop on a circle.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

OK, this will be from a western perspective. It worked well for me using my Aussie-style saddle, which is based on an English dressage saddle.

You cannot canter a horse without the POSSIBILITY he will speed up. You CAN learn to to respond WHEN he speeds up, though. From a western perspective, then...

1 - Pry your knees apart. Gripping with your knees and leaning forward encourages him to go faster while making your seat less secure. Stop it!

2 - Get your feet forward. John Wayne forward:






There are three positions in the picture below that have value. Two are "balanced" for a stable horse (e & f). One is defensive (g). And one just sucks (h). "H" set you up for a fall! A defensive position - similar to what John Wayne was doing - gives you a secure balance. 








3 - If need be, push back against the rear of the horn. Neck rein with one hand and use one to push you back into position "g".

4 - Keep riding. If you are in an arena, the horse has no where to go but some form of circle. Keep riding.

5 - Bump to slow. Do NOT pull back with steady pressure the horse can resist & brace against. Bump, bump, bump. Or "Set the wall, set the wall, set the wall":






This was a good defensive position for me on Mia, who was known to spin and bolt. Australian saddle with a horn. She was very nervous about a moving van being loaded ahead of her. Falling on pavement was not a good option. But this position allowed her some freedom while giving me confidence I was staying on her back no matter what she did:








This is a slow motion video of young dressage horses up for sale. It is in slow motion. Watch how the riders polish their saddles:






Also, this is a good video on riding a canter:


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Came back to this today because I have not yet cantered on Rusty. My daughter cantered on him, but he required a LOT of push (like hitting him with the crop enough that he did mini-bucks). And to be fair, it's winter here, and we ride in snow, and I don't want to attempt my first canter on Rusty on a slippery surface. But am I just making excuses? 

I've cantered on lots of horses. I've cantered on Harley and Kodak (even though cantering on Kodak is more like galloping). It's just that Rusty is so young (6) and green, and right now, he needs a lot of convincing just to stay in a trot. I did want a horse that was more whoa than go... however, on a trail, he perks right up and wants to go faster. But trails are chest deep in snow right now, so that's not an option. 

In any case, that was a great (re)read @Golden Horse. Especially the part where you have to give so they can put their head down at the right time. When I cantered on some lesson horses last fall, I could feel that moment, and could push my hands forward just at the right time. I just have to do it on Rusty now.


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## akihba (Jul 8, 2013)

Excellent post, thanks for sharing! 

This reminds me of when I was young, maybe 10 or 11? My cousin put me on an arab gelding bareback. She looped his lead rope around to his halter and gave me the rope. Her idea was to let me walk around leisurely on the horse inside the arena while she went to finish up cleaning a stall or something. She came back to me zooming across the entire place, merely a blur of brown and blonde. Miraculously I hadn't fallen off, and I found it to be exhilarating. (it was the horse's idea to get some excess energy out, not mine.) 

I can see how this would've quickly turned into a bad experience, though. I will definitely keep this post in mind as I get back into working with horses, as I am sure I will come across my fair share of road bumps.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

@Acadianartist, that letting go moment is so important, and I think the biggest hurdle to jump.

I have now cantered Chuck a few times, and have to remember all of the following....

FORGET what you have done in the past it does not work here.
SIT, get butt firmly in saddle, nice and secure, legs underneath me, balanced.
SHOULDERS, not so much back as OPEN, deep breath and open the shoulders lift the boobs!
SHORT reins for Chuck, but long arms....so difficult but we are getting there.
LIFT into the canter, and think canter, and we are there....just remembering not to pull back on that vital down beat of the head...

It sounds a lot, but it is far more about feeling it, than thinking about it!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Golden Horse said:


> @*Acadianartist* , that letting go moment is so important, and I think the biggest hurdle to jump.
> 
> I have now cantered Chuck a few times, and have to remember all of the following....
> 
> ...


Great way to describe it!


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## Volvo (Feb 11, 2019)

bsms said:


> OK, this will be from a western perspective. It worked well for me using my Aussie-style saddle, which is based on an English dressage saddle.
> 
> You cannot canter a horse without the POSSIBILITY he will speed up. You CAN learn to to respond WHEN he speeds up, though. From a western perspective, then...
> 
> ...


When he sped up I got into the (f) position. Cos I was trying to hold on to the reins. 
It seems to me speeding him up and trying to stop him seem similar cues for a new rider. I mean a novice rider could make the mistake and confuse the horse. Cos I've learnt by making this mistake on two horses when I wanted to stop or slow the horses by pulling the rein to my stomach I made them go faster.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

"When he sped up I got into the (f) position. Cos I was trying to hold on to the reins...Cos I've learnt by making this mistake on two horses when I wanted to stop or slow the horses by pulling the rein to my stomach I made them go faster." - @Volvo

You can hold on to the reins in almost any position. I suspect you were holding on to your horse using the reins, which doesn't work and tends to tense them up. I also never found "pulling the rein to my stomach" had any value in slowing a horse. It just gives them something to brace against. And since you ended up in position "f", it sounds like you were pulling your stomach to the reins, not the reins to your stomach anyways.

