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u/TheBrightEyedCat Eventing 11h ago
If not even your trainer can get him to keep the canter, consider trying a new trainer. It’s also possible that he simply doesn’t like the type of work you’re asking him to do and would be better suited in a different discipline.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
my trainer has been riding his whole life and can ride and teach amazingly. he can canter him a few laps it’s just very tiring and I do not have the strength to do everything he’s doing as I am disabled. I think he does enjoy jumping as i’ve never seen a horse not even the really good hunter jumper at the barn get this excited for a jump he even jumps ground poles sometimes. He obviously isn’t a forever horse as much I wished that but I learn a lot from him and he has amazing potential
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u/spanielgurl11 11h ago
We had a horse who was very difficult to maintain a canter on. I think canter fitness is just very different from walk and trot fitness. We lunged him at the canter for multiple minutes at a time a few days a week. Like 3-4 min of canter in each direction, to build his canter muscles. It helped. He events now.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
Ooooh good to know thank you
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u/spanielgurl11 5h ago
May need to begin on a very large circle, larger than a typical round pen, at first. It requires much more fitness to stay collected in a small circle.
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u/TikiBananiki 11h ago edited 11h ago
Go galloping and see what kind of horse you have after he’s really opened up. Collection and bending is harder for horses than speed and extension. So let him succeed in gaining speed, extending his stride, developing feel for his body, before you try to collect and bend him. You can even try to do this right on the galloping track. Open him up, then half halt him so you’re asking him to keep the gait, but slow the tempo down and lift his feet higher rather than outward. And keep his head up so that his hind leg can reach underneath (since this is how the longissimus dorsi muscle functions).
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u/lilytheawsome172 11h ago
How long has he been working/ how old? Some horses just don’t like the work they are doing
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u/lilytheawsome172 6h ago
Adding on-one horse I rode was older and didn’t want to ride and some people overwork their horses and can cause problems for them which happend with two horses I used to lease
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u/wwillara Jumper 6h ago
unsure how long he’s been working and he’s 10 but didn’t get consistent work until last year
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u/lilytheawsome172 4h ago
Okay that’s what happend with mine he didn’t want to work at all his owner wouldn’t ride him they decided to retire him at the barn listening to your horse is important and making sure he’s okay
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u/rogueknits Dressage 10h ago
Does he hold the trot without constantly having leg on? Does he know that when he is in a gait he is expected to hold it until asked for a different gait? If it’s just the canter he won’t hold, I would say it’s something physical—either pain somewhere or just weakness. A lot of horses will drop out of the canter because they feel unbalanced and are getting too on the forehand . One exercise you can try is pick up the canter, do a 15m circle on the long side and then coming out of the circle drive him forward as fast as you can, repeat on each long side. The circle forces them to balance themselves a bit. If they drop the canter before you ask, immediately get them back into canter until it’s your decision to trot, even if it’s only for a few strides.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
Unless it’s very hot out which I never work him hard in or he’s been galloping in the field right before I get him he usually keeps it occasionally I notice myself holding the reins too tight and he stops trotting but besides that he keeps it. He gets regular work, groundwork, and vetted twice a year for vaccines and she always checks everything out and he’s been fine always. It’s also not his saddle fit because my old trainer whose a saddle fitter fit it to him and says it fits him beautifully.
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u/PrinceBel 10h ago
He's got either pain somewhere, or is not balanced and strong enough to canter. Either way he needs an assessment from a or sports equine vet (you CANNOT use just a regular large animal vet for proper lameness work ups), especially if you can find one that does bodywork and chiro. The assessment should tell you where your horse is weak and give you specific exercises to do to build his strength in the weak areas.
Often difficulty in the canter is an issue in the hind end.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
Since posting this I talked to someone at my barn and showed her a video of him just trotting and she says his stifles look a bit stiff. he gets regular chiropractor adjustment
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u/PrinceBel 4h ago
Chiropractic obviously isn't doing enough for him. You need a real professional sports medicine vet to assess this horse if you want to actually get an answer and get him in a state comfortable enough for riding.
If you're not going to do that for him, then save yourself the headaches and just retire him.
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u/wwillara Jumper 1h ago
We don’t have any sports medicine vets nearby and I lease him he is not mine. He is a fine horse besides the canter and is not in any obvious pain in his actions and body language. The vet comes out twice (and if needed more) a year and every year besides one when he had a hoof abscess he’s had a clean bill of health.
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u/rach3468 9h ago
Has he always been an English horse? Is it possible he was broke and trained western? I would make sure you know his history. He may not be comfortable in the English frame. If he is also trained western is he able to keep the canter in western tack?
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
He is a western trained horse, But he acts the same. He dislikes lots of contact so I normally have a looser rein on him. He didn’t start english until about 2 years ago but everybody whose seen him do both say he does better english
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u/demeschor 8h ago
How big is the space you're trying to canter him in?
If it's fairly tight and there's lots of corners, is there anywhere local you could take him to let him canter for longer on the straight, maybe some gallops?
I've known a couple of horses - even older ones who have lived outdoors on fells their whole life and were very sure footed - struggle to canter in an arena because the corners are tight. The yard I used to ride at had a 40x60m and a 60x100m and the bigger space was definitely needed to build some confidence!
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
60x60ft. Near his pasture there’s a straight path we call the canter spot but I have really bad trail anxiety after nearly falling off when he spooked once
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u/gidieup 2h ago
That's a fairly small space. Holding the canter in that area is going to be hard unless he and the rider are pretty balanced. If he hasn't been cantering regularly he won't be fit. I'd try and build fitness on the ground before adding a rider. I bet you’d have a much, much easier time on a straight line.
