Question # 350: I have been struggling getting my horse to move forward, especially at the canter.

For example, he'll take a few strides of canter, and then start trotting again, and it's hard to get him back into it. Sometimes, too, we'll be trotting and he'll just stop. How can i fix this? (Josie)

Hi Josie!

It sounds like you have 2 problems here. One is that your horse may not always respect your leg aids, which means that it is easy for him to stay behind your leg. And the other is that he may have balance issues in the canter. That is actually quite a common problem... when the horse gets strung out in the canter (very often from a poor quality, running upward transition into the canter), and falls back into the trot as the hind legs trail behind and the impulsion is lost. (Click on Question Title above to read full answer)