When I ask my horse to canter, he just moves into a faster trot.?

Question

Do you think I'm just not giving him a strong enough signal? Or is he being lazy? I even use spurs, but he won't canter.

I got him to canter a few times, though, but it took me awhile. He sped into the fast trot, and I asked for the canter many times before he finally cantered.

Answer 1

how long have you been trying to get him to canter, or seriously asking for it? he might not have muscle built up for cantering with someone on his back. keep asking everytime you ride him until he does canter, then reward him while he's still cantering, and then go back down to a trot. that way he will know what you're asking for, and slowly build up the muscle to be able to answer you.

Answer 2

i'll try and help;

shorten your reins a bit more and squeeze with your leg, Then give him a small hit with the crop and click your tongue. Works like a charm on those lazy horses. My horse does it every now and again and it works

Goodluck

Answer 3

Are you positve you are asking correctly?

~Sit the trot a few beats to signal you are getting ready to ask

~Loosen slightly on the reins

~Squeeze with your outside leg to get him in the correct lead and kiss to him, or say CANTER

~Even the squeezing doens't work you can give him a squeeze/thump with both legs.

Answer 4

WHat you need to do is carry a dressage whip or a crop. You ask him nicely inside leg on the girth and outside leg behind, and if he doesnt respond ask again and harder ques now the trick is dont lean forward and if he still doesnt go into a canter crack him with the crop or whatever you are using and he should go into a canter. Now when he gets into a faster canter dont let him because he will Go disignited an dthat means he is unbalanced bring him back to a working trot and ask again. Good Luck and dont be affraid to use the crop but don beat him with it just use it as a reinforcement.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Is there a medical problem that could be causing his lack of willingness to move? Depending on the horses age, he may be starting to get arthritic. There may also be a problem with his spine. So first, I would rule out any physical reason that he doesn't want to canter.

If there is no physical problem, I would start doing groundwork. Longe him at a walk and trot. Make sure he is listening to your commands. Once he is warmed up and listening to you, ask him for the canter. If he doesn't pick it up, crack the longe whip behind him (not at him). Persist until he picks up the pace. Continue the groundwork until he understands the concept of "canter" and the vocal command.

Once he understands canter from the ground, I would try it from the saddle. Combine the "canter" vocal command with the leg, seat, and hand aides that go along with the canter cue. Eventually, he will associate your aides with the canter command.

Answer 6

i had the same trouble! but this stopped the constant trotting, and brought it down to a few strides of a fast trot:

~when you begin to ask for the canter, shorten your reins a little bit

~squeeze really hard with the inside leg

~if you need to, squeeze the inside rein just a little bit. not enough to make him turn, though

~if you have to, get a crop and hit your horse on the butt. it's not abusing him, it's just telling him that you're serious and to move

~if your horse STILL keeps trotting quickly, then kick him right behind the girth with your leg. you don't necessarily need to use spurs, but if that's what your riding instructor told you to do, then use spurs.

hope i helped :)

Answer 7

i agree with pumpitup.  at least that's how I learned.  Instead of repeatedly asking your horse to canter while he's doing the fast trot, pull him back into a walk or whatever you were transitioning from and ask again.  this will help him to learn that the fast trot isn't part of the process.  Reward him with lots of praise when he does it correctly.

Answer 8

he is either just being lazy or he knows he can get away with it

Answer 9

Ok I ride three horses that are like this.

Make sure you:

Sit deep in the saddle

Have the correct leg postion

squeeze with your inside leg (if you don't have spurs the kick)

As you squeeze give a half-halt and make "kissing" noises

that will help him lift his front legs and engage with the hind legs.

Answer 10

You don't say how old your horse is, or if he was previously trained. Some horses who are young, are not too balanced at the canter. Additionally, if the rider has an unsteady seat, the horse might be a little apprehensive with a rider bouncing too much on their back.

If you are a steady rider and the horse is already trained, then you will need to use the normal aids for cantering:

Reins forward slightly to give the horse its head, bumping with the outside leg or foot, and the kissing sound.

Do pull the horse back, if he only trots. You do not want to reinforce his trotting, whatever the speed with these cues. Each time he trots, instead of cantering, stop him and begin again. Keep relaxed and under control so that he does not sense any irritation on your part. If that does not work, then try using a crop on his shoulder, and lightly tap at the same time as the bumping with your outside leg. Horses prefer not to have the crop used, so if this begins to help, you may not need to continue it after a few successes. If that does not work, then you may need some help with your seat or the training of the horse. Some horses, just do not want to unseat their rider. A trainer watching from the ground can tell you if you are confusing the horse with your cues, as well. Good communication is very important between you and your horse.

