A Group Exercise

I did this exercise with my Pony Clubbers last week; we used to to it a lot when I was learning to ride as a child, but I don’t see it utilised very often now, nor unfortunately do I use it much myself as I don’t teach many groups.

It’s a very good layering exercise which introduces independent riding, and ensures the horse or pony is listening to their rider’s aids.

Starting with the ride in closed order on the track in walk. The first rider moves up into trot, trots around the arena until they reach the rear of the ride. Then, they should take the inner track and trot past the ride before trotting back to the rear. With more experienced riders, you can have the ride trotting, and the individual cantering around and past them.

This exercise is useful in the following ways:

• It allows every rider in the ride to experience being lead file.
• It teaches awareness of the change in a horse when they move from following the tail in front of them, to going off the rider’s aids.
• It teaches the rider how to pass other horses at the correct distance.
• Riders need to use their outside aids to stop their horse rejoining the ride instead of passing them, otherwise the horse just falls out and slows down to slot in behind the ride.
• The horse is encouraged to work independently and the rider taught to plan their route in advance, otherwise their horse tucks in behind the ride.
• Riders have to plan their transitions so that they don’t crash into the ride.
• It’s a useful precursor to riding in open order. Once a group are familiar with the exercise the lead file can be sent off before the previous horse has reached the back of the ride.

A different exercise, which I find quite useful for testing horses who are a little bit herd-bound, is to have the ride trotting around and the rear file ride a transition to either walk or halt. When the ride catches up, they ride forwards to trot and become the leader. Some horses can be reluctant to be left behind, so it’s a useful education for them, which pays off in other areas, such as hacking or cross country. It also teaches patience, as horse and rider have to wait calmly for the rest of the ride. The rider also has to plan their upward transition so that the rhythm of the ride is not disrupted, and they also experience lead file. I find you can allow the new lead file to do a few movements, such as circles, serpentines or changes of rein, which develops their independence and confidence.

If the weather’s cold, or it’s wet, and you don’t want a group of riders standing still for too long, these exercises are useful for keeping everyone moving and keeping them warm. I’d like to see instructors incorporating these exercises into their group sessions because they are definitely underappreciated.

Pole Triangles

This is a pole layout I did a few weeks ago now with clients, which had numerous exercises within it to benefit a wide range of horses and riders. Lay out a triangle of poles, then place a pole four foot away from each pole. Then build another triangle with outer poles next to it, so that there are three trotting poles in the centre.

The first exercise I used with my riders was in their warm up, getting them to trot and canter between a pair of poles. This really helped identify any crookedness in the horse, and encouraged the riders to minimise their inside rein aids. Initially, I only had them riding through one pair of poles but towards the end of the warm up I got some riders to ride an arc through the two tramlines on one side of the formation, a bit like a shallow loop. This started to get the horses stepping under with the inside hind and using it correctly because they couldn’t drift through their outside shoulder due to the second pair of poles.

Just by using these poles in the warm up I found both horse and rider were more focused and their way of going improved by making them straighter.

The next exercise I utilised was getting my combinations to trot over the tramlines and then over the apex of the triangle. The tramlines were set as trot poles, and both horse and rider had to be accurate to the apex. I had my riders ride across the pole layout from various points, integrating the poles into their flatwork circles and shapes. This means the horses are less likely to anticipate the exercise and the rider can then take the benefit of the polework onto their flatwork and feel the improvement immediately.

If a horse persistently drifts one way or the other over the poles it tells you which hind leg is stronger, which leads me to developing some exercises to improve them. Likewise, it can help to identify any asymmetry in the rider’s seat or aids.

You can also ride from the apex to the trot poles, which is a harder accuracy question because the poles draw the horse away from the point, rather then funnelling them towards the apex.

With my more balanced horses and riders I rolled the tramlines out so they were nine foot apart, which meant they could canter over the poles and apexes.

To add a layer of difficulty to this route, some riders rode curves through the triangles, entering over the trot poles of one triangle, trotting the three trot poles in the centre before either trotting out over the apex, or left or right over another pair of poles.

The final route I had my riders take was along the length of the pole formation; trotting over an apex, over three trot poles and then over the other apex. This was a good test of their straightness, and by removing the middle pole of the trio it could be cantered.

Basically, have a play around with these pole triangles, taking as many different routes as you can, focusing on riding rhythmically, accurately, aiming to the centre of each pole, and straight. You should feel your horse’s cadence and balance improve as they start to lift their feet higher over the poles, lift through their abdominals, lighten the forehand, improve their proprioception and become more interested in their work.

Everything in Moderation

There’s been a few articles circulating recently about the detrimental effects of lunging. But before we condemn lunging forever more, let’s look at it from both sides.

Lunging is coming under criticism because studies are finding a positive correlation between horses working on circles and joint injuries. So perhaps lunging isn’t the problem here, it’s the number of circles a horse does?

I’m a great believer in doing everything in moderation; the horses I know with the longest active lives and fewest injuries are those who have a varied work load. They lunge, they hack, they do flatwork, they do polework, they jump.

From what I can see, if you do a lot of flatwork and lunge a couple of times a week then this combination puts your horse at risk of joint injuries because of the number of circles the horse does. But if you predominantly hack or jump so ride fewer circles, then lunging a similar amount has less cumulative stress on the joints.

Then of course, there is your lunging technique. There’s the old adage that lunging for twenty minutes is the equivalent of riding for an hour. I think this is an important guideline to bear in mind so your horse isn’t trotting in endless circles for an hour.

