He won't canter x.x?

Question

We have a Belgian Draft who won't canter! He's competely rideable and he just won't do it. Gandalf is an 18 hand Belgian. He was a stud until he was 7 and he's now 8 and was abused. We brought him back and he is now a geilding and completely rideable. When we ride him, he becomes iron mouthed. He'll duck his head between his legs and just mosey along. We can't get him to canter without whipping his butt and he has offered to buck before when we do that. He knows the canter signal. We gave it to him and he took off but now, he ignores it. A trainer isn't an option and we're trying to fix this on our own. This horse seems to hate to canter unless he's on the trail or behind my thoroughbred. We have had him fitted for a saddle and girth, it they work perfectly and don't hurt him. His bit is a tom thumb snapple that I don't think it severe enough. It slides around in his mouth but my father thinks it's perfect. Any suggestions? I think teaching him lunge commands would help?

Answer 1

If you are having trouble getting your horse to "go"  why on earth do you want to put a more severe bit in his mouth??

Answer 2

does he canter on the lunge?

if he does then try having somebody lunge him with you on his back, see how he reacts to that.

Answer 3

I would really get your dad to check the bit, that could be the problem. Maybe when he canters, it bangs in his mouth more and really hurts.

If it's not that then maybe try lunging him before you ride each time and when he canters even a little, reward him. Try cantering him in a field, then taking him back to the ring and try.

I don't know if you could do this or if it would work but if there is a field right by the entrance to the ring and you get him going in the field, just canter him into the ring from the field and then you will know if it is the ring that bothers him. I don't know if it's a good idea cause im not a horse expert, i just ride in lessons, but it was a suggestion.

Answer 4

A bit should create two wrinkles in each corner of his mouth. You should be able to have a slight give when you pull up on the bit.

If it is too low in his mouth, it will bang against his teeth and cause alot of pain. Too tight/small and it will be just as uncomfortable.

Ill fitting tack will only inhibit training and make a sour horse.

For the canter, I suspect this is a dominace issue. Not wanting to go forward is just as bad as running away with a rider. Invest in a dressage whip, so you don't have to constantly twist to hit him behind. This way you can tap him with a flick of your wrist. For expecially wiggly horses, I have trained with a dressage whip in each hand.

Also consider spurs. This can be misused however, if the first time wearing them, you simply gouge his side. Like anything, you need to slowly introduce them with small pokes that escelate when need be.

Slow horses are tough, because they will always be slow. It takes a great effort on the rider's part. If you don't get on top of this soon however, he will become sour.

Answer 5

yeah, Lunge commands will probably do it. I have a stubborn horse too and when we lunged him he learned that its not that bad! haha!! okay when you are lunging him, make sure he is in a walk for a while first. That way when you put him into a trot and then canter he wont pull a muscle. Then go into a nice easy trot. then put him into a faster trot, and then a canter. when he is in the canter make sure you praise him by saying good boy and keep him into a canter...after a little while like 5 min then bring him back into a trot, and then a walk and then a stop. Praise him at the stop and just give him a ton of rubin and brushing. Then repeat. After a few days of doing this then try it with somebody on him. Lunge him with somebody on him and then after a few days of that try it all on your own. When he does it make sure you give him a ton of praise! He should get the point! Hope I helped!!

Answer 6

if he isnt listening you could try a rubber pelham. i use it with 2 reins on my 5 y.o. who rarely listens and it works wonders. also you could try small spurs to encourage him with your leg a little more. plus you could try getting him to listen to voice commands.

Answer 7

First of all, if the bit is sliding around in his mouth it is not properly fitted.  Second, you should use a less...not more...severe bit since your horse is still at training level and not anywhere near ready to go in a shanked bit.  Can you get him a full cheek snaffle?

I've never trained a Belgian, but I've observed others doing it.

If you have never lunged him, I would start...use a long whip and any other human help you need to get him moving at all 3 basic gaits on the lunge line.  If you can get your hands on a surcingle, then you can also attach side reins when you lunge him.  If you don't know how to do it, look it up online and also check out any books available on the subject.  Then, if you can get driving lines (like 2 matching lunge lines), they can be used to encourage him to keep moving forward and hold a frame.

