how do i teach a young horse to canter??

[libby]

i was wondering how to teach my 7 year old new forest gelding to to canter, because he will 'break' into canter with whip behind him and alot of fast trotting trying to get him faster and faster until he suddenly breaks but this is the wrong way to do things, so how can i get a nice smooth transition and how to i teach him to do it??
please help!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[bribri4ever]

you're right, getting him faster and faster until he finally changes gait is NOT the right thing to do. It's not about going faster... Your horse can canter slower than his trot and be doing the right thing. When I ask a horse to change gait without going faster or from a walk, or stand still, I work on a lot of transitions before hand. I go from walk to trot, trot to walk, stand still to walk, stand still to trot, etc, etc... Any kind of transition involving the walk, trot, stand still or back up, do it. also do a lot of direction changes and really get your horse focused on you. Let him know you have something interesting to do, and he'll be more interested in learning the task at hand. Some people give a different cue for the canter, so there horse knows when you're asking for a trot, or a canter. Remember to always consider your body language. If you're asking for a canter instead of a faster trot, sit deeper in your seat as if you were slowing him down, but still ask for a canter. Sometimes lifting one rein up to slow your horse while asking for the canter will help him realise what it is you're asking for. don't worry so much about specific leads at first, that will come later once he's got the idea of the canter down. Well, hope I may have been of some help, and good luck with your boy!

[hunterjumpergirl9]

Ask local trainers for help and practice practice practice! I hope this helps

[pleausre chic]

I let my girl keep doing the fast trot until we developed a good, strong canter. Then i worried about the transitions. They were very easy to develop after the horse already knew how to canter. Best of luck!!!!