Horse canter help?

Question

so my seven year old mare bella and i are having a very hard time at the canter. she picks her leads up and stuff just fine its just that at the canter she rushes like nobodies buisness while pulling my arms out of there sockets. sometimes she relaxes enough and gives me a gorgeous smooth, slow, relaxed canter but its hardly like that anymore. But she basically pulls really really hard and rushes and dosnt wanna stop while pulling her head [NOT to buck, she just pulls so bad my shoulders almost fall off!] any suggestions?

Answer 1

sit deep into your saddle, sit back, stretch your heels down and squeeze with your knees.

my ex-race horse does the same thing. hangin on to her mouth does nothing, but totally know where you coming from. i typically get the canter i want when i just relax, sit back, sit deep into my saddle, and be really balanced/collected.

Also try using lower hands, raising your hands past your hip is useless. Pull toward your hip.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Im  not sure if this is your problem, but maybe her feet were cut too short?

and she is breaking over to fast,

just a thoughtttt= ]

Answer 3

I agree with Starligh. . .  that you should work on slower gaits. If Bella is trotting too fast, then stop her and then continue at the speed you want to go. If you continue to try to trot her and she is still trotting too fast, then stop her and back her up a few steps. Release the reins and ask for the trot, again. I would not progress with the canter until the trot is controlled at a nice easy gait, that you are comfortable with. Once that is in order, you can go on the the canter, in smaller circles, because it is harder for a horse to canter as quickly if the circles are smaller. You don't want to do this too much, as you don't want to cause any damage to the legs by tight circling too consistently, but try to slow her down. As you enlarge your circles, if Bella increases her speed, don't pull on her mouth - stop her. Continue with the canter again. If she speeds up too much, then stop her and back her up a few steps, like you successully did at the trot, then immediately ask for the canter, again. (If you have not mastered this at the trot, don't even try it at the canter. You have to get each gait right before progressing to a faster or more difficult gait or movement, especially if you are experiencing specific difficulties.) If you continue working with her and she realizes that you will not be pulling on her mouth, but you WILL be stopping her and making  her start all over again, right away the right way, she may get the idea. If this does not work, then do get a trainer because this will be an efficient way to understand what you need to do to get "in sync" with Bella, have a good ride, and enjoy your riding. Also, does Bella get turned out on a daily basis, or is she kept in her stall during the day, when horses should be outside playing, and being horses? If Bella is forced to stay inside, especially in the nice spring weather, she may be rebelling at this sort of set-up. Horses need lots of hours to run around, as it is not natural to be cooped up, and it is not healthy. Has this just started since the spring weather? If Bella is not turned out, you may need to communicate with the barn owners (if she is stabled) that your horse needs turnout, or you may need to go somewhere that includes that in the daily routine.

Answer 4

start lunging her with side reigns.  When she starts to hold herself and not pull, then start riding (cantering) her again, but right when she starts pulling on you go right back to side reigns.  When you are cantering on her keep her bent on a circle and keep chaning directions...three circles one direction, do a figure eight motion and do three circles in the other direction.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Bella sounds like she may be addicted to pulling on you. I have a mare myself who used to be a polo horse, and I am working on basic dressage with her. I would start by working your mare slowly, at the walk and trot, with lots of circles and transitions between the two gaits until she is calm at them and quiet when asked to do them.I think that part of the reason Bella rushes around is because she has been pushed, hard, into the canter without being given a chance to move into the gait naturally. I'm not saying you did this- in fact, I have a feeling that Bella was already pretty set in her ways before you ever got hold of her. Working at slow gaits ( walking and trotting) will help you- and it will teach Bella that she doesn't need to pull and rush around all the time. If she does try to canter when you ask for a trot, stop her immediately. Don't reward her for the behavior by letting her continue to canter- you want to slow her down, and not give her reasons to pull on you. I have used this on my mare with great success- the result has been that she now listens to me and has learned to wait until I ask before she starts cantering. When Bella is completely quiet at the trot, and is NOT pulling on you, then you can ask for a canter- but do so on a LOOSE rein. I say this because it may also be that Bella pulls because she has learned that the rider is always going to pull against her- and keeping the reins relatively loose will eliminate this. Another thought I have is that perhaps you may be somewhat intimidated by what Bella is doing right now- and this is causing you to react to her increased speed by pulling on her to slow her down. The problem with this is that because she has been conditioned to lean into and pull on a rider who pulls her, she just ignores you when you tell her to slow down. If this is your situation, then it may help you to take some lessons and have a trainer work with you so you can learn ways to stop a horse without needing to pull to do it. There are many ways to do this. Work on a longe line without stirrups or reins is one of the best I can think of- and it gives you the added advantage of developing an independent, secure seat as well. You can learn to use your body to slow Bella down at the canter- the way you sit on her back and how you use your weight have a direct bearing on how fast she goes. If she is on the longe line, and your trainer is controlling her from the ground, then she is not as apt to pull- and it will give you some relief from the tug of war while you figure out how to communicate with her and slow her down. Try some of these things- and remember, lots of slow work is best for a while- don't even think about cantering until she is quiet and listening to you at the other two gaits first. Good luck, and I hope this helps you.