I am having a hard time teaching my draft cross mare to canter. She really doesnt wanna get into the gait.
I've gotten advice from a trainer out at the barn to teach her how to lounge on line and do neck flexes so she will give to the bit better and l have and I've also used the round pen but still she refuses to go from trot to canter. I've gotten her into canter a few times clock wise for a few steps but never counter clock wise. And l can get her into the canter going down a street fairly nice (for her) but it still takes a bit of nagging. l hate to nag.Whips and spurs dont really work on her either.
So l know she knows the cue to canter.
In the big sand jump/pleasure ring if l ask going counter clock she locks her neck and turns in real quick. Its frustrating.
I am sure theres important details I've left out of this description. l can email more if needed.
Does any one have an idea how to teach a horse to move into a canter when their too lazy to do it?

Counterclockwise is obviously her weak direction so work on it longer than clockwise. Is she in good shape? She has a lot of weight to run around in a tight circle. she may not be able to... larger horses dont like to lunge too much on a line. l dont use one at all. & l lunge in an arena not a round pen. l put cones at four corners.and he stays along the edge & around the cones. it took me about about three or four times to teach him to not cut through the cones. he is 17.2 & 1500lbs. too large to canter in a round pen in my opinion. & yes, he is lazy, l have to keep the commands going & the whip cracking for him to stay in a canter.. if she trots, keep her doing a fast trot for awhile . then work her into a canter.. but she has to be in decent shap. & balanced. maybe she isnt balanced (bad farrier?????) It might not just be laziness. As well u said u hate to nag. she so picks up on cues from you. ur body language is probably giving away ur frustration. relax. & nag. & crack the whip.. she will eventually get it..

Oh, & l use a circingle with rubber reins to keep him in flexion.

Added: to those who think whips r abuse: nobody actually hits the horses with the lunge whip ''cracking the whip is a term.. its cracked in the air. And spurs r rounded nubs.. not cowboy shanks... they r lightly used to create pressure.. after its all done my horse comes right over to me & rests his head on my shoulder. that isnt the behavior or any abused animal.

stop abusing animals

l would just keep using spurs and a whip. l know you said you have, but just be persistent.

Draft crosses occasionally r reluctant to canter. So this may be an example of that, & there r ways to help.
BUT - ur description makes me suspect ur horse has a soundness/pain issue more than stubborness. Years ago my daughter owned a pony that would NOT lope in a small ring, but loped quite well going straight. The pony is hooves looked normal, but she had lightly foundered in the past. l am 100% certain that the reason she would not canter in a circle was a pain issue. Small circles apply pressure unevenly to their feet & joints, this pressure makes pain. It may be much less, or even almost gone when she canters going straight.
So l would first of all try to work in an arena with a long, long side so that u can canter on the straight. And l would get her vet checked by a good equine vet. l think they will find something. And l suspect that also shows why she will lope one direction occasionally, but not the other. Obviously one leg/side is worse than the other.
But if by chance ur mare vets perfectly, then there r some solutions to teaching her to lope. Draft horses have been bred for generations to be walkers & trotters, & many struggle physically & maybe even mentally with loping. One thing that l have seen work is to teach the horse to trot over ground poles (obviously when going straight) Spend a week or so getting her good at this. After she trots through well, set up a small cross rail jump at the end, just high enough that she will eventually have to canter/stride/jump over it. This almost always makes them lope a stride or two after the jump. Let her canter that stride or two, then gently guide her back to a trot. l have seen this technique work - it is kinda like a distraction more than anything. The horse quits thinking ''they keep kicking me to make me canter & l just wo not do it'' & starts thinking ''woops, l better canter a few steps after that jump'' & can settle into it. Then start cantering her off a bit farther each time after the jump.
l suspect she could really benefit from truly learning the ''speed up'' cue, using either a crop or spurs. If u do it right - applying strong pressure if needed & IMMEDIANT relief when she complies, she should start getting softer & softer in her speed up responses. l would work at speeding up her trot at first, & doing lots of walk/trot transitions so she understands the concept before going to the lope.
Good luck. l think ur horse may be lazy & that may be contributing to the problem, but l also think there is more to it than that.

So far ur doing just about the only thing u can. l own an ex trail ranch horse, that was not aloud to canter on trails because of the mix of riders it would carry everyday. So for me it took several weeks to get him to understand that its ok to canter & now he loves it

Ok so l did it like this. l found a trail that l would ride, prefrably with no cars, l would ride this trail alot, & it had hills, & right before we get to the hills l get him into a trot, but some of the hills needed more than a trot, so without me telling him, he would push himself into a canter to get up the hill. And while were cantering l shout GOOD BOY really enthusiastically, & for the first few times he would stop as soon as we reach the top, but after this all l would have to do is keep coaxing him & sort of dig into his sides & he'd take off like a rocket.

l know that this is just my method but it really did work so l hope this might help

first, make sure theres not a medical reason why she wo not canter.
have her checked out by a vet.
if you still cant get her to do it take a lesson with a trainer and see if they can help you out.

Drafts r not too lazy to canter, they can just be a bit stubborn. I've been working with my friend & her Percheron mix mare who is a struggle just to get to trot!
Definitely have a vet check her out, u do not want to be punishing her for not doing something because it hurts her, or because she can not.
Will she canter on the longe? Will she canter at liberty/ in a pasture on her own?
If she will canter on the longe, start riding her on the longe & enforcing the cue with the assistance of someone on the ground.
If she wo not canter on the longe, the fault can lie in the circle, or the corners. This could be because she is unbalanced, or that she physically does not have enough room where she is comfortable cantering.
If she will canter on her own & on the longe, she may be ignoring ur cues, so reinforcing with a whip or spurs might help. If she is not responding to them, however, there is no sense in pushing it, it will only make her dull-sided. Have u tried having someone on the ground with a whip? This is my job with my friend is mare, if she is not responding to the rider is cues, we use the noise from a dressage or even longe whip to give her some more encouragement.
If she DOES canter, praise praise praise! Drafts r not the most intelligent horses, & it takes a lot of repetition for them to get things sorted in their heads. And most importantly, if she does canter, stop her before she tries to stop herself, do not let her think she can go then stop as she pleases.
Definitely keep working on flexion & lateral motion to soften up her sides & rebalance her. Longe with a surcingle if it will help.
Good luck!

get out the dressage whip & when she does not listen to u the first time, show her u mean business. she taking advantage of the fact that u cannot get her moving. my trainer has told me the very same thing. if they do not listen to u the first time nicely, show them u mean it the second time!

then when u ask for it again they will not want the annoyance of u kicking them & go right into the transition.

usually a good kick or a tap With the whip gives the wake up call.

when ur working on flat work the horse must not get away with being lazy, ur mare can happily bolt off in the paddock XD

-and no this is not mean ( for anyone who does not like the fact of whips etc) these tips r Your horse'' magazine aswell :D