How do you get a horse to collect it's canter?

Question

She loves to canter, but she tears around the ring.

Answer 1

When I first got my horse, she had no idea how to balance herself under saddle, so trotting and especially cantering was our big issue - she would bolt when you asked her to canter and pick up the wrong lead to boot - it was a bit dangerous since she would just go like a downhill freight train - which she basically was. This is what we did:

Basically, my instructor made me ride 20m circles constantly - I don't think I was allowed to ride my horse outside of that circle for at least half a year (the occasionally diagonal, but I wasn't allowed to go down the length of the arena because my horse would bolt and loose balance). It was a lot of half halts, sitting back with my shoulders back, head up and deep in the saddle. For a horse to collect it's canter, funny enough, it takes a lot of leg. You don't want to collect, just ride a normal canter. The thing is, it's a lot less effort for the horse to run around like a psycho - yes, it's exhausting, but she's not using her body and muscle to stay balanced. When you give half-halts, you need to make sure that you are at the same time giving her a lot of leg. You don't want her behind your leg, you want her in front of your leg, giving impulsion from the hindquarters and through the back. Also, half-halts, the horse will say "oh, slow down" and go into a brisk trot because, again, its less effort than balancing themselves, so your leg needs to keep her cantering while the half halts bring her back into your hand. You need to have a soft, but firm hand - I had trouble with this, so my instructor had me constantly moving my fingers as if I was playing the piano and basically my thumb held the reins by pressing into my top finger. If your hand isn't soft, the horse will never come into it because it hurts their mouth and you'll develop a tough-mouthed horse which will need a harsher bit. You need to be firm though with the half halts to say "hey, cut it out."

If you feel like she's not listening, bring her down to a trot and get her exactly where you want her in the trot, then go back up into canter. Constantly cantering her won't help, you need to go back down to gather yourself and then go back up. Transitions are key because your horse will probably slow down, but end up on their forehand still, so transitions help to keep her off that forehand. They have to be quick though - only about five strides top at each gait.

Once she's gotten the hang of slowing down, do some spiraling, although it's very tough at the canter. For spiraling you do not use the reins at all, it's all leg to get them to move in and out - if you use reins, it's easier for the horse to lean on the bit and/or throw their outside shoulder out to evade the bit. The spiraling will help your horse slow down, but it will also establish balance. Even when you're doing your transitions, you can trot a few feet from the rail and when you ask her a canter, push your horse to the outside rail. Same with going back down to the trot, ride your horse a few feet in from the rail and push out when you bring them back down to the trot. It helps their balance and can keep them focused from something other than expecting the transitions or running out or throwing their shoulder out to pick up the wrong lead, etc.

The thing is, unless your horse is balanced in the trot, she won't be balanced in the canter. You can do these excercises to work on balancing the trot, and when you canter focus at the moment on slowing the horse down in the canter (doing the half halts) and once you've slowed the canter down and gotten the trot balanced, work on spiraling and such in the canter.

Good luck!

Answer 2

This could be a balance issue, lack of training issue or just your horse being badly behaved. If your horse is green she may just not be balanced enough to be able to slow down. If this is the case, let her canter with her head up (you can work on a headset once she is balanced, and going at a good speed and gait), and just work on slowing her down by doing lots of circles, and transitions.

Do lots of half halts, sit deep in your seat and make sure you are not leaning forward too much. Try occasionally stopping, backing her up, make her stand for a second quietly, then ask her to canter agian. Do this every time she gets extremley fast.

It is hard to tell you what to do with out seeing you and your horse. I would deffinitly recomend finding a good instructor and taking a few lessons.

Answer 3

Try this exercise:

Ask for the canter on the circle. As she canters, first ask her to spiral in to a smaller circle, and then to move out again. Many horses run in the canter because they have poor balance. Changing the size of the circle and asking them to move laterally on the circle is a good balance tool.

Also try doing lots of walk-canter and canter/walk transtitions. Lots of transitions help the horse to stay supple and on the haunches, rather than on the forehand. They also help to break up the run-run-run rhythm than running horses get into.

Answer 4

A good, collected canter is a matter of balance -- both HER balance and your ability to balance her forward momentum with some restraint.

A horse who can't balance herself will be too fast. She needs suppling. Before you can be good at a canter, you need to be good a walk and a trot.

You need to do LOTS AND LOTS of circles, figure eights and serpentines in the ring. You are aiming for PERFECT circles, not ovals or flat-sided rings. Obviously you need to work in BOTH directions. Make your circles big, little and medium. Buy a good book to illustrate this if you don't already have one. This will help HER balance.

Now for yours... Since you used the term 'canter' instead of 'lope' I assume you ride English. Since you are up to the level of cantering, I assume you aren't a total beginner. So you need to find the balance of control between your seat and your hands. You need to push her forward with your seat and control her speed with your hands. It isn't easy!

Don't worry about her headset right now, unless she carries it too high as a means to escape the bit. Don't ever pull on her mouth, if you can help it. You want to drive her into the bit, not drag her down into your hands. What you are trying to achieve is being able to slow her down and even stopping her by asking her to move forward but not giving her any room to GO forward -- in other words, your hands must be totally steady, don't release the reins at all. When you urge her with your seat, she will move forward into the bit. When their is no 'give' on the bit, she'll slow down, without you having to pull on her at all. It's hard to explain, I hope you can understand what I'm saying. Only release the reins if you WANT her to go faster.

As someone else said, stopping, backing and then asking her to move forward is a great exercise for getting a horse off her forehand, but do it gently, not abruptly. Use your SEAT to push her back legs forward.

I must repeat -- until she is BALANCED she won't be ABLE to be collected. So you need to work on that first. Circle, circle, circle -- but not so much that you BOTH get dizzy! Also work on getting her to drive with her BACK legs, not with her front, by pushing with your seat.

Answer 5

Push her into the bit and collect her , move her into a large circle and when she slows down ease up on the legs and hands . If she speeds up again go right back into the circles and collection . You might have to spend a bit of time on that part , till she's going the way you want . Good Luck

Answer 6

Ride in smaller circles where she can't go fast and try to keep her at a slow canter with a break inthe pole .If you can flex her in the neck turn her head into your inside leg and keep her slow .

Answer 7

My horse had this problem. Not all horses "know" how to collect, meaning they've never done it before so they don't know what you're asking. Try SITTING deep in your saddle, not standing. Your arms should be a straight line form your horse's mouth to your elbow. This means you don't want your hands on their neck. Try lifting your hand so it forms a straight line with your elbow. This should slow her down so you're able to collect. By sitting deep and adjusting your hands, she should be able to collect. Good luck!! Hope I could help.

Answer 8

Well not all horses no how to collect. But if you mean to slow her down, move the bit and then release. So do a kind of left right release thing. Or just use a lot of half halts. Or all you do is just pull. Pull on both of the reins, but release every 5 strides or she will just fight with you. Good Luck!

Answer 9

do a half halt on the reins but make sure u use ur legs to make sure she doesn't stop. also do some circles to slow her down.

Answer 10

You've got to get her nose down more. Try to find a bit that gives you a little more control, but don't be too heavy-handed. That may be her problem now-- her mouth may be so hard that she doesn't respond to the bit. I don't know what breed you have, but sometimes a tie-down is allowed and may help you.