# help -- [canter transitions & other green horse questions]



## heartcore (Feb 19, 2009)

hey there. 
just shy a month ago, i bought a four year old thoroughbred gelding. he's greengreengreen and my new, wonderful project horse. his gaits are abesolutly beautiful and soso hugeee -- trot as extended as can be, and his rockinghorse canter just eats up the ring. but he's still green, as i said, so he's got lots and lots of quirks. 

1. [this one's my biggest issue. input is very, very much loved!] his walk-trot transitions are usually fine and flowing, but his trot-canter ones, i just can't figure out. when i urge him to canter, even very subtly, he'll literally leap into it. he'll raise his front end almost into a rear, then plunge foreward. i'd like to know how to get him to calmly and quietly transition, and if there's any particular excercizes i can do to work on that with him.

2. he's extreemly sensitive. often, when i'm cantering down the longside, he'll turn his neck to look at something scary or shift to the slight hill the fence sits on and then back down to the riding 'rut.' when he does this, he'll swap his lead. he also swaps if i shift my weight too much or adjust the reigns just slightly. if you guys have ideas on how to correct this, i'd love to hear them. 

3. i'd like to know if someone could help me on how to work him into putting his head down and bending it at the poll. he's gotten better about it over the time i've had him; he trusts me more and is more relaxed in my hands, but often, he'll still hold his head stiff and up as we go around. 
_
thanks, you guys! answers and any other tips on training green hunters are greatly apreciated!_


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## makin tracks (Jan 25, 2009)

It all comes down to balance.

My fellow used to leap from walk to trot, scared the daylights out of me the first couple of times. He got better with balance.

On way you could try is trot him in a figure 8 with a pole at the centre and as you go over the pole you ask for the canter. It may help him to keep his head lower - as in looking at the pole - and not leap so much.

Horses off the track are very onesided, so they canter much better on one lead than the other. Don't expect him to hold the canter on his weak side too long to begin with, gradually increase the requirements.

Lots of leg yielding, circling in and circling out is a great way to get him bending and softer. That even worked with our ex racer who had a neck injury.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

makin tracks said:


> It all comes down to balance.


Very true.

MIEventer and others will be able to give you some help when they log on.


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## ShowJumpLife (Jan 17, 2009)

you wouldnt happen to have any videos of the canter transition would you? 
My gelding does that sometimes although not as high as to say its like a rear. but when ever he does it in a dressage test we get high marks for teh canter so im assuming he does it when hes using his hind end to push into the canter rather then his front end pulling im into the canter.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. Do 12-15 transitions until they are smooth and then move on. Make sure he understands it before you move onto something new. For his headset, don't worry about it. If you keep your hands still and quiet and ride him correctly using the training scale (rhythm, relaxation, contact, etc..) he will learn to accept the bit and come into a contact of his own accord. Do a million transitions every ride, and play with circles of different sizes and some serpentines. Make sure also that you always ride on your line. Don't let him drift away from your line!


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. Do 12-15 transitions until they are smooth and then move on. Make sure he understands it before you move onto something new. For his headset, don't worry about it. If you keep your hands still and quiet and ride him correctly using the training scale (rhythm, relaxation, contact, etc..) he will learn to accept the bit and come into a contact of his own accord. Do a million transitions every ride, and play with circles of different sizes and some serpentines. Make sure also that you always ride on your line. Don't let him drift away from your line!


 
Exactly this is the dressage way.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Spyder said:


> Exactly this is the dressage way.


Yes and then when I take my dressage horses in the hunter ring we pin first... funny how that happens...


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Yes and then when I take my dressage horses in the hunter ring we pin first... funny how that happens...


Hey, I took my FEI dressage horse western games and pinned first as well.

Had a ball !!


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## Jubilee Rose (May 28, 2008)

Spyder and Anebel, just goes to show how dressage is such a great basis for any discipline. So neat.


