Cantering in a school?

juliecwuk

juliecwuk

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Mar 2, 2006
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Wolverhampton
Just wondered who else gets nervous cantering in a school? or would the majority of you say you are more confident in a school than out?

Moet isnt very forward going in the school, we struggle to canter....partly im nervous because she has bucked in the past numerous times when going into canter.....partly because she cant be bothered to canter....out hacking its never a problem!

we worked on it today in our lesson and to be honest I am very pleased with how she was, even when i pushed her to keep cantering instead of dropping out into trot, we didnt have any stoppiness from her, no bucking or head shaking... :biggrin: have attached an action shot!
 

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ME!!! Definitely me! I rode for ten years as a kid and 99% of our canters were on paths that would be like a motorway, long sweeping bends, no sharp turns.
Even the RS's huge indoor school was too small for me and I was so nervous about going round and round the track. I only started 20m circles recently and that was on a trustworthy RS horse!
This year I'm going to brave it in our small school on Flipo but only after we've built up some fitness and flexibility, he's too big a boy for faffing about so I know he would just play up if he was finding it difficult. The furthest we've gone is down the long side of the school before Flipo stops and I'm ready for him to stop!

ETA you two look really good in your piccie well done!
 
When I first got Izzy we struggled to canter in the school. It was a mix of him not being balanced and me not sitting strong. For ages he went off on the wrong leg and when we got him going on the right leg we would motorbike round the indoor school like mad things. It was a bit :hot: I often felt like we would both fall over we were so low to the ground - I'm sure we weren't that close to the ground but I felt like a stunt rider!

We are still a work in progress doing 20 m circles in canter with any degree of control and direction.

Love the pic.
 
Me! I canter on hacks no problem and I canter in my RI's school (one reason why I go to her and not her to me) but I'm ashamed to admit I've never cantered in the school at the yard - Rafi gets turned out in the school when the weathers bad and I've seen him fall over on the corners when he's been cantering wildly round - I don't want him to do that with me on his back!
 
Guess I'm in the minority. I have only cantered in the school. Somehow I think if I were to attempt this "out in the open", Rusty may just get going and never stop :redface:
 
When I first cantered Izzy on a hack I was really nervous. So went out with a huge horse from our yard who is very sensible. We went along a bridle path with no room to overtake and Izzy was faced with his 17.3 hh field mate's butt on his nose so he wasn't going to take off!

When I wanted to practice cantering him more, (to stop the excited bucking) I took him out to our haylage field and cantered him up the hill, walked back down and around, and did it again. Somehow it wasn't scary because I knew he would run out of puff before we got to the top so he wasn't going to leg it.

I would recommend doing something like that TBaynancy for your first 'out' canter.
 
Yep thats what we did as well Tiga, uphill, on the last leg of the journey so I knew he'd tire quickly, behind a faster horse, but we did it in an open field. Some how I felt being able to see all around me helped him not spook as there was no hedgerows for anything to jump out of. One of my best memories from last year!
 
Funny - I love love love galloping and cantering madam out on hacks - the only thing Im uncomftable about is unseen holes and rabbits/dogs popping out of bushes.

However, I stress about cantering in the arena, I worry we will topple over! She isnt very balanced so finds it hard to corner etc, and has always rushed canter. Its got much better now Ive learnt to sit to her canter as I can slow her speed a bit more
 
I prefer cantering in the school as its more safe...well sort of LOL...our school is quite small but finnley has not problem in motorbiking around it at top speeds LOL! I just think well if i fall off its going to be a nice soft landing and he cant run anywhere...

:angel:

I dont mind cantering on hacks...aslong as its not in a really open field...then i will get really nervy...
I love cantering up hills, as the others said it just gives that bit more confidance. We have a really steep hill on the bridle path near us, i cant wait to have a good old canter up there :wink:

Well done for getting Miss Moet to canter in the school, shes looking lovley :inlove:
 
I'm quite happy cantering out in one of our many open fields , more so then in the school though if poppet is a bit excited i will always stay behind . I used to go out with a girl before she moved yards and whenever we were going out i would normally stay behind her and she would always shout ' Is this speed okay lauren?' I prefere cantering out by myself as she has no one to race and i can hold her . In the school however she tends to speed around the corners and am frightened she will turn it too tight etc. Also one time we were cantering i didn't realise how deep it was and she tripped landed on her knees but her behind end kept going and kinda topple over i mean i was practially on the sand before she topple over. So i like cantering in open fields though when i first had her i would always go in the school
 
glad to see i am not the only one with canter confidence issues!!!

it stems back to never really having any canter lessons ever i think! i have always cantered out hacking right from day one with Rosie and i hadnt ridden properly in a school ever with Rosie (not her thing to be honest!), so now trying to get Moet to canter without going too slow or bucking makes me very nervous! but we are getting there...albeit slowly!! lol!

