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Wont canter while lunging2007-11-24 21:23:27

My mare was taught to lunge and does great at a trot, but no matter what I cannot get her to canter without me being on her. I have a lunge whip that I use, but all she continues to do is to trot really really fast but won't break into a canter. She has no medical problems. Any help?

Answers:

She is more than likely off balance and not able to balance herself without a rider's cues in order to strike off into canter.

I would have a qualified rider be mounted while you lunge. The rider should be educated enough to feel if the mare tips to the side, falls on the forehand, etc.

If she will do this when mounted but not unmounted and if her instinct is to 'run' in trot, then its usually an issue of balance.

Continuing to chase her with the whip (or whatever) :-) won't help her learn her balance. Instead, she'll just learn to either ignore the whip/rope or to run instead of a nice balanced trot.

You didn't tell us what discipline you're riding, but I will say that lunging in sidereins (which is typically a dressage training method) REALLY helped my gelding find his balance to canter on the lunge. We use the sidereins most of the time now, but not all the time and he does fine without them, too.

Most horses find the sidereins help them balance and suceed with this tool.

I will say that you should not attempt to use sidereins on a horse who has never used them unless you are a qualified professional. Horses can get claustrophibic if they are used wrong, rear up, flip over, bolt, etc. Just like ANY Training tool- when used improperly, they can cause damage to the horse, the rider, and the training plan. Ask for help if its something you've never done before.

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Maybe try talking sternly to her?? What command do you use to get her to speed up when you're riding her? Maybe you should develop one so you can use it in lunging too.

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keep using the whip until she breaks into a canter. do it behind her, at the heels, and on her quarters if nessecary. cluck your tongue, yell at her yell ha repeatedly get a friend to wave arms behind her. that should help i hope

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her back might be sore

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swing whip in a circle twice standing in the middle then tap her on the hind end if she does not go run behind her not in kicking range and crack the whip.

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You haven't said if you're lunging in a round pen or out in an area where she is able to move outward when you try to ask for canter. If she canters while you're on her, you can voice train her from there. Usually you do it the other way around-teach voice on the ground and then transfer to riding. When you ask for the canter, verbally ask. When she picks up the canter-reward. Do this for all gaits while under saddle. Most horses will readily take a sugar cube, piece of cheerio cereal, or horse treat while being ridden. Once she picks up the various gaits from the saddle, use those same voice aids on the lunge. She should have a better understanding of what you want. Most horses that won't canter are too unbalanced to do so.