Sometimes, your walk and trot can feel amazing but the canter becomes strong and all rhythm and tempo is lost. It can be frustrating and leads many riders to the tack store in search of a stronger bit. However, it’s important to take a look at the underlying causes of why your horse is getting strong and taking the time to examine how to address the issue in a way that solves the problem instead of simply looking for a quick fix. A bit that’s too strong will encourage your horse to get behind it or evade it in other ways. When this happens, it’s likely the TMJ and neck will become locked up, which leads to a loss of balance. Suppleness and impulsion are then lost, and now you’re facing an even more serious setback.
One of the first things to look at when your horse gets fast in the canter is whether or not he’s in pain. Especially when a horse feels frantic in canter or if this issue is new, a visit from the vet to rule out any musculoskeletal pain is important for his overall wellness. This also allows you to focus more on the training issue itself rather than worrying that you’ve missed something physical that could be causing the issue.
Once pain is ruled out, take a look at your own position. Is your weight on your inside seat bone? Many riders get positioned more towards the outside seat bone in the canter, thanks to the laws of physics. This can become more pronounced if the horse is unbalanced and rushing. You want to feel as if your weight is even into both stirrups but you have slightly more weight on the inside seat bone.
Next, take a look at the timing of your canter aid. It’s important to ask for canter at a time when your horse can respond in a way where she can keep her balance and start the canter sequence through the use of the outside hind leg, provided she’s picking up the correct lead. The canter cue is given just as the outside hind touches the ground. Create a slight bend to the inside with your inside rein as you use your inside leg at the girth to encourage the inside hind to step under. Now, take your outside leg slightly behind the girth to ask him to push off with that outside hind. Allow the canter to come through with your seat by keeping slightly more weight on your inside seat bone, freeing the outside ribcage even more. Don’t hold with your lower back and hips!
In canter, allow your legs to hang and think of what your horse’s feet are doing. Assuming you’re on the correct lead, in the three beats of canter, your horse is sequencing his feet as follows. 1) Outside hind, 2) inside hind/outside front, 3) inside front. If you find your upper body is rocking back and forth, relax your hip flexors and see if you can absorb more of this movement through your hips as you keep your upper body more still.
If troubleshooting your position has helped, this is great! Continue practicing your transitions while staying mindful of your position and timing. If this didn’t help, now it’s time to take a look at how you can help your horse.
The first thing to observe is how your horse picks up the canter on the lunge. Be sure to give him enough space on the lunge line to canter. An unbalanced horse combined with a small lungeing circle just adds insult to injury. I wouldn’t recommend the use of any side reins or training gadgets here. It’s important to be able to observe what’s going on during the transition to canter and in the canter without the inhibition of extra hardware.
When cueing the canter from the ground, use your voice (either the verbal cue to canter or a kissing noise) and if needed, use your lunge whip or clinician stick to tap the ground by the horse’s hip. Do not spank your horse or crack the whip. If the transition is unsuccessful, slow the trot and cue again. The trick here is to not chase her into canter. Just as you wouldn’t allow running into the canter under saddle, you also don’t want to do it from the ground. Once your horse canters, praise him and trot after just a few strides. This is not about drilling the canter, it’s about studying your horse’s movement through the transition and into canter. You’ll want to work on this until your horse willingly canters off an energetic voice cue and a flick of the whip, steps into canter with confidence, and doesn’t rush or lean in the canter. Don’t push your horse into cantering endless circles. When he gets tired, he’ll start losing his balance and could begin rushing again. Think of this work as mental work instead of tiring the horse out to “make him” canter better. Always remember to cue for the trot before your horse comes to trot on her own! If the transition is good, but after a few strides she begins to rush, come back to trot. Don’t allow her to rush. Over time, the rushing should become less frequent as your horse becomes more confident and balanced. When you get a few good canter sets to both sides, end the canter work for that day’s session. If you plan to ride after this, keep things slow and easy. Don’t try cantering under saddle just yet!
You’ll know you’re ready to reapproach the canter under saddle when your horse consistently canters in a relaxed manner a few times around a 20 meter circle on the lunge to both directions. This could take a few days, or a couple of weeks depending on the severity of the core issue. What we’ve done through the ground work is re-established confidence, rhythm, tempo, and suppleness. Now, as we transition to under saddle cantering, we’re going to look for that same feel. Do your best not to anticipate a poor transition or poor quality canter. Picture yourself riding an upper level horse who you know will respond to you correctly. Try a voice command first, add your body cues if needed, canter a few strides, come back to walk, and praise your horse. Stay calm and methodical as you practice a few more transitions to both directions. I often tell my students who are working with reactive horses that transitions like this should become boring to both you and your horse over time. There shouldn’t be anxiety, tension, and drama surrounding the canter.
As you and your horse become more confident with this work, gradually add more cantering each day. Watch out for signs he’s losing his balance or feeling tense, and simply come back to trot or walk on your terms before any sort of rushing happens. Cantering on a circle before trying long sides is usually a better approach. That slight inside bend helps remind your horse she needs to balance and not charge ahead. When circles feel comfortable and safe, you can then introduce the long side a few strides at a time.
I trust this helps, and gives you a solid plan for how to address a rushy canter. If you’re struggling or have more questions, get in touch with me and let’s chat about your specific situation.
I also wanted to remind you that my course, How Horses Think and Learn is now live on the Trainer Central platform. I anticipate many more courses to come. If you’re interested in checking out the course, click the link to “Online Classroom” on my home page to become a student. Thanks for reading, and I hope your next ride is a confident, stress-free, and harmonious one.
https://heart-centered-horsemanship.trainercentralsite.com/course/how-horses-think-and-learn