I do feel very stoopid though watching everyone else cantering around in the school and me bouncing around like a plonker on Moet trying to get a canter and then when we even get one length i am over the moon!!

ah well...glad i'm not alone with this one! lol!
 
Exactly the same mindset I have. I think what might help is getting someone else to do it on our horses and film it - then we can watch it over and over so it eradicates that fear.
 
All I can say is, I am thrilled to canter Ziggy in the school because at least he can only run 40m before he has to turn around!!!!

But he has a very balanced little canter and is quite small so gets around the corners easily :giggle:
 
I learnt to ride by not falling off on hacks and am not a technically good rider. I can deal with anything a hack can throw at me and don't get tense but I don't like the school. I don't know where the letters are, I don't know the school shapes, I feel like I'm being watched and I feel I have to be perfect rather than enjoying my riding so I tense up and it all goes wrong.

Then add into the mix that I bought Joy who was on working livery at my riding school when I returned to riding as she had spirit. She hated being riden round in a school and would try to drag your leg along the outside wall, speed up a slow down to test you, but predominatly want to race round very fast and hoon about if you let her!

I'm definately happier on other horses in a school than I am on Joy as neither of us can relax in an arena.

Mind you, I went to a pony party to meet up with some of the Trot On mob and did party games for the first time ever. I found myself weaving through poles and going as fast as I could in canter all without stirups. It was great fun! I'f I'd tried that on Joy I'd have fallen off within about 30 seconds or have made a new door in the end wall of the school. It would have been fun though! :giggle:
 
I am only happy cantering in the school!!! I have cantered Storm out hacking around our fields, but she gets the wind up her tail and into her hooves and suddenly becomes very fleet of foot!lol. There is one field we have a good blast up during the summer, one of these days she won't stop at the top and will clear the fence!!!! Eeeek she does love to jump (I don't!!!).
I hated cantering in the indoor school on one yard we were on, for some reason it didn't feel quite right! It was Olympic sized too, so no worries about getting into canter and turning sharp corners as such. Oh well, horses for courses.......
 
Isn't it odd how we are all different? I'm another one who feels safer cantering in a school. As I get older I'm much more worried about cantering out in the open or on a hack. I get anxious about my mount getting strong with me - its not that I'm THAT likely to fall off, but still get nervous. Whereas in the school I will jump, canter without stirrups and so on without getting too bothered.

I think this goes back to several holiday rides where I made the mistake of owning up that I had ridden previously and got put horses that were really a bit too big for me (ex-hunters on 3 occasions, different places). On these hacks I got towed along at an assortment of speeds, with little control and more or less no brakes. No danger really, as I'm OK-ish at sticking on, but it really shook my confidence to find my range of horsey control skills was rather weak!

So it's the arena for me every time. Mostly ride ponies anyway, steady TS types, so no danger or falling over at the corners - just lots of inside leg to arrest the cheeky corner cutting!:giggle:
 
School every time. If a tanking off is likely at least the landing would be soft.. young horse I rode tanked in the school, after 15 or so times at full pelt I bailed!!! Dont want to do that on an open field.. he would have gone a lot quicker with no corners to think about :)
 
Control of the bit.

selside said:
Isn't it odd how we are all different? I'm another one who feels safer cantering in a school. As I get older I'm much more worried about cantering out in the open or on a hack. I get anxious about my mount getting strong with me - its not that I'm THAT likely to fall off, but still get nervous. Whereas in the school I will jump, canter without stirrups and so on without getting too bothered.

I think this goes back to several holiday rides where I made the mistake of owning up that I had ridden previously and got put horses that were really a bit too big for me (ex-hunters on 3 occasions, different places). On these hacks I got towed along at an assortment of speeds, with little control and more or less no brakes. No danger really, as I'm OK-ish at sticking on, but it really shook my confidence to find my range of horsey control skills was rather weak!

So it's the arena for me every time. Mostly ride ponies anyway, steady TS types, so no danger or falling over at the corners - just lots of inside leg to arrest the cheeky corner cutting!:giggle:
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Just a theory! I have come to realise that I really have very light hands in the school because the old boy knows the ropes. So not so much of the reins is needed as an aid. He's laid back, I'm laid back. But it does seem artificial. Not real riding, because I just concentrate on trying to look like I know how to ride. You know the drill, everything in a line through the heal etc.

As for cantering outdoors, now we have a situation where he doesn't know what to do unless I tell him, and i know for sure I sometimes inadvertantly send mixed messages. Makes for a little excitement, but explains why I feel "safer" cantering in a school.
 
I learned to WTCJ in a school, very rarely if ever did I hack out. So I feel much more comfortable indoors.

Outside is a wild and scary place where the horse can turn into a monster and run off with me and throw me under a bus (even in a closed field). The ground isn't nice and flat outside either, all those ups and downs and decisions to make about the best way to go. **shudder**
 
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