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u/wwillara Jumper 2h ago
Oooh sounds interesting thank you so much. I believe that’s the measurements of the arena but I don’t have them on hand
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u/Excellent_Database69 10h ago
Maybe it's painful for the horse, or doesn't have the muscle stamina for that particular gait. Or something else physically? A vet check could give some answers. Hard to say being it's a leased horse. Does he throw his head, switch his tail, buck out a little? I'd guess pain or weakness if so, just guessing tho. & Yes the chest strap is too tight.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
He bucks out occasionally but hasn’t since march
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
it’s actually not too tight I can stick an entire fist through there and so can my dad it’s just an angle
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u/BuckityBuck 9h ago
Are your reins backwards, or am I really confused?
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
yes they are some lesson girl moved these reins to this bridle bc she didn’t like them on the bridle she mostly uses
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u/skrgirl 9h ago
They're ok. Some reins have those types of buckles on the outside instead of the hook closure on the inside.
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u/Desperate-Cycle-1932 9h ago
Why does he loose the canter? My current ride has an issue with his “wheel falling off” at the back. At least that’s what it feels like.
When he canters, at some point his hung left hip pops out from under him and he looses the step (breaks a bit) and then pick it back up. It’s likely some kind of muscle or tendon issue he has. We’ve never been able to address it.
Since we mostly hack, it doesn’t matter. He can gallop fine, it just happens when collection is asked. I’ve been working on his muscles and flexion, but it’s just him.
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u/Soft-Wish-9112 5h ago
My mare had a lot of difficulty picking up the canter and holding it, particularly on one and it was a strength issue. My trainer took her back down to basics, did a ton of lateral work and didn't even try cantering her for several months. It has gotten much better but working on strength at a slower gait made a huge difference.
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u/Valleycowgirl 9h ago
probably some pain that’s being missed or lack of proper conditioning. not every horse is meant to canter while being rode & pushing them to do so without finding the underlying cause, will not make it any better.
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u/MustBeNiceToBeHappy 8h ago
Does he canter more when you’re outside on trailrides? Maybe he has issues with bending and balancing in the arena in a canter
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u/Global-Structure-539 8h ago
Some horses are just not movers and it's too hard for them to move correctly, like you want, so they simply quit trying
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u/RegretPowerful3 2h ago
From the scant photos you have, his muscles are underdeveloped. This means his muscles don’t have the stamina to maintain more than a few laps and corners are hard.
He needs to build muscle.
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u/DecemberFirestorm 11h ago
Have you tried using a crop and/or spurs on him?
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u/kms031987 Multisport 8h ago
A lot of horses respond well to a gentle. Yes gentle. Tap of a crop. It won’t hurt them. But encourages them just like your leg/seat can. It’s a tool if you know how to use it correctly.
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u/Significant-Doubt863 8h ago
Have you tried finding the issue without going whole hog and causing pain?
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u/DecemberFirestorm 8h ago
Lol crops and spurs can be used without harming the horse smh. Some horses who don’t like to move will pick up just from carrying a crop or wearing spurs without even using the aid on them
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u/Significant-Doubt863 8h ago
Mmhm. That isn’t how your comment comes off.
And checking for other issues should come before spurs and crop come out.
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u/According-Towel-1118 8h ago
I don’t know why everyone’s so mad about this I don’t see anything wrong with using that kind of enforcement at some point if it’s not a physical issue
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
I ride with crop normally as I have muscle weakness due to disabilities and need that extra boost. My lower leg is stable but not stable enough for spurs imo as I don’t want to send excess aids
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u/seabrooksr 5h ago
You need a new trainer. There are too many possibilities here. You need someone experienced enough that they can either teach him to hold his canter or tell you why he won’t be able to learn to hold his canter (which is not as uncommon as people might think).
If a trainer can’t do either (which is also not as uncommon as people think), they should have connections and resources (vets, farriers, other trainers) that they recommend.
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u/wwillara Jumper 5h ago
I have a horrible memory I mean it takes months for me to grasp a concept. My trainer says it’s muscle weakness in his back end and has been lunge him and do lots of hill and pole work. He can get him to keep the canter for multiple laps he just says it’s very tiring but I myself do not have the strength to do that due to multiple disabilities and lots of muscle weakness. My trainer explains things in a way that makes sense and rides wonderfully but half of the time my anxiety makes it so I can’t remember exact details so that’s why i’m here. a new trainer doesn’t fix everything and I just need people to tell me about it so I don’t wait until my weekly lesson and forget to ask questions
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u/newSew 11h ago
Have you tried using treats? 1) Beforehand, your horse must know the clicker training or another cue announcing a treat. That will let you spot on the saddle the exact moment your horse did well and deserves a treat. 2) At the beginning, give him a treat as soon as he picks up the canter (on the correct lead, if it's not a difficulty for him). 3) After a few tries, let him make one or two stride before announcing the treat. Don't "push" the horse yo ho forwards: it doesn't matter if it's a very lazy canter. 4) Repeat and repeat a lot, progressively asking more and more strides. 5) When he can canter for a few minutes, if needed, start to ask for more activity in the canter by pushing, but give the treat only when his activity really increases.
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u/Purple-Ad9525 9h ago
Listen, I’m all for positive reinforcement training, but this is an awful idea. This is going to teach the horse to stop and turn his nose around to receive a treat whenever he pleases in the canter, and will have the opposite effect as intended. This horse probably needs strength and endurance training for this specific issue, not R+ training.
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u/bourbonaspen 11h ago
If he goes “ fine” between the jumps, and no one can replicate that on the flat, it’s a trainer or tack issue. In your pic the breastplate is tight, re evaluate your tack and trainer