How to Work a Green Horse at the Canter

Working with an untrained or not fully trained horse can be challenging for everyone involved. Green-broke horses are often not in peak physical condition and do not have a firm mastery of the basics of being ridden ingrained into their skill set yet. Once a green horse has mastered basic skills at the walk and trot, you will need to move on to transitioning those skills to the canter so that the horse can be ridden easily and comfortably. Training your green horse to work well at the canter takes a significant amount of time, work and practice.

Things You'll Need

  • Round pen
  • Lunge whip
  • Arena
  • Horse tack
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Instructions

    • 1

      Put your horse in the round pen and put it through its paces at the walk and trot. Ask the horse to canter and see how it reacts in order to figure out what aspects of the canter you need to work on. If the horse does not canter automatically, does not respond, responds by trotting really fast and then falling into a canter or falls into a four-beat hand gallop instead of a canter, you need to work on your canter cues and your horse's basic understanding of the speed. If the horse picks up the wrong lead either in front or behind, you need to work on its balance and physical conditioning after ruling out any health problems or injuries.

    • 2

      Ask your horse to canter several laps in either direction in the round pen. If your horse does not take off correctly, stop the horse and ask it again for the canter. Continue this process until the horse makes some sort of progress, no matter how small. Praise correct behavior and stop incorrect behavior before your horse can turn it into a habit.

    • 3

      Ride your horse in the arena and practice the same activities you have just worked on in the arena. If you did your groundwork in the round pen properly, the lessons you taught your horse should transfer so that it responds correctly under saddle. Continue to praise correct behavior and stop negative behavior.

    • 4

      Gradually improve your horse's canter. Once your horse canters correctly under saddle, work on improving its balance and responsiveness by asking it to canter in circles and figure eights. Use your reins, legs and seat to both speed up and slow down the canter at will. Work on bending your horse properly to develop balance. Practice with your horse regularly to keep the skills current and your horse in good physical condition.