Cantering on the wrong bend

[LMSmith]

You could put knots in her reins so she only holds them at the same length?

Do you have the problem in walk or trot?

Also you possibly need to work on the pony falling in as this seems to be the reason she is holding the outside rein to tight

[ewj]

Thank you walk & trot and fine

[sellyblue]

Ask her to open the inside rein a bit like a door away from the neck and use a little more inside leg and hopefully the pony will begin to bend around her inside leg tell her the pony needs to see where hes going around a corner just like her
Good luck it's not the easiest thing to sort out x

[sageandonion]

Insist she does not do this, really bad for pony and will make the problem worse.
The arena is for schooling and everytime she turns the head out (the shoulder will also be falling in) the pony is learning that is the thing to do. She is not too young to be told that you steer with legs, not hands.

Time for instructor in if she will not listen to you.

[rubydoo]

is this a recent thing ? maybe ponies expessing discomfort of some kind, teeth /poll pain?

if this is not the case lots of transitions ,bending , circles and agree with s&o and instructor would come in handy , i hate teaching my kids its a total nightmare they never listen to mum .

[ewj]

LOL I know! - lesson booked for next week - yes it is a recent thing, I think the pony is being cheeky and trying to make the circles smaller and smaller and come in, I don't think show jumping has helped either?? - I was in show on Monday and it happens to a few adults too!

[Em5]

I've been teaching my 7 year old daughter to bend her pony with her legs on circles as she tended to use outside rein to keep him out, so we,ve come back to walk, started with small circle and getting her to push pony out with her legs and seat, and also leg yielding, working with out stirrups helps to lengthen legs as well. It's working well and ponies improving his bend too.

[sageandonion]

Yes it is a pony thing, my large pony does it and it is easier for the pony to get away with it in the canter! An adult will correct this by effectively leg yielding right into the corner, however, I am not sure if your daughter would be physically able to leg yield correctly though instructor will of course know.

Until your instructor arrives, why not avoid the situation by cantering a 20metre circle in the middle of the school and when going large use the canter as part of transitions so that the canter is down the long side and into trot just before the corner. Trot the short side and pick up the canter when leaving the second corner. Hope that makes sense and you say things are ok in the trot. Transitions are good discipline for rider and pony and pony is going into the corner which is aim (A).

[ewj]

We don't have a school so we have to school in big hilly fields in wild & windy North Wales!! - but we will try lots of transactions - thank you

[nici]

We don't have a school either and just ride in the fields at home. However we have marked out an arena area with cones - 4 red traffic cones marking the corners, dressage letter cones at the usual places. I have a long 30m surveyor's tape measure so was able to measure and position the cones accurately, and the lightweight dressage cones are pinned down with tent pegs. Cheap and easy to set up , portable if you need to move to a fresh area, and helps kids get used to riding in a marked arena.

The kids don't always use it when exercising & schooling the ponies - in fact I prefer them not to use it all the time, to save marking the track too much and turning it to mud. However when they're having lessons, or practising movements like circles, half circles etc it is invaluable to have the reference points.

You could just as easily mark a space out with large stones, electric fence posts (maybe with laminated letters attached) or other convenient objects.