An old picture of my daughter on Trooper:








You may need a few rides on a horse like Trooper to learn the feel of a canter without worrying about the horse running away. You cannot tell the horse to slow down correctly without an "independent seat". All that means is you need to be able to balance on the horse without help from the reins. I think it is more helpful to think of "independent reins" - can you give soft cues with the reins independent of what your seat is doing.

In the absence of a horse like Trooper, who is entirely capable of controlling himself, lunge lessons might help. You cannot feel confident at a canter while holding on with the reins. Nor can you correctly ask the horse to stop or slow - a "cue" is merely a way of asking a horse, not a way of forcing a horse - if you are holding on with the reins. Reins and seat need to be independent of each other.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Volvo said:


> Okay my fear is backkk with a vengeance ! today my horse almost broke into a gallop ,it was crazy fast.
> 
> So what happened was, I was cantering away congratulating myself on not losing my stirrups , when I don't know he got excited, from the horses practicing jumps in the nearby arena, but he went fast! In a second and I was just trying to hang on and I got scared and ended up in the forward position, with tight reins, which led the horse to think Go Go Go, , and my instructor told me to pull the reins toward my stomach and sit back to try to halt but I couldn't slow him , I ended up speeding him. Then I remembered the one rein stop , so I kept turning him into a shorter circle and I stopped him.
> Ugh I feel so weak now. It's like my trust and confidence with the horse has eroded again.
> ...


You did fine stopping him, I think you need to develop a feel for him speeding up and asking him to slow down before he gets faster. As mentioned, if you use trot-to-canter-to-trot transitions to get him listening for the transition, it helps him not think about canter-and-keep-going until you are confident you can slow him down when you want to. One has to do a lot of boring, baby steps work sometimes to get to the goal, but the practice will make you better at feeling and responding when it appears he wants to speed up. You want to feel it before he actually gets going too fast and ask him to slow down and keep his pace. It is possible that you may be losing balance during the canter and actually asking him to go faster. If he is excited to see his friends, you may be getting tense without realizing it and contributing. I have had to do A LOT of circles when my mare is excitable and not listening before I tried a canter. Both horse and rider need to be relaxed. Asking for a canter when a horse is excited and not listening is asking for a problem, in my opinion.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Volvo said:


> When he sped up I got into the (f) position. Cos I was trying to hold on to the reins.
> It seems to me speeding him up and trying to stop him seem similar cues for a new rider. I mean a novice rider could make the mistake and confuse the horse. Cos I've learnt by making this mistake on two horses when I wanted to stop or slow the horses by pulling the rein to my stomach I made them go faster.


It’s a balancing act, sometimes literally. It isn’t all about hands, or legs, it’s a balance between the two, with a whole chunk of seat thrown in!

Do you ever ride on your own, or just in lessons?

If you are on your own I learned a great ‘game’ the other day. Get a nice working walk then slow it down, slow it down so far that Your horse is barely moving, but still keeping that 4 beat walk, then take it back up to a good pace, then back down again, just using seat and leg. It is empowering to really see how you can control everything without reins, at a nice safe walk. Add spiraling in and out of a circle, still using body and leg, you can experiment with how much it takes to make a difference.


Now as to the other, it probably isn’t pulling the reins that is causing the speed up, but leaning forward and letting the legs go back. I hear my horse dumped someone in a lesson the other day for doing just that, rider was leaning forward, having with her legs saying go go go, her hands had a death grip trying to take his teeth out, it did not end well.

Avoid the temptation though of pushing the feet forward, puts you out of balance and reduces your effectiveness as a rider. There may be times where that would be appropriate, but not when you are practicing your canter in an arena. You must have your legs underneath you to support and be able to give aids. It’s very hard when you have s very forward horse, the tendency is to try and lift the leg off or out, and this is so not going to help. With the leg supportive and on you can ask for that lift into the canter, so the horse works from its back to its front, then you get that beautiful balanced upright canter. 

Take the leg off, the tendency is for them to dive toward the ground, be heavy on the front and hang onto your hands.


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## Cedar & Salty (Jul 6, 2018)

Agree with above. On the horses I have ridden, including my four, the best way to slow from a canter is to stop riding a canter. Take your legs off, sit back a little, slow your seat, and use your voice. (If you're riding Salty, he'll shift down with a simple eeeaaasssyyy. He'll put you over the handle bars with a whoa!)

The problem with using your reins to transition down, is that many horses, including Cedar and Salty, will maintain speed and collect. If you are leaning forward and pulling on the reins, you're telling them to collect and go faster. I found out very quickly on my first ride on Cedar that if you use your reins, he'll be loping along with his chin on his knees. When I think about my horses, voice and seat are your best controls.

