Improve my canter confidence please

[georgiegirl]

I have always been a little wary of canter especially the transitions to and from,probably from the years of bouncing around in a riding school as a kid  . Anyway after a few health issues an on going back problem plus less time in saddle and a fall from my mare a few years back i am still a nervy beggar thinking about canter. I did manage a spiffing  canter in november on a school horse it was amazing and i thought i had it cracked but nope the next lesson i went to pot and didnt want to give it a go, my instructor usually pushes me but she let it slide this time soooooooo help how can i get my confidence back please???

[catkin]

Do you have access to a good lunge horse? You may find that a few lunge lessons concentrating on just you may help to get the muscle-memory positive again.

[yvonnemzz]

Don't worry about it. It is not necessary to canter if you don't want to. Yes, we all love that free, wind in the hair feeling when it is going well but if your confidence is at a  low ebb, don't think you have to canter. You don't. Just work at what you can do ie improve your upward transitions  in  halt/walk/trot and you will find that canter will happen naturally when the circumstances are positive. ie when the horse is moving forwards on an uphill part of your hack for instance. It is especially hard to summon the courage when working in a school or area so don't ask for it then.
If you are apprehensive about something, this will transmit down the rein and thro' your seat to the horse. This will make the horse tense and less likely to respond well to the aids. So, don't sweat it. Have fun in the slower gaits and, when you least expect it, or when you are in the right place at the right time, canter will happen and be enjoyable. Hope this helps.

[Stormypatch]

Come down and ride Patch  He really is a fantastic confidence giver and if you tense up at all he just just stops! He also canters from walk which makes such a difference when getting your confidence back, no bouncing around the school completely unbalanced in a faster and faster trot (which I've done a lot of in my time  ).

Also agree with Yvonne, don't worry about it! I avoided canter like the plague after I lost my confidence and would go to pieces as soon as anyone mentioned the word! Yet my first canter after my riding accident was completely unplanned, I was doing transitions during a lesson and I must have put the leg on accidently in trot and he popped into the most wonderful slow canter. I had no time to get nervous as I wasn't expecting it and since then I seem to have cured my canter fears :-)

On the other hand, I am still too scared to canter Archie, even though it's completely illogical as he is easier to stop than Patch, so can sympathise!

[georgiegirl]

Thanks peeps i have another lesson in a couple of weeks so will see how it goes.Weirdly enough im usually quite happy to gallop out and about on a hack depending on where but its mainly in the school that i have real problems.  debs im trying to get to cardiff a day before we have to go to Heathers so perhaps if i get chance i can come say hi before hand 

[WoodysMum]

I have this problem, I have a horse who will walk and trot beautifully but his canter is disastrous due to previous injuries, he disunites into 4-time canter and motorbikes round the corner and I'm always convinced I can't stop or I'm going to fall off  However I don't beat myself up about it if I'm not up to cantering one day. I still only walk and trot on hacks at the moment as he is an ex-racehorse and quite excitable, but I have learnt to stay within my comfort zones. He canters beautifully on the lunge now though and I feel more confident knowing I can stop him with my voice from the ground on the lunge, and that hopefully this'll transmit to when I'm onboard!

[crdodgeon]

I sympathise, although actually I'm the opposite - the idea of hacking scares the heebiejeebies out of me at the moment but I've been getting there doing canter in the ring.

It has really helped riding a horse that does walk to canter very well - that bouncy trot sensation is no help.
For me, I've found that having a particular set of things to think about helps; I tensed up at knowing that it was my turn next and we had to canter in the corner but when we were doing an exercise where I was going to canter, then trot, then canter, and, er, which way was it at C? meant that I found I was thinking less about the c-word but more about where I was going and what I had to do,  and so canter took care of itself more.

You'll get there 

[Naiad]

Not that I'd canter Amigo the past while due to his hock issues, but even so I would still not be cantering quite yet if the hock was not an issue.

I get a bit fearful cantering. Luckily I have cantered Amigo a few years back when I did get brave, and he has a splendid walk/canter transition and a smooth canter that makes it so much nicer so I agree about that walk/canter transition. I've decided that until I've nailed sitting trot, I don't particularly want to canter. If I can balance at sitting trot, I reckon that canter will be a breeze as so much smoother. So that is my plan of action for the eventual day when I feel Amigo is ready for me to begin work on sitting trot - nail the sitting trot and then progress to canter.

I am taking my time getting to canter, and I will wait until my balance and Amigo's balance are really strong before I do so.