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

My instructors told me that some of the horses I rode rushed the trot into the canter or made a big huge leap because their muscles weren't as well-developed. Rushing a transition is done because the horse feels unbalanced or isn't strong enough; a balanced and controlled _anything_ requires more effort than a hurried, bulling-through job. So hopefully the people on here who know much more about conditioning a horse than I do will explain what muscle groups need to be worked and what exercises you can do to improve them.

I've definitely noticed that when I've ridden the better horses, who take better riders and get a more thorough workout and so on, their transitions are much smoother. I once rode one of the stable owner's ex-showjumpers and his transitions were so smooth I got confused about just when I was changing gaits!


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

He's young and green, all of these things take time.

First, I would have a professional saddle fitter out to evaluate your saddle fit. Since he is so sensitive, a very slight ill fit might cause some of this behavior.

Next, I would add a ThinLine pad under your saddle, half pad or contour pad. These pads are thin, so as not to change saddle fit, but they are very shock absorbing, encouraging the horse to round more readily and work through his back. A ThinLine really improved my sensitive TBxArab gelding.

Finally, just keep working. Be as soft in the saddle as you can. Don't punish or pull him back hard for his big transition, just keep transitioning until he gives you a nicer one, even if it's just slightly nicer, and praise him like crazy for it and quit for the day. He is young and green, and it takes a LOT of muscle and balance to give those nice soft transitions. They will come with time. Some work over trot poles and on trail rides will help build his muscle and improve balance.

Since he is a bit "out there" and gets distracted, I would consider his diet and turnout schedule. 

He should be getting as much turnout as possible, preferablly 24/7 with just stall time to eat. He needs time and room to run off any of that nervous energy. It helps if he's in a large paddock or pasture with a friend or three.

If he's on any grains, sweet feed, or pelleted feeds, I would consider taking him off of them. Diets high in sugars and starches can cause "ADD" type behavior in horses. Switch him over to a more natural, forage based diet consisting of lots and lots of grass hay or Timothy hay and a concentrated feed like a ration balancer (Triple Crown 30% is one of the best, you only feed 1-2 lbs a day for full nutrition) or a good broad spectrum vitamin/mineral supplement mixed with some flax and beet pulp or alfalfa pellets (add a little water to make it all stick). A change in diet REALLY improved my gelding's overall behavior and work ethic. He also keeps his weight on now with a LOT less feed (he was my "hard keeper").


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## SaddleUp158 (Dec 26, 2008)

I used to ride a horse like this and he was not a greenie, just a super hot and sensitive horse at 9yrs old. Try only cueing to canter with your seat, if he is so sensitive to the leg, just drop your seatbone to ask for the canter, some horses respond much quieter to this cue. Don't ask him to frame up when he takes the canter- try either of these 1) try to give him as loose a rein as possible when you ask for the canter so that you are not affecting his balance or 2) give him support with the reins but do not try and hold him to a frame. 

If possible take him to a pasture or very very large arena and just canter him in large circles. If balance is the problem, then small circles will not get you anywhere, you need to take him out in the open and use large large circles and gradually begin to bring him on a smaller circle every now and then. You will begin to notice after a while (not in one ride) that you can take him on smaller circles as he finds his balance. 

Hope this helps.

You can also incorporate long-lining (ground driving) to work on his trot-canter transitions. I am doing this with my greenie. Sometimes it helps to step off their backs and just work them from the ground.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Saddle up, i'm curious. How do you manage trot-canter transitions while long-lining? I have this very comical picture in my head of someone running along behind their horse being dragged by the line while it canters... He he. I'm sure it's not like that though!


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Long-lining is different than traditional ground driving.

Ground Driving (walking behind the horse):









Long Lining (standing in the middle of a circle):









Here's the off-side of the horse, so you can see how the lines go. In this photo, we have the lines pully-style, through the bit and attached back to the girth. 









In long-lining, the horse goes around you in a circle, like lunging, but you have two lines attached to each side of the bit, to mimic both reins.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Ah, ok! I get it now, he he. Thanks.

Was thinking some very funny things!


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