Often, unless your horse is super forward, all you need to do is a big exhale, relax, take your legs off and use your voice.

On my end of canter concerns, Cedar and I made some progress today with multiple trot to canter transitions. The first turned into a runaway bolt (for a couple reasons that had nothing to do with me), one was running into it helter-skelter, and one was pretty good. Once we were actually loping, we were rockin' and grinning! Man, I love that horse! I'm over my mental block with him, I think.

I'm off for the next week, on an Arizona Spring Break staycation, so my goal is to get back to loping on Salty. I'm going to wait until he asks to break to a lope when we're trotting and just allow him to flow into it. Once I get the first few transitions with him, I think we'll be smooth sailing.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Okay, I am the odd man out, I have always found cantering/loping one of the easiest gaits to ride. I suck big time at an extended walk, I'm not very good at a collected walk either, too much effort on my part. My working trot is a lot of work for me, and according to my coach, it looks like I'm working too hard as well. And I have been told my Western pleasure jog, is too lazy? But I ride the lope very nice (tip, I relax, but keep all the important parts engaged) Got any tips for me on the collected and extended walk and jog/working trot?


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## Phantomrose (Jul 25, 2016)

This is an excellent article. At the moment, I find canter to be the trickiest fair to master, especially on a pony who is learning the gait. My trainer is helping me a lot with training my guy how to canter, and he’s starting to get the concept. I’ve cantered before, but on horses who know the canter very well. With my guy, it’s a work in progress and I am happy to get at least two or three strides of it when working with him. My only problem is the mental battle that goes in my head when working with it. I really want to do it, and get to doing canter more, but my subconscious and body works against me (I tend to lean a bit forward when going into it, and have to learn to sit back in the saddle.) 

What really helps is having encouragement from others to just go out, do it, and practice. My big “ah ha! I can do this!” moment was during a group lesson. My trainer was encouraging me to go and try for canter on my guy. The nerves were kind of kicking in, but I heard my friend and the students in my group encouraging me. That encouragement helped a lot. I got a canter out of my guy, and I was almost crying in happiness. 

I think some people do need that light push of encouragement, and reassurance that they can do it, and just have to keep on trekking and keep practicing. My trainer even put it in another way, to just think of it almost like a game, instead of something that you “have” to master at a set time frame. 

Sometimes overthinking about the gait can be the downfall, and it helps to not overthink it, go with the flow, and take it one day at a time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

waresbear said:


> Okay, I am the odd man out, I have always found cantering/loping one of the easiest gaits to ride. I suck big time at an extended walk, I'm not very good at a collected walk either, too much effort on my part. My working trot is a lot of work for me, and according to my coach, it looks like I'm working too hard as well. And I have been told my Western pleasure jog, is too lazy? But I ride the lope very nice (tip, I relax, but keep all the important parts engaged) Got any tips for me on the collected and extended walk and jog/working trot?



Lol, but I’m guessing you’re talking more about technique rather than fear?


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

Some brief observations on cantering: 

Nine times out of ten we err on the side of tension, in the tension-stability muscle balance. 
Nine times out of ten we err on the side of holding in the rein department. 
Nine times out of ten we err on the side of leaning forward when we should sit back. 

In my experience- the best way to bust the tension is a shot of vodka. Or an appropriate dosage of intoxicant for a person's tolerance.

It also is "liquid courage" and thus can make one feel more inclined to loosen the reins. And follow with the body.

It also will activate your "neutral spine" as your body decides that depending on gravity is the maximum effort inspirable to stay upright. 

In short, slight inebriation is conducive to cantering, however it's benefits decrease dramatically when success depends on:
a) remembering a pattern
b) listing the alphabet backwards.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Golden Horse said:


> Lol, but I’m guessing you’re talking more about technique rather than fear?


True, only time I get fearful is before I jump, after the first jump, I am fine. Mind you I haven't jumped over 2', lol.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I've been riding my whole life, I've broken horses to ride (with resounding success), I've retrained an ottb, and... I still hate cantering.

Cantering when jumping is a different story, but cantering on the flat is just... something I don't enjoy. I don't canter on trails, and I won't canter a horse I don't know the first time I ride it unless I've seen it cantered under saddle by its owner.

I don't know why, but I don't have the same hangup when I'm on bareback.

Pretty much all my nasty falls have been out of a canter (or a gallop)... but I've had my share of scary falls jumping too and I'm not afraid to jump?

I feel like the canter is a very common place for people to get anxious, and I'm honestly not sure why.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

lostastirrup said:


> Some brief observations on cantering:
> 
> Nine times out of ten we err on the side of tension, in the tension-stability muscle balance.
> Nine times out of ten we err on the side of holding in the rein department.
> ...


Now, there's an idea!:happydance:


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