What Does it Mean When They Say That a Horse Won't Canter?

Gaited horses, young horses and horses with little to no training often have a difficult time cantering. The canter is one of four gaits, or movements, of an ungaited horse; the other gaits are the walk, trot and gallop. When a person says a horse won't canter, it could mean the horse is gaited, and, therefore, has been trained to avoid the canter. It also could mean that the horse is young and inexperienced. Cantering comes naturally to most horses in large, open spaces.

  1. Gaited Horses

    • Gaited breeds include paso finos, saddlebreds and Tennessee walking horses. Many trainers and gaited horse riders consider cantering a weakness in the horse's gait; if a gaited horse falls into the canter instead of holding its gait, it is considered poorly trained and unbalanced. If you own a gaited horse, chances are good that it was trained never to canter. While you can teach it to canter, doing so may decrease its value for potential buyers. You also may have difficulty reversing its desire to canter.

    Young Horses

    • Chances are favorable that a young horse breaks into the canter or gallop while in a large pasture. If a young horse canters in a pasture but not in an arena, then it probably lacks the strength and balance to canter on a small circle. Many trainers teach young horses to canter a few strides at a time with a rest between sessions. Alternatively, they teach a horse to canter on a straight trail so the horse doesn't have to negotiate tight circles until it is ready. If a young horse won't canter, it could lack this basic training.

    Proper Training

    • If a horse hesitates at the gate or balks when its rider squeezes with a leg, the horse probably lacks correct training to canter. Barn-sour and poorly trained horses may be confident when trotting but stop their forward movement when prompted to canter. Some of them move to the side, others buck and many simply stop. The solution is to train such a horse to canter on a large circle in a round pen and patiently work through the horse's stubborn attitude and encourage it forward with gentle taps with a whip until it canters. Once the horse understands the movements required in the canter, it can perform it with more confidence.

    Lame Horses

    • Horses may be unwilling to canter if they experience pain or stiffness anywhere in their bodies. Horses that won't canter due to pain often buck and try to throw off their riders instead of cantering. They may have visible sore spots or rubs from ill-fitting tack. If pain is suspected as the reason a horse won't canter, then a veterinarian should be consulted.