I recently took on a 6 year old warmblood cross on full loan, but she wont canter. I do not know her history as i am loaning off a friend who bought her on an impulse, all i know is she was broken in as a driving horse and just trots really fast when i ask her, she also trots strangely so i cannot rise, its too smooth lol. very strange. She also has no sense of direction so trots in any direction and takes no notice of my steering really. Anyway , she has huge potential but i need guidance as i'm not that experienced, Im not too experienced with lungeing or anything like that.
I can ride confidently and have been for 12 years now but i've never brought a horse on.
I would appreciate any help or advice, no criticism. THANKS!:)
Definitely no criticism here! I commend you for taking on a huge task. These horses are bred and trained for trotting. They go in one direction ... around the track! I have also adopted a pacer that was going to the auction. He has, as you said, a different trot and can cover much ground very quickly.! It takes time and patience to retrain them. I have trained quarter horses but never retrained a pacer before and it is proving challenging but he is coming along! I started back as if he was never trained to begin with. Of course he knew how to walk but getting him to change direction and respond to leg cues was a whole new ball game. A lot of ground work and round pen work. I always quit the lesson on a positive note and not out of frustration. If I find myself getting frustrated I go back to something he knows and then call it a day.
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I am still having to cue him on trotting as he will still break out into his pace! Time and patience.
These are really common problems that should be worked out simply by schooling her intensively and probably taking some lessons together. You will get used to her weird trot just with time, and the steering issue will sort itsself out just by forcing her to stick to the track and not letting her get away with ever diverting herself-all greenies do this, trust me. Remember to steer with your legs and weight not just your reins.
To get her to cantar, that's a bit harder-it could take a long time I'm afraid. But keep on asking and make sure you're asking correctly and eventually she will get what you're asking. Don't be afraid to back up with a whip just to get that transition and once she gets it one time it's all uphill from there. Always ask on her bend!:)
How long has she been ridden? There is a good chance she needs to be worked on the flat (walk-halt/walk-trot transitions, leg yielding, turn on forehand, extending and collecting are all useful) to get her responding as she is probably pretty baffled by some of your ridden cues. Until she is completely responsive in trot there's no need even to start on the cantar:)
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com If in doubt don't be afraid to consult a trainer, it isn't fair on her if you let your pride get in the way of teaching her correctly. It won't be easy but it will most definately be worth it;) Good luck!
I've heard of stuff like this but I'm pretty sure its only a small percentage of pacer and driving horses that are really unable to trot. I think those types of horses are discouraged from cantering at an early stage in their training, so this can be a difficult thing to overcome, not impossible though.
have you seen her canter naturally (eg in her pasture at play)?
have you tried working her in a round pen with a lunge line? that's where to start. you should start working on her cues to canter from the ground, and slowly make your way to saddle work once she fully understands what you want from her.
you may even want to work her with another horse and have her see them canter and try to get her to follow suit, and if she can trail ride, encourage her to canter with them as well.
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as for jumping, once she is comfortable and has the canter very solid and as effortless as any average riding horse, start walking her over things from the ground. I would start with things she barely has to pick her feet up over, such as even walking over a long straight piece of rope on the ground, then move to rails layed out on the ground, then very low crossrails, etc etc.
as for the steering, try working her in a large open arena with a halter and lead rope at both a walk and a trot, and jog alongside her while asking her to follow you in various turns and directions and see if she responds well to that . then try it with bit and bridle, THEN try to do the same with her when riding. if not, I'm all out of answers and you should ask a pro, lol!
be careful and patient when introducing new objects as you never know what any horse will be afraid of! she sounds lovely btw:)
good luck!
If you want to teach her to canter, I started from the ground first. Start off lunging her on both sides for around 10 minutes each side a day. Get her walk, trotting (not the very fast trot, try getting her to slow down, leading her can work on getting her to trot, but slowly trot). After she starts to slow down, try getting her to canter while lunging. Work on getting her to respond to voice commands.
