Q&A for How to Sit the Canter Properly

Lean back with your shoulders and sit on your tail bone, move your hips forward and feel like you're pushing your bellybutton towards your horses head.

Try to gain some more confidence. See if you can avoid holding onto the saddle while the horse is walking and trotting first. If you can manage that, you can try getting the horse into a canter. Lastly, try to keep with the horse's rhythm; this will help you feel more secure in the saddle, and lessen your urge to grab onto it.

If needed, you can hook your pinkie (smallest) fingers around the horse's mane. This should allow you to maintain a natural beat. It also comes with time and practice.

Keep your calves tight and sit up straight. If you do not feel comfortable cantering, you may want to ride a bit more at the walk and trot, and gain more confidence and leg strength. Then try the canter.

Your stirrups may be too long, try shortening them and thinking about putting weight in your stirrups.

You can try, but staying on the horse and regaining control is more important than posture at this point.

In canter, your hands are supposed to follow the movement of the horse's head and neck, so your hands should move to allow the horse to have more neck and head room while cantering.

Put your heels down -- this stops them from falling out. Put the ball of your foot on the stirrup only.

This is a very common problem! Stretching your legs down can lead to your legs going forward, which can make it very difficult to sit the canter. Try to relax and keep your heels down. Focus on sitting deeply and letting your body find the horse's rhythm.

Remember that you must sit back. If it helps, say "sit back" over and over in your head with the rhythm of the canter.

Try not to overthink it. If your instructor thinks that you are capable of cantering your horse, then you should be able to. The canter is different from the trot of course, but if you know how to sit the trot, you can sit a canter. Sit deeply in your saddle.

Hold on to the saddle and try and pin yourself down. After a while of this, ease yourself toward letting go of the saddle.

Take some time to correct your seat and tighten your reins before you begin. You might want to look at riding a different horse

Practice. The only way you'll get better is cantering to the right. Also, do some core exercises to help with your abs and lower back.

Pick a song that has a good beat and play it in your head. Also, your horse knows how to canter. If you trust him and give him his head he will do it. It's also good to hold on to the front of your saddle.

Focus on your core. Hold yourself up straight by tightening your core stomach muscles. (You'll know it's working if you feel the muscles straining in your abdomen.) Holding your core tightly will help your back stay straight.

When I first learned to canter I had the same problem. If you practice a lot, you'll get better. Try shortening the stirrups so you can focus on your legs more. But once you start improving, put them back to the normal length.

You may be too tense and rigid. Try sitting down deeply in the saddle and letting yourself find the horse's rhythm. Give the horse its head and only collect it if the horse is stepping out too quickly.

I usually sit back on my seat bones, gently wrap my legs around my horse, and hold on to the mane. Once I find my rhythm, I let go of the mane and go with the motion of my horse.

You can try and hook our pinky in the horses mane for support, and just basically have your hands glued to the horses neck. You should be able to feel the horses mane or neck at all times. Then gradually unhook your pinky and your body will already be used to your hands be down.

This might be a problem with your horses teeth -- they might be too sharp, causing pain inside the mouth every time the bit tugs. Ask a horse dentist/vet to check over its teeth.

Try to sit deep in the saddle, but relax. Most people have tight lower backs, and that will make you bounce. Try not to push down with your feet.

To get your horse to stop, you would pull back on his or her reins slightly. If your horse is not responding to commands, you may want to talk to a trainer about how to best correct the issue.

You might find this article helpful: How to Canter on a Horse for the First Time .

If you keep losing your stirrups, it might be that your heels come up. Try to work on keeping your heels down. It might also be that you grip with your legs, so try to relax your legs and really keep the weight down in your heels. It can also be that your stirrups are too long, so maybe make your stirrups a little bit shorter.

Keep her in line, at a collected canter where she can't go as fast, instead of a extended canter

You can use your entire leg a little, but it's important to sit really deep in the saddle and go with the rhythm of their strides, not just on top.

Try to sit more forward and have a straight posture - keep your head up, heels down, and make sure that you move with the horse.

You can slowly ease off holding the saddle strap by first transitioning to holding the mane (it doesn't hurt them) and then letting go entirely. It is most likely that you hold onto the saddle strap for balance, so also work on your balance - if you improve your balance, you won't need to hold the strap.

Half-halt (pull on the reins) and sit deep in your saddle. If it's an emergency, head toward a fence, and the horse should stop.