Canter problem

Question
I am an equinetouch practitioner and have been working on a nine year old horse who cannot canter safely. On the right rein lungeing his leading inside hind crosses the path of his outside hind causes him to trip but not fall. I have had a lot of releases in this horse including an off side front rib release from behind the scapula, but his canter has only improved slightly. Do you have any suggestions please?

Answer
Dear Claire,
I would begin by having the horse examined by a GOOD equine veterinarian. Have her/him watch the horse's movement and anticipate having ultra sounds and X-rays and possibly fluoroscopy done of the horse's hock, stifle and hip. If this is a conformational defect which affects his way of going- there isn't really anything you will be able to do. If this situation is so severe that it causes consistent tripping- I would anticipate that corrective shoes etc. will only fix one problem and create another.
Since this horse is nine- I would doubt that it is simply the young horse, lack of balance issue-unless perhaps the horse has had very little or no under saddle/working expectations place upon him.  If this horse has, in fact been left idle during his youth- the problem could be exaggerated (but probably not caused by) an imbalance in muscular development. If this is the case - and I'm sorry to say that it seems unlikely- consistent muscle building work to even out the development and add strength though that right side might help.
Sincerely,
S. Evans