These big horses do much better if they are ground trained like this before being ridden...but there isn't room here to cover it all.  Look up things like driving lines...surcingle...etc and go from there.  But first get rid of that bit...measure with a tape through his mouth from one corner of his mouth to the other..that gives you his bit size. Add a 1/4 inch to the measurement to be safe.  Fit it into the corners of the mouth with a wrinkle formed at each corner when the bridle is on.

Answer 8

Getting him to lunge is normally the first thing BEFORE riding a horse.  That way, he's already got his signals down, knows what's expected and so forth.  ONLY then do we start with the riding.

Answer 9

Hunterjumper - help the person not nit pick her question -

Cantering for some horses is not a comfortable gait to them.  I have a Standardbred off the track and had a huge cantering issue.  (He was a trotter) When I started him he did canter, but I developed my own issues and it turned into a battle.  And he normally won.  He would canter in the field on the trail even lunging.   I ended up in a sticky situation with him, I had to suck it up and started working with a trainer.  It was pointed out to me that his issues all stemmed from something I was doing, I had developed some pretty bad habits.  Unbalanced, leaning forward when asking, letting my hip drop, all of these things did not help his balance and it made in very hard for him to canter.   After some steady work with her, his canter is absolutely wonderful.  I know you said a trainer is out of the question but you have a BIG horse that probably has a pretty big buck and that's a REALLY BIG fall.

Answer 10

My horse, for whatever reason, does the same thing.  Get him on a longe line and put him through his paces.  When you get to canter, ask him nicely first with a soft to medium whip cue and a kiss.  If he doesn't listen, smack his butt with your whip.  He should take off, if not, smack again.  It might seem like abusing him, but it isn't, since you stop when he does what you want.  After one or two canter circles, bring him down to a trot, the walk, then stop him and rub the place where you smacked him.  Praise him lots.  Then repeat.  After a while (it shouldn't take him that long), he will listen right away when you ask for canter.  The same method can be used at a trot, if he's really lazy.  

As for his hard-mouthedness, don't get a stronger bit.  Switch him back to a smooth snaffle, and work on bending his head from side to side.  Start him in a halter if he is really stiff with the bit.  Bend his head about 2/3 around (or as far as you can), and wait.  You want him to soften, or in other words put a tiny bit of slack in your rein.  Once you feel him give a little bit, let go of the rein IMMEDIATELY.  The faster you let go after he gives, the faster he learns.  Repeat, asking for a little more each time, until he touches his belly with his nose at about the spot the girth would go.  Do both sides.  This will make him much lighter and more supple, and you might not ever have to go back to a tom thumb bit.  Good luck!

Answer 11

I think the lunge commands might work. How new is your horse? He may have had bad experiences with cantering, and he only feels comfortable with your thoroughbred. I think you should lunge him with the saddle on, and he may become more comfortable. Try not to get impatient when he does something wrong, but praise him a lot when he does well.

Answer 12

i dont know what a tom thumb snaPPle is, but i know what a tom thumb snaFFle is.

i cant believe you. know your bits before you own a horse. thats a shame. no wonder he wont canter.

Answer 13

I am surprised no one has said anything about the fact that this is a DRAFT BREED. They are generally not designed to canter much. They can, and often do. But if you look at what they were bred to do, cantering is not usually involved at all. This being said, it is totally possible to train him, its just more of a challenge. We have a halflinger draft pony with the same issues at my barn. Do you have the TB canter 20meter circles in front of him in the arena? This helps the pony. Does he have a good balanced canter on the trail? Do you do circles, or just strait lines while out on trails?

I do agree with investing in a lounge whip, but do more ground work first. Lounging can go both ways. Many say it teaches a horse to be scared, and can lead to bolting. Sorry I can get you more specific help!

Answer 14

well if he'll canter behind your thoroughbred use that to your advantage... it works great! a bunch of kids did it bareback when i was at camp

have someone ride each horse and begin to canter (the TB canters too) then slowly canter away from the TB and give lots of praise