Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by KELLY MCLAUGHLIN on March 2, 2009 at 9:42am

using ground poles palced as you are coming out of a corner helps with these guys. It makes them look down and lead with the leg for the correct lead. Be happy with justa few steps at first. The major probelm people do with all breeds is get them trotting really fast then run them into the canter. This makes them unbalanced and makes them lose their confidence. As with any other breed, cantering from a balanced WALK works best. remember they are not encourgaed to canter onthe race track .. as they are trot or pace races.. they ARENOT beat up for cantering liek so many believe.. they are simple brought back down to the gait in which the race is....
low and long and go real slow is a true way to teach any horse.....

Permalink Reply by Lucy on March 2, 2009 at 9:52am

Thanks Kelly. I should also mention too that he has gotten to cantering right after a jump as well but it seems as if once he realizes he is doing it he slows back to a trot- and could be because if he did it while racing he got brought back down to a trot as you mentioned. He does get lots of praise when he does canter. I will try getting it from the walk then as opposed to trot. My coach was actually finding he picked it up for her from the pace the first one or two times she tried but we would like to be able to transition from trot to canter without breaking out of the trot eventually.

Permalink Reply by Erica Parker on April 24, 2009 at 11:57pm

I have a STB morgan mix named Cooper- he's fantastic:) I've also been working with him for about 5 years. He's never been on a track in his life but has difficulty with the canter as well. He's gotten better at it over the last year... He's not a pacer, however, when slowing from a canter to a trot he paces-each and every single time! As you can tell by now, I don't have any advice for you...I'm just so happy to meet people experiencing the same sort of challenges as me!

Permalink Reply by Brittany on April 27, 2009 at 10:51pm

Hi, I'm not sure if this will help but I have noticed with my standardbred(he is a retired pacer as well) he will not canter unless he is balanced and in contact. Circles and figure eight's help him as well with achieving a canter. Once in the canter I let him have 'a stretch' with his neck because I find this helps him establish a clear 3-beat canter. Lunge line work with side reins also seems to help. Hope this helps!

Permalink Reply by Donna Humber on August 9, 2009 at 11:37am

I have several students working with ex-racing pacers. The canter comes so very easily for some, yet is much harder for others.
I have found , over the years, that slow & steady to change the musculature is best. Longing on sidereins is crucial to encourage the bend, which they cannot do between shafts esp. with a headpole. I find starting them without a rider works best, as they have never learned to balance with one. I always do LOTS of transitions. Loss of balance is the enemy. Work slow & be consistent. I also prefer to introduce canter from the walk....and with one poor rescue...from the halt. It worked for him....he was just too scared to listen once he got going.
Do everything in short sessions, building up slowly. Once canter - walk transitions are well established on the longe, I put a light,quiet rider up. Often poles in a fan are intoduced around now. Each horse is different. This is very hard for some horses. I cannot emphasize enough that slow & steady is the way to go.
Once the longeing is going well WITH rider up...it's off the line...and often back to square one...then they have to learn to go straight all over again. Lots of hacking out with hill work is helpfull at this stage.
That's when soft circles, serpentines and figure 8's are done...with easy transitions...this tends to go faster..as this wonderful breed just WANTS to work. They can be ready for a simple Dressage test or a X-rail course in about 4 - 6 months....but that is after the "track' is out of them, and that can take a year or more.
I always brought my horse down from the pace...just as she was brought down from the canter should she break....she learned fast that I WANTED the canter, and was easy to "fix". Downward transitions are harder for them, because they are driven in an overcheck with their head up, and do not learn to balance properly. Most will pace coming down.....keep contact & keep the bend....and keep working in small steps.
You seem to be on the right track....your horse possibly loses confidence in the canter...poles on the ground may help...esp. raised poles coming into & out of the corners.

Permalink Reply by Lucy on August 9, 2009 at 6:34pm

So now that my horse's canter is down pat my coach has started working on his canter. I think some of the issue with getting the canter for him was my lack of confidence. My coach has been getting on him each lesson now and working with building him up- first lesson she got him around the arena once in each direction- he is much better on the left, Second lesson we got him to twice around and etc. He is getting much better with it and will actually go right from trot to canter. The key for him was getting him nice and round and going on the bit. This week I will be giving it a try in my lesson and hopefully it will work out.

Permalink Reply by Debra McDaid on February 11, 2011 at 7:37pm

Hi

I come at this question from the perspective of a person who first was a show rider/trainer, then a stb race person, and now am back after 10 years and am currently both, so I have worn many hats.

 

I see some really great advice here, especially from Donna.  I would further explain that the reason most stbs (ex-racers), troters and pacers have so much trouble with the canter is three fold, first they are able to go so fast at the trot or pace that they simply do not have to switch to the canter, so they don't experience this gait while being ridden/driven... but keep in mind that all horses can canter from birth and pacing is simply an extra gait that some horses can do.  Secondly Donna touched on the fact that they have their heads held in unatural ways from those necissary at the canter.  They are discouraged from bending at all cost so that they do not 'get on a line' (bear in or out) as there is no leg to keep them straight, they use poles and gaiting straps to keep them straight so that they don't interfere with themselves.  Also for driverablitity, they also must stay straight as they steer better at fast times if they are 'straight' although of course they do bend at the turns, the faster they are they bend in somewhat, obviously oposite of what you want at a canter.  The biggest culpurate for their being unable to get the canter right is the high head carriage that most are broken and trained and raced with.  This creates a ewe neck on many, and inbalance in most.  While as a stb trainer this is oposite of what I believe in for racing, (or of coarse as a rider for riding) this is the norm.  There are only a handful of us out there that believe in low checks.  (I believe in no checks actually... I am pretty much alone on this).  The last reason is that they are discouraged with correction, some mild, and a lot of the time severe... from breaking stride.  For the sensible trainer the horse is simply pulled back and put back on stride, for the rough trainer the horse is see-sawed and pulled roughly back on stride.  Some like the Henry's the horse IS beaten, and the horse is put back on stride.  Mostly though they just learn through training to pace or trot and stay on stride.