controlled cantering

Question
dear christine

i'm a novice rider in England (have been about a dozen times and have had about 3-4 hours instruction). I usually ride an old ex-racehorse called dusty (not my own horse) who's very well-behaved, but has to be pushed to get going. I can canter quite comfortably and in control on Dusty. But sometimes I ride a young frisky hunter called Megan who's the opposite, quite bouncy and hard to stop. She likes to race the other horses when when we ride. She really puts her head down when she starts to canter and pulls me forward. My reaction is tighten the rein but this seems to make her go even faster. I try to sit back in the saddle but find it hard not to get pulled forward again. With dusty (the slow one), I don't get thrust forward at the start and have a slacker rein. Could you offer any tips? I know it's down a lot  to my lack of experience, but I would like to be able to ride megan better and more securely. And i think my riding would improve overall if i didn't always ride dusty (the easy slow horse)

Rider and horse stats

I'm about 6' and around 175 lbs
Dusty (slow) is 16 and a half hands (16 yrs old)
Megan (frisky) is 17 hands and about 3 or 4 yrs old i think

I'd really appreciate your comments and any advcie you could offer

many thanks

will luckhurst  

Answer
Dear Will

Sorry about the delay, but here we have a company called Videotron. They manage Internet here, but their employees are on strike. Sometimes, it's hard to connect...

I personally would stop riding Megan. I'm afraid you do not have the experience required to ride such a horse.

What Megan does is leaning on the bit. This situation can be corrected. However, it takes time and experience.

Basically, you should try to avoid pulling the reins.It makes the matter worse. The more you pull, the more she leans and the faster she gallops.

Here's an exercise you can try:

Pick a day you're in a particular good mood. Ride Meagan in a small enclosure (such as a roun pen or a small outdoor ring). Walk her on a loose rein, without pulling. When you feel she's relaxed, try the trot (do not post, since it might give her more forward motion, thus more speed)).If she goes too fast, try to ignore her. It does not matter if you "bumb" a little bit in the saddle. If she wants to canter, sit tight on your saddle and gently gently pick up the reins. A soothing voice may help. She slows down ? Release immediatly the pressure on the reins. Repeat, repeat, repeat. When you feel comfortable, try the gallop. Same principle: she wants to gallop hard, pull lightly on the reins until she trots. Reward. Ask again the canter, and so on.

The trick is to apply on the reins a gentle but a constant pressure. Be constant. Do not jerk the reins and try to relax.

When you feel Megan is better, ride with a buddy in an outdoor ring. Let the buddy pass in front of you. Megan might become nervous. But don't be. Try what I just wrote.

This usually work. But take into consideration you need good hands and a good seat and you need how and when to use them. That's why I feel you not enough experienced to deal with Meagan. Or ask the help of a trainer. In the meantime, I would ride Dusty. She seems nice and I'd gain experience by riding her.

Please feel free to contact me again.

Good luck


Christine