07/16/2026
A surprising number of riders, including many with experience, bounce in the saddle at the canter. As the pace of the canter increases, the bouncing tends to increase. Riders who cannot sit the canter try to use various means to avoid the discomfort. Standing in the irons in various ways is a common "fix".
The reason riders bounce in the canter is because the movement of their hips is restrained by their shoulders being closed and tight. Closing one's shoulders stops the hips from moving forward in a synchronized or unified way with the movement of the horse when cantering.
Changing a rider's position by opening their shoulders can be helpful. Here I offer an image of the rider moving their hips freely like a child's swing. I have employed this image effectively when teaching riders to sit the canter. I tell riders who bounce at the canter to envision their body as the chains or ropes hanging from the top of a swing set's frame, with their shoulders along the top horizontal pole of the swing's frame. I ask the rider to open and push their shoulders back and open to make a straight line between their shoulders in the most relaxed manner they can. Then, when cantering, I tell them to envision their body swinging freely back and forth like the swing.
It is useful to also explain that the 1-2-3 beats of the canter are not on a single arc plane exactly like the seat of the swing, but rather there is a rotational movement in the swing of the three beats of the canter. After the rider opens up their shoulders and lets their upper body and hips swing with the horse's motion at the canter, they begin to feel the elliptical rotation of the horse's back in their hips during the 1-2-3 beats of the gait. At this step I use an image of an egg on its side to help them envision and feel the elliptical movement at the canter. When the rider is relaxed and they let the horse's movement move their body, they stop bouncing and can sit deep in the saddle at the canter.
This teaching method works with most students. When it does not, it is usually because the rider is carrying excessive tension in the upper body. I address this by having them walk, slowly trot and sometimes canter, in a circle on a lunge line with their arms outstretched like wings with no stirrups. This is important work because both the horse and rider greatly benefit from reducing and removing the rider's body tension that causes them to bounce at the canter.
