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Heels in canter?
I ride an incredibly lazy riding school pony. I can motivate his walk and trot, with no Spurs and an occasional tap of the whip. My heels are good in walk, down and no gripping with knees. In trot the stirrups sometimes slip through my feet but once I correct this I feel more weight drop into my heel. As soon as I ask for canter by pushing my seat deeper and forward and sitting tall the pony nicely goes along but my instructor immediately starts shouting ' heels down' and as much as I'm trying she says that they are 'floating in the stirrup' and just as I feel like I'm getting depth, the horse pops back into trot - his ideal pace is stationery😂 how can I improve this? I also find that F I'm kicking him along too much I lose the stirrups because I'm so determined to get him going - I can't even go one side of the arena please help.
3 Answers
- zephania666Lv 76 years ago
When you're sitting deep and forward, you're not leaving any weight in your heels, so up they come. As long as there's no weight in them, they're going to float around. So even when you're sitting deep, make sure you have some of the weight in your heels.
Also make sure you're not gripping with your knees. Just as at the walk and trot, one stays on by balance, not by grip. If your knees are relaxed, it's easier to let your weight drop into your heels. When your knees are tight, your weight all stays above them, and your heels float.
Once you've relaxed your legs and gotten your heels right, the pony will keep cantering for you. It may take some time, but keep trying.
As far as spurs go... with an educated rider, they're great. With a beginner learning to canter on a responsive horse, they're ill advised. To safely use spurs, the rider must be in control of their feet - which means they're not up and floating in the stirrups.
Hope that helps.
- 6 years ago
Wooh boy. This is a hard one to troubleshoot without seeing what is going on. First, Im curious as to why you are asking for help on a forum and not your instructor? No snark, but to me it says there is a lack of trust/communication between you and your instructor. Or perhaps you are simply frustrated. In any case, vocalize your issues. If they get snooty you might simply benefit from another instructor's style.
As for your issue, are you not using spurs at all? I would try very small english spurs. Simply because you should not have to be using your leg with such force or regularity to keep him in the desired gait. Below is an example. Remember spurs are meant to be an extension of your heel, not a punishment device.
To me keeping your horse in the correct gait youre asking for is a bigger issue than your heels at present.
Source(s): Trainer,owner,breeder - 6 years ago
My instructor used to do this really weird thing to keep my heels down. She would take my foot, place it in front of the stirrup, put my heel kind of on the stirrup part where the ball of your foot usually goes. Your foot is to the front of the stirrup. Your heel is barely in there, so you have to push down with your heel to keep the stirrup in place. Does that make sense? Wierd, I know, but it worked for me.
