Question:
Dear Thomas,
I bought a 14yr TBxShire broodmare 7mths ago, she had only been broken in 9mths prior to this and had then been used in a riding school !! She was extremely crooked in walk and trot and in the last few days I have been getting the most amazing trot from her, but her canter doesn't seem to be improving. I have had a couple of lessons with an A.I. but what she has told me to do isn't working.
The mare has had issues with canter since I started riding her and would get upset in every corner in the anticipation of being asked to canter, striking off on the wrong leg or rushing in trot. I have a perfect lead now and have reduced her anxiety. Initially on strike off her head shoots up and she 'leaps' into canter then she evades the bit and over flexes her head to the point she could do a forward roll. My instructor told me to maintain a rein contact, she actually made me shorten my reins quite alot and lift her head using the bit (loose ring snaffle lozenge and tried jointed) and give her a kick to raise her head, then praise when her head rises, she has also slowed everything down which seems to have made it worse. She is also very crooked, hind quarters bend inside and she drops out on her outside shoulder. Having read your blogs I feel it is a a problem with the engagement of her hindquarters. Are there any exercises to encourage her to use her quarters better in canter? Would riding with less contact prevent her evading the bit? she does canter on a loose rein around the school in a hollow manner and she is alot straighter behind but takes the bends like a motor bike dropping out with her outside shoulder, but she enjoys it and relaxes, also on a hack her canter is alot more relaxed, and her head position is higher. Please could you give me any advice to help, I really don't want to confuse her, she's such an honest horse who I know asked correctly will try her hardest to please.
Thankyou in anticipation, Zoe.
Answer:
Hi Zoe,
It sounds to me like the canter problems are a strength issue. Since your horse has only been under saddle for a little over a year, she is probably not strong enough behind to support the combined weight of horse and rider with her hind legs. That's why she evades by becoming crooked, throwing the head up, and overflexing. They are probably all just different manifestations of the same problem. It may be a little too early to canter her, due to the lack of strength.
I would not ride her without contact, because that makes the horse's job harder, not easier. You need the reins to help align the shoulders and to recycle the energy back to the haunches. Reins help the horse find her balance.
If the slower tempo that your teacher has you ride makes the horse worse, then speed her up a little. The slower the tempo, the longer the hind legs need to stay on the ground. The longer they stay on the ground, the longer they have to support the load, before they get the next break and move forward again. Obviously, the longer the hind legs have to support the load, the harder it is and the stronger the horse needs to be. That's why young horses tend to have a quicker tempo, and the fully trained horses can go in a slower tempo. Apart from this, each horse has a certain "signature" tempo in which he can use himself optimally. If you ride the horse in a tempo that is much slower or much faster than his signature tempo, then you introduce tension, and the horse will not be able to find his balance, which then leads to bracing, resistance, inverting, etc.
The best thing to do is to strengthen your mare with trot work. Lateral work (especially shoulder-in), circles, figure 8s, and serpentines will be especially useful. Find the tempo in each gait that works best for her, and keep her straight, so that her haunches don't fall in. If she inverts in the canter depart, you can try flexing her with the inside rein in the moment of the depart. The outside rein frames the outside shoulder and maintains the connection between the underneck and the shoulder. The inside leg hugs the horse. It keeps the inside hind leg underneath herself, and it prevents it from escaping to the inside.
Stabilize her with your lower back and upper abs. When her withers come up, support yourself with your knees and stretch up with your solar plexus, so that she finds a more uphill balance.
Thomas Ritter
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