Answer 11

I've had this problem from day one on my school horse. I worked on it all winter to get ready for show season. well, she did wht i THOUGHT i had trained her out of right through my flat classes. so yeah, i've had my fair share of this exact thing.

Make sure that before you ask for the canter you sit a few strides so that you're not still posting. He may think 'it still feels when we're trotting, so i'll carry on with that.' Make it your habit to first sit back in the seat, then do your inside leg at the girth, outside leg back, give a strong kick to the outside so he feels something different, a smack with the stick if he doesn't respond the first time, but always use your crop at the same time as your legs so he doesn't start to ONLY listen to your whip.

bottome line, i know EXACTLY how you feel...just try not to get frustrated.

Answer 12

when you ask your horse to canter and he goes into that fast bumpy trot you should slow him down back into a nice easy controlled trot and ask him to canter again. and if he goes into the fast pace trot slow him down and try it again. and try using a crop

Answer 13

i had this  same problem with my horse and it is so frustrating!!

when you ask him for the canter and he moves into a fast trot, bring him back to a normal trot and keep trying that until he understands that your not giving up

also try kicking him hard with the spur (it sounds mean but it works) when you ask him for the canter, he'll probably be surprised and make sure to sit deep in the saddle and use just your outside leg (if you don't ride dressage)

Answer 14

He might have not been trained to canter.Work with him more or send him to a trainer.

Answer 15

hmm that is interesting about the spurs. Usually they will be effective. The only thing i can suggest is when you ask for the canter, put your outside leg back and squeeze with bothe legs or kick if you have to. If he just speeds his trot ask him to slow or stop because that is not what you are asking of him and it does you no good. Maybe consider putting him in a roundpen and asking to canter to see if he's lazy if he absolutly refuses there might be a problem. Ask your vet or an advanced trainer. Hope this helps!

Answer 16

I would go back to working him on the longe line a little bit, and make sure he knows you mean business, and also to get him responding to your commands better.  You can longe him, ask for the trot by clicking (if he doesn't trot, then snap the whip behind him).  After he's trotting around you quietly, ask for the canter by "kissing" or "smooching" to him (so its a different command than the trot) and then immediately snap the whip behind him to tell him you want it NOW!

When you're riding him, you might want to carry a crop if he's so dead sided that the spurs are doing the trick.  If he's really responding to just the "kissing" on the longe line where you don't need the whip much, then you should be able to kiss to him, then really pop him with your heels.  If he doesn't go, then give him a little spank with the crop.  Once you do this a few times, he'll start responding to your voice and leg commands quicker.

I think he just knows he can get away with being lazy with you, so if you show him you mean business, he'll stop testing you so much.

Good luck!

Answer 17

I would try transitioning right from the walk or halt, so he's not confused as to what you're asking for. Keep contact on the reins when you're asking, and keep your butt securely planted in the saddle. Have your crop on the outside to give your outside leg more influence in case you have trouble. Over-exaggerate your cue with your legs, putting your outside leg farther back than usual, and keeping your inside leg just behind the girth. Squeeze gently, increasing pressure if he doesn't respond. Don't kick just yet, if he goes into an extended trot bring him back to a walk and try again. Only resort to kicking (more like tapping) if he's almost cantering and the crop isn't working. Don't post if he goes into a trot, stay seated or else he thinks that he's supposed to trot.

If you don't have a chance to ride him during the day, find some time to lunge him a little bit, and make him canter around a little bit; he may be a little out of shape.

Answer 18

To me I think he may need to be lunged!! do you have a round pen?? or a lung line and a lunge wip??? id lunge him and make him canter! if you have a round pen id free lunge him wich means just use the lunge wip and not the lunge line. the faster trot is called a extended trot my horse does that too...its good for horses to know how to do that at the shows...but also when you are riding him you could use just a wip and tap him on the butt not hit... you start out hitting him light and getting a little harder till he listens never literly hit him though...but i think it would work if you longed him!!!

Good Luck!! =]

Answer 19

Some people just have lazy horses. I'm training one, and they can be a pain in the foot.

Are you sure your aids aren't confusing him? When I started out riding, I wasn't too confident in my posting trot, so I'd signal to canter, but since I had to take a split second break from posting, I'd grab onto his mouth, so he'd slow down. Make sure that your aids aren't confusing him.

If you're sure your aids are clear, get him vetted. Is there a medical reason why he can't canter?

If both of the above are okay, my advice would be to KICK HIM. He's 1200 pounds, he's not going to be offended. You need to pretend like he's your bigger brother, and you just need to kick. You need to be confident, and tell him that you are going to go NOW, and a trot is not good enough.

Good Luck.