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Date Posted: 05:50:33 05/28/07 Mon
Author: Melissa
Subject: Cantering issues
In reply to: Denise 's message, "Friesian Training Question" on 20:36:34 05/27/07 Sun

>I have a four year old gelding who I have just sent to
>the trainer for saddle breaking. He is in his second
>week of training and doing fine at the trot, whoa.
>turning, backing but the trainer says when he tries to
>get him to go into a lope he just wants to do an
>extended trot. Is this a balance issue in Friesians
>and is this common? He can get him to canter on a
>lunge line no problem. Any suggestions or ideas would
>be helpful.

Please do NOT smack the horse into cantering. This will break down a huge trust issue and can easliy put a fear into your horse of crops and whips which the whip is useful down the road especially if you are going to get into dressage training. My one horse was hit so much with one that if you come near it with a crop or whip it would be scared and pissed off. There are many other ways to teach a young horse to canter.

Make sure she understands the word 'canter' when lounging and then use it when you are riding her. It's not always pretty in the beginning so you will have to just push her thru the trot into the canter ( using the verbal cue helps ) then make a fuss over her like she has just discovered the secret to world peace!

Once she KNOWS the verbal commmand of CANTER on the longe lie then you transfer that over to when you are in the saddle. Here's another trick. Remember she is young still and jumping too high is not a good thing for joints etc...Keep these low when you set up the crossrails. Actually I would try this following exercise in a large roundpen with the poles and then small crossrails and when she breaks into a canter use your verbal cue of canter too. Do this until she is confident. Then under saddle she will be used to going over them and you wont be on her back hoping she goes over them. Also when you set these up in the larger arena put the poles/crossrails along the wall and nearer a corner. See the exercise below I am eluding to...

First trot her over ground poles, then when she is used to picking up her feet, set up a cross rail and trot her over it. almost any horse will spontaneously break into a canter after a little cross rail ( a tiny jump, so any horse can do it) after she breaks into her canter, praise her, urge her on. then you can add the word "canter" when she breaks into it after the cross rail, then apply outside leg and the word canter when at a trot coming out of a corner.

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