AboutJenn C Expertise I can answer questions on eventing, dressage, jumpers, some pony club, re-schooling race horses, and barn management. I have ridden western but am not an expert, so western questions best left to someone else.
Experience I have prepared and schooled horses for thee star level eventing, competed prelim, having also schooled to prix st george and competed second level dressage, shown in jumpers schooled 4'6". I am also a PC grad at the C level, now a current sponsor of the club in my area. I have managed stables as large as 97 horses, most of the horses were competing at the national level (some were international level horses).
Organizations USEA, USEF, USPC (sponsor at club level), preparing for USEA instuctor program, working towards USDF and USEA officals program.
Education/Credentials Trained under and/or worked for international three day event riders on regular basis for the past 12 years.
Past/Present Clients Currently the Clouser Event Team is based out of Wishing Well Equestrian Center.
Expert: Jenn C Date: 4/16/2008 Subject: Thoroughbred question
Question QUESTION: Hi, I'm currently riding a thoroughbred, and whenever I try and canter him, he gets all chargey and starts speeding up. If we're trotting and he thinks I'm going to ask for the canter, he starts trying to run into the canter. He's also developed this habit where if we've already cantered some, everytime we go through this one corner of the arena, he picks up the canter. I can get him to use his back end really well at the trot, and have been able to get him to collect in the canter once, so I know that it is possible. Is there a way to break the habit of cantering in the one corner and to stop the raceyness at the canter?
ANSWER: Hello Lindsey,
Thoroughbreds are very quick to learn things, including reading what their riders are thinking by how they are seated in the saddle. If you are focusing, mentally, on 'will he take off', 'will he canter once again in this corner', or 'here we go again, he is going to run into the canter', guess what you are setting your self up for him to do so. What happens is as your thoughts enter your mind, your body will react even though you do not realize it. This is sending message to your horse through your hands and seat, and usually to a TB this equals speed! Here are some tips to give a try:
A) Make sure your horse is 'on all your aids' and balanced. If you can not ride in a 100% straight line, not on the rail, then he is not listening to all your aids correctly, or you are leaning/depending on one aid more than the other.
B) Use combinations of trot to walk and trot to halt transitions each time you think he is going to get racy. You want smooth relaxed transitions.
C) Also use various sizes of figure-eights, circles, serpetines, broken lines, and changes of directions (half-circles and diagonals, and through circles) at walk, trot, and canter.
D) As for the corner problem, it sounds as if you may be using that corner for the canter most of the time (if this is not correct please let me know, as there may be another problem). DO NOT ask for the canter in the same place all the time.
E) This tip is a hard one for some. Be VERY LIGHT in your hands. On hotter horses people have a tendency to pull on the reins for control. Instead start to teach your horse to half-halt off of you thighs. The more someone pulls on a TB (esp. a race horse type) the more the horse pulls and gets faster.
You did not mention how much experience or training your horse has. If he is very green, don't forget that he is trying to learn how to canter and balance with the added weight of a rider. If he is off the track and has not been re-trained, then canter fast is all he knows! He must be re-schooled, and this may require you inquire about trainers in your area experienced in re-training race horses!
Another thing is, if he has not had this problem in the past, make sure your tack is still fitting properly. Some time we forget that has our horses training progresses, so do their bodies and the fit of our tack changes. I would also be sure that he is not sore or getting sore in his back, neck, shoulders, or hindend. If there is a problem in those areas it can be come difficult for a horse to hold themselves together without rushing the canter.
Most important, do not get frustrated! Sometimes theses problems take more time than people expect. If I can be of any other help please let me know. Good luck!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I usually try and mix up where I ask for the canter, if I ask in one corner once for the canter, I generally try and ask somewhere else the next time.
Ever since I read somewhere online about the pulling making thoroughbreds go faster, I have been trying more to push him up into the bridle so that he is in between my aids. When I try and slow down, instead of pulling, I try to sit deeper in the saddle, lengthen my legs, and stop the movement of my hands.
I'm not exactly sure how much training he has, but I know that at some point he was trained/worked with by a dressage trainer. She took him to shows and stuff. After she worked with him he had a few years off, and then I started riding him. It's not the tack; he's always been this way, but instead of just staying on and walking, trotting, and cantering, I've been trying to get his best out of him, and make each ride as good as it possibly can be.
What do you mean by half-halting off my thighs? How do I do this?
Answer Hi Lindsey,
From your follow up information you provided you are riding him basically the way I would. Half-halting off the the thighs; First you want to start squeezing with your thighs as you squeeze with your hands, in every down-wards transition. What this does is as the thigh pressure is added to the horses 'mid' back/top of ribs, the riders seat is lifted and positioned onto the tail bone more. This allows the horses movement to continue through their back more consistently. Sometimes when a rider seats deep into the saddle they seat too heavily, which stops the movement in the horses back. It may take some time, but as your horse starts to recognize that when the hands and thighs are both telling him to stop or slow down,eventually you will only need to apply the thighs and the hands just basically stop moving. You will start to feel his back lift more underneath you in transitions more too! After he has that all figured out, if you tighten you thighs and ab muscles in the last part of you half-halt he will come back to you with a more rounder frame, higher poll, lifted back, and relaxation. {I learned this method from an FEI Dressage trainer I rode with. He takes ex-race horses and trains them up to FEI levels, all of whom are trained to respond like this, IT DOES WORK!}
Another thing to keep in mind is not every trainer rides the same way. You can try: opening your hands up to the side (don't open from your shoulders as that would allow his shoulders to move towards the opened rein(s), rather open from your elbows), lift your hands higher or lower, less leg (some well trained horses will pick up the canter just by a rider lifting the inside rein and 'dropping'/putting more weight and pressure on their outside hip and seat bone).
Just to give him something to think about when it comes to those corners, try heading to the corner, as you approach it say 10 to 15 strides out, ask him to come off the rail to the inside, then as you are just about to the corner have him turn towards the corner and circle him, then mix in a small figure eight type of pattern away from the corner. Sounds like he respects corners as a "take off point", teach him to understand there is more to be done in corners than just a launch pad station. :-)
I hope this helps! Give it a try for awhile and let me know how you and him progress.
