Morgans as a breed tend to be that very precious being – the natural Caretaker horse. That’s the kind of horse who generally slows down or stops when they are afraid or confused.
Caretaker horses are those wonderfully generous horses who are particularly good at looking after our children or our beginners or just those of us who want a reliable horse with the kind of personality that actually works hard to look after us.
I listened to Simone talking this morning about a conversation she was having on Facebook about so many Morgans taking time to establish a canter – and I was happy to tell her that it is their brilliant personality as Caretaker horses which is why they have this “trouble”. Although that’s a weird word to use for something that turns out to be so positive!
Way too many horses, no matter what breed, have difficulty cantering PROPERLY and BALANCED with a rider on top.
Some types of horses reflect that “problem” by cantering along on their front end, with their back hollowed uncomfortably, getting faster and faster as they worry – these are the horses who prefer to run when they are afraid or confused.
Caretaker horses such as Morgans and a whole heap of Warmbloods, don’t even want to canter because of that same nervousness caused by feeling unbalanced.
And Caretaker horses, because they slow down when they are afraid or confused can be quite subtle in their body language when they are nervous.
I have written about a brilliant exercise that I learned from Philip Nye, that clears this canter thing up VERY easily.
Combine that canter exercise with understanding our horse’s nerves and what to do about them, that I talk about in the free lessons The 9 Keys to Happiness with Your Horse and I think you can work out a solution pretty simply.
You can register for those free lessons if you haven’t got them, the link is right at the top of the Training Programs page
And if you email me on the contact form at the top of every page, I’ll send you the chapter out of Bobby’s Diaries explaining the canter exercise.
