My horse and I are having cantering issues ... she will usually trot fine when shes not being stubborn, but when I ask her to canter when shes trotting, she just throws bucks.>.
Also, I think I get her in the habit of refusing jumps, because she will trot up to a jump and then start walking, so I turn her away. She got in the habit of doing that, and refuses to jump. She'll jump if i lead her over it or longe her over it though.
Any help?
If youre really bored, you can also tell me how to teach her not to paw ...
there could me a medical issues, such has a sore back (the saddle may fit perfect, but if something is misaligned it will hurt no matter how good the saddle fits), have her teeth been checked? if there are points that are irritating her it may hurt when you tighten your reins when you ask her to pick up the canter, if there are no medical issues (i had a QH who would buck and rear even tho we ruled out all medical issues) then i would suggest finding a trainer to help you, i could never break skip of his bad habbits and i gave him to someone who had more experience with temperamental horses. ... as for the pawing thing, i really hope someone has an answer for you because i have an appy that paws while he eats, he dug a hole under his feeder and hits it with his knee, after a few months he broke the bottom out of the feeder and now we feed him in a rubber feeder on the ground and he paws at it until he spills the food all over
I'll tackle your second question first. OF COURSE you mare got into the habit of refusing jumps - you keep turning her away from them. She has learned that when she is approaching a jump that she may be jumping it or she may not. When you approach a jump, you should almost never turn away from it. You might back up, but never take her off the track that you set. You may need to get someone to lower the jump, but the horse must stay on the track no matter what. She can jump from a walk if necessary. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
As to your first question, I am not convinced that it's not a saddle fit problem. Have you had your saddle professionally fitted by a saddler? When you canter on the lunge there is no pressure on the saddle so it might not be hurting her without a rider and might be hurting her with a rider up. What happens if you try to canter from a walk?
Your horse needs a horse trainer, not your riding instructor but a horse trainer to teach her to canter with out bucking.
Getting a trainer would honestly be your best option. There are some pretty good and semi-cheap trainers out there that allow clients to work off training rides. If paying for training rides isn't an option, here's some suggestions:
If you have a good seat, ride her bucks out and force her to stay in the canter. Spurs & a nice sized bat with plenty of play in it will help tremendously. Every time she bucks, I would dig my spurs in and give her a nice tap on the butt. Some horses buck harder when a rider does this but some respond well. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
The saddle may not be what's causing her discomfort but there could be a tweaked muscle or cracked bone somewhere that's giving her pain with the weight of a rider on her back. Have a vet or chiropractor take a look.
As for the jumping issue, NEVER EVER EVER let a horse walk away from a jump. Again, spurs & a whip are life savers. When your horse goes to break in her gait, give her a nice, swift smack with your whip and make her keep forward movement. If one smack isn't enough, continue to tap her until she's over the fence and then praise her when she's over it. One of my trainer's once said when I was younger "make the take off side of the fence hell & the landing side heaven ". I've stuck to this quote through owning my own training stables and it has never failed me.
For the pawing, tap her on the knees every time she paws and give her an angry growl or sharp NO until she learns to not paw.
My advice is to find someone to lunge her with you riding her or cue her from the ground. This way you know she's comfortable being lunged, but not with you on her back, so combine the two. This is what many trainers do with their horses and what I am currently doing with my young TB I'm training. Also, she just needs to canter lots and lots. I would encourage riding with a dressage whip and giving her a couple taps with the whip to move her forward and keep her forward. You'll have to ride out her bucks until she figures out that you 're not going to hurt her and you're not going to stop just because she bucked. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
In regard to jumping. I would again encourage carrying a whip. Sometimes just carrying it provides the "oomph" that you need. Anticipate her slowing to a walk, squeeze with your lower leg and back that up with a tap from the whip if you need to. If she does refuse, don't turn away but first back her up and make her trot an enthusiastic circle with enough impulsion to take the jump again.
