At 06:00:26 on 10.08.10, Sasch wrote:
I have an 8 y.o. ex-racer who when doing flat work, would rather kick out and buck, then go into canter when asked. She has no trouble on trails and doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. When she finally does canter it's very rushed, flat and unbalanced. I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on how to improve her balance and hopefully make cantering easier for her. Thanks :)

At 15:29:46 on 10.08.10, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Haha grenville used to do this, 1. get back cheacked by vet (not physio person) just incase. Nothing is wrong then take her on a trail and find a field somewhere to do flat work firstly if possible so she knows what is expected with what commands, then lunge in the school and practice cantering, get someone to lunge with you on, then you give the commands not the lunger, then take the line off but still circle the person, you giving commands then break away on your own and eventually you should be able to do it with no-one there :)

At 22:25:03 on 10.08.10, Sasch wrote:
Thanks heaps for the advice :) I should definitely get her checked out and try out the other stuff when i know she's sound.

At 19:57:57 on 15.10.10, stellabella wrote:
my pony bella can get into a canter but when we pass the gate about 20ft away she will automatically stop cantering and start trotting...we tried over and over again but it doesnt work! any tips?

At 04:17:01 on 16.10.10, bazz94 wrote:
stellabella, this advice is coming from what I've read from a similar question from Monty Roberts. Firstly do not dismount near the gate, I'm guessing this is something you do often...? also even if you don't dismount at the gate she has learnt that when outside the gate she doesn't get any work. What Monty suggests is to do lots of work at the gate and when away from the gate have little work, if you can't get her trotting and cantering near the gate by yourself get someone on the ground to simply drive her away with a lead rope or something, they just need to wave it at her, make sure you apply the leg aids at the same time though. Hope this helps =) also from my own advice is maybe find somewhere you can trail ride and/ or go to a public arena and see whether she does the same, or whether its just your gate, if she doesn't do it at the public gate then try doing the same thing, work near gate, little work away. Hope this helps