Bouncing in the canter!!! help....?

Question

I have been riding for years, i mainly show. I have ridden many horses, most of which i have no problem riding. When i ride my current horse in my sythetic saddle i dont bounce in the canter, however when i use my leather dressage saddle i do!!!! (not alot, however there is air between the saddle and me at times) I have done heaps of no stirrup + no reins work, i sit up straight and stretch my leg long, whilst relaxing it but even with no stirrups i bounce. It doesnt seem like a balance problem as i can canter bareback or with no stirrups with no problem, i dont move much at all - except for the bounce lol. Most other horses i dont have a problem keeping in the saddle.

Is there anything else i can do? No stirrup work doesnt seem to be working...

Answer 1

I would try the stuff to make your saddle tacky or sticky maybe you just need a little of that but at the same time what happens once your done riding? I have never used it but it just sounds like your saddle is slippery try riding with full seat breeches. THat might help with grip. I have the same problem and I tried with full seat breeches and It stoped.

Answer 2

You could try sticking your rump up a little, like the Jockeys do..

Answer 3

Instead of just sitting there, try to feel the horse's movement in your body, and flow with him. Also, take your thumb and grab the cantle of the saddle, and "sit" on your thumb. That'll give you some kind of gauge as to whether you're bouncing a lot or not, and it'll teach you to stay sitting too. But you absolutely can't sit the canter properly if you don't move with the horse, so focus on that! Good luck!

Answer 4

sit back a little bit. and push your "behind" down into the saddle basically.

Answer 5

I am wondering if the horse you are riding is cross cantering.

Perhaps the saddle is wrong for you.

If you have been riding for years, this should not present a problem...either it is the horse or saddle since you say you have no problem with the other saddle.

Answer 6

try sitting/leaning back a little when your cantering

Answer 7

I've been having this problem recently to.  I know how annoying it is.  I've found that if you think about sit, sit, sit each stride it helps a bit.  Also I don't think that I actually lean back but if I think about and and shift my weight a bit back  sit and stay in the saddle a lot easier.  If you keep your legs relaxed and don't think about OK, I need to keep my leg here and make sure that my heals stay down it goes that easier.  With your leg relaxed and just there on your horses side with it on to keep them going forward it's a little bit easier.  

OK so pretty much sit back a bit or shift your weight and keep your legs relax and look up it should work out.  Good luck!

Answer 8

are you trying to do a normal canter in a dressage saddle?

im not much of a dressgae rider myself but if you are i think that may be the problem. you should collect or extend your canters when doing dressage - thats what the saddle was designed for to aid with collected and extended cantering along with other dressage movements. you should also keep your stirrups very long when in the saddle.

hope it helped XD

Answer 9

sometimes, its the saddle. personally i hate synthetic saddles as i find that they put you in a strange position. You could always try using a different saddle for dressage, that you can sit in. it may be because is hasnt got a deep enough seat or enough knee roll etc for you to 'stick' to! And if your position etc is perfect then i wouldnt suggest doing more work without stirrups, as this doesnt seem to be making a difference. So i should think its just this particular saddle.

Something else that may help you, if it is not the saddle is some 'flexi leg' stirrups, which bend as your excert weight onto them. I use them all the time. They also reduce back, knee pain etc when riding. If none of this makes a difference, then it maybe that the horse is moving differently in this saddle, for certain reasons such as pain, because its heavier........

Good luck

Answer 10

Sit back a hair and relax your muscles.  Pretend your heels are made of lead and let them drop way down from soft muscles, and let the rest of your leg follow.  It should be draped on the horse, not pinching or holding on to him.  I'd have someoen videotape you so you can see what is happening when you're bouncing around.

If it's only a problem in one particular saddle, I'd examine the saddle.  Are there huge knee blocks that are forcing your leg into a weird position?  Or is there a lack of grip to it that is forcing you to rely on position alone (as opposed to, say, a grippy seat on your synthetic that is "helping" you to stay still)?  Maybe borrow someone else's saddle and see if you have the same problem.

Answer 11

dressage saddles in general are the worst kind of saddle in this universe!... don't worry about it, most people bounce too much in them anyway... however if you are trying to go into competitions like eventing in which dressage is required, then there are a few pointers that i have been taught (i don't mean to brag, but i don't bounce in dressage saddles)..

right away my first suggestion would be "wrap your legs tightly around his/her body"... but you said that you do a lot of no stirrup work, so i don't think that is the problem... in that case, sit back and deep in the saddle... make your lower back soft so it follows the movement of the horse, but keep your shoulders level ... you might feel like this is ruining your position, but if you look closely at eventing videos, you will see that many top notch riders keep their upper body slightly behind the vertical... like i said the trick is following the horses movements with your lower back, and keeping the rest of your body stable... a trick i used to train myself into doing this is placing a $100 bill between my butt and the saddle... trust me, you will be doing everything you can possibly think of to keep yourself glued to the saddle...

hope this helps!

Answer 12

You can buy this sticky stuff that makes your bum and your legs grip to the saddle. It's used by dressage riders (and me) and it really helps me keep my position and stop bouncing around!

http://www.sadl-tite.co.uk/ -The website

Hope that helps, it's well worth it!

Answer 13

Don't ride in that saddle lol.

Or try pushing back in your bum alot.

Answer 14

You could try sitting back, weight down through your heels and seat, relax your back and belly and try to absorb the horses rhythm and move with the horse. You sound pretty experienced so you've probably tried this, so it must be the saddle. If you don't bounce in a different saddle on the same horse, the only thing you can do is practice or get a new saddle.

Answer 15

sit dee[per in your seat and tuck your butt under so it's like your sitting on your jeans pockets, this should help