From: Lorri
My husband has a 12 year old thoroughbred (a former barrel racer) that he's retraining for western pleasure. Over all, Harley is a fairly sane, calm horse, but we are having one recurring problem with him. When Harley anticipates that he will be asked to canter, he becomes very tense, insists on trying to bend to the outside, and rides like a jackhammer.
When Steve can 'surprise' Harley with a canter request, he is relaxed, willing to give inside bend, and his gait is much smoother and more collected. Any attempts we've made to work on this problem just lead to Harley anticipating canter requests and getting very antsy.
How can we keep Harley relaxed even when he knows he's going to be asked to canter?
Okay, now for your canter question. Harley was a barrel racer... and that means that for him, "canter" means "run flat out." You can re- train barrel racers to do a softer, slower, rounder canter, but it takes time, because they've been taught to rip around those barrels and through the keyhole as fast as they possibly can. When Harley knows that a canter is coming, he gets excited, anticipates the run, and probably starts looking for the barrels! He knows what his "job" is, and it's to make an all-out effort in a speed event.
You have to teach Harley that he has a new job, and that's going to require a lot of patience. It's harder for a horse to learn to do something another way than it is for him to learn something new. That's true for people, too, so you'll understand.
Obviously he's physically able to do the kind of canter you want, since he does it nicely when your husband "surprises him" with the request. There's your first cue: don't start planning the canter long before you ask for it, just figure out where you're going to ask, and ask when you get there. The horse will anticipate EVERY TIME if he feels the rider tensing up, moving around, and taking hold. If Steve can sit very quietly and just give the bare minimum canter cues ("whisper" to Harley) when he's ready for a canter, the transition should be much easier and smoother.
Once he gets the canter, he should sit up straight and just go with it. Let Harley set the rhythm, and Steve can just stay with him and go around the ring, or the field, or wherever you're working Harley. Above all, Steve needs to TELL Harley when he's done what Steve wanted! The horse won't know when he's "done it right" unless the rider tells him, and the best way to tell him is by saying "good boy" and giving him a pat.
Don't stop cantering too soon. If you have only a tiny round pen to work in, then obviously you won't be able to do much canter work, but if you have a big arena or a field, just let Harley roll on. After a few trips around, experiment a little with sitting up taller, breathing more deeply, and relaxing your lower back into the saddle. Eventually, Harley will realize that cantering doesn't mean barrels, doesn't mean keyhole, doesn't mean a whip -- and it doesn't even mean running flat out. Once he figures out that he can RELAX into the canter, he'll learn to enjoy it, and he'll relax more and slow down.
One of the most useful exercises you can do is to work the horse at a large, forward-moving trot for ten or fifteen minutes, and then ALLOW him to RELAX into the canter, as a break. It usually takes about three sessions before the horse figures out that cantering is a nice way to relax and stretch and get a break from all that hard trotting work. I know that you probably don't want to let him do a big-moving trot if you're trying to train him as a WP horse, but it really IS a good exercise for retraining the canter.... and as I said in my first paragraph, you might want to think about this horse's suitability for the job you want him to do. It's always, ALWAYS easier to train a horse and keep him sound if the job he's doing is one that suits his breeding, physique, and way of going.
Good luck!
- Jessica
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