Also, do you lunge continuously on the same size circle, or do you vary the size and walk around the school in order to incorporate straight lines? Do you use transitions and variations to the gait, or just keep the horse moving in their comfort zone? Do you divide your lunging session up into periods of walk, in-hand work, such a lateral work or rein back? Trotting for twenty minutes on a fifteen metre circle stresses the joints much more than a varied lunge session.

Think about why you want to lunge? For a tense horse like Phoenix, I find lunging once a week is beneficial as she is more likely to relax and stretch over her back, which is then taken forward to her ridden work. She can do this naked, and not having my weight or the saddle on her back helps her stretch her back muscles. Some people love gadgets, others detest them; I think they are useful in the short term when used correctly to help direct the horse into working in the right frame. This is something an experienced rider may be able to do from the saddle, but a novice rider can’t, and in order to improve their horse’s way of going and increase their working lifespan, they need help to develop the correct musculature.

For some horses lunging can be useful for warming them up before you ride. They may be cold backed, or a bit sharp. But this type of lunge shouldn’t be much more than five minutes. Equally, if you think your horse is feeling fresh one day, it’s safer to lunge and get rid of their excess energy rather than have an accident riding.

Lunging is useful for assessing lameness as it is usually more pronounced on a circle or turn. Also, without the rider you can see more clearly if it is a bridle lameness or not.

So there are valid reasons for lunging, and I think we can reduce the risk of joint injuries by not lunging for too long or too often, and improving our lunge technique.

We’ve already said that it’s the number of circles a horse does which damages their legs, so let’s change our approach to a lunging session to reduce the number of circles.

Start in walk on a large circle, walking yourself so that the circle becomes less round and has a few straight lines on it. Then go into trot and work on the same principle; some circles where you stand still, mixed with some wanderings. Use transitions and spiraling in and out to give variety to the circle. Use poles on a straight line to add to the variety. The only time I don’t do a huge variety in terms of transitions is when a horse is learning to carry himself differently (for example taking his nose down and out) or needs to improve his rhythm. But then I use wanderings to break up the circles. Think of doing short bursts of canter, and focus on improving the quality of the transitions rather than having a stamina workout.

After a few minutes of trot or canter work have a walk break, getting your horse to relax out on a big circle. When you change the rein, take the opportunity to do some in hand work with them. It may be rein back, shoulder in or other lateral work. But equally it could be some general ground manners such as standing still as you move around them.

I think my pet hate, and what I think would be a large contributor to horses having joint issues and a routine of being lunged, is when a horse is literally allowed to gallop round, fly buck, and turn them inside out at the end of the lunge line. These short bursts of acceleration and deceleration on a turn are far more likely to cause injuries than when a calm, well-mannered horse being lunged. Apart from the fact it’s dangerous to the handler, it’s poor manners and in my opinion a recipe for disaster. They aren’t working correctly, and you can’t check for soundness or any other issue, so the lunging is of no benefit to anyone.

I’d be interested to read more about the studies into lunging and lameness to learn more about the quality of the lunging technique, as well as hearing more about the study horses conformation, age, workload and routine, to see what other factors could be contributing to any lameness. Then we know if lunging is as detrimental to our horse’s wellbeing as is being suggested. But otherwise I will continue to believe in everything in moderation, including moderation.

Riding Camp

In recent years horse-loving adults have been taking a leaf out of their kid’s books, and started going camping. It’s like Pony Club camp, with as much fun, and more alcohol.

My riding club runs a summer camp as well as dressage and showjumping mini camps during the year, but this year was the first that I managed to go. I wasn’t sure about going until after Easter, when I’d got on top of Phoenix’s tension issues, but I decided it would benefit both of us.

Camp started for us on the Friday morning, with a jump lesson. We were with the green horses, and Phoenix was one of the most experienced horses, but this suited us both as I was definitely uptight and unsure of how she’d behave at a busy venue. I wanted a quiet, calm lesson to settle us both. The lesson focused on quietly approaching small fences in a steady rhythm, and calmly riding away. Phoenix was great, and it did the job of setting us up for the weekend.

I spent a lot of time in the run up to camp worrying about how Phoenix would cope with being stabled and ensuring she ate sufficient forage. I was really pleased that she seemed to settle immediately into the stable, and started munching on her haylage. I planned to hand graze her as much as possible, but the fact that Phoenix was so chilled definitely helped me relax.

Our second lesson, on Friday afternoon, was flatwork. We worked on shoulder fore in trot and canter, and I felt that Phoenix had an epiphany on the right rein: riding right shoulder fore really helped her uncurl her body and improved her balance on right turns. She had previously been resisting my attempts at creating right bend and scooting forwards in panic as she lost her balance, but she seemed to thrive off the challenge of shoulder fore, even managing it in canter to my surprise.

I was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning so had the pleasure of waking up the horses. It was cross country day, and I was thrilled with how Phoenix took on each challenge. Considering that she’s only been cross country schooling twice and seen some rustic fences on sponsored rides. We had a few stops, but it was as though she needed to study the question as when I re-presented she locked on and flew it confidently. We focused on Phoenix not rushing or panicking over the jumps to build her confidence. I wanted her to have a positive experience, and then I can develop her confidence over steps and through water over the summer. Phoenix was the bravest of our group too, getting up close and personal with the life size model elephant!

I spent most of Saturday afternoon hand grazing Phoenix and chatting to friends. The part of camp that I was most enjoying was the uninterrupted time I had with Phoenix. I wasn’t against the clock, or distracted by my little helper. I felt it really helped us bond. She’s still very aloof, which made the little nicker she gave every time I came into sight much more rewarding.

Our camp also had the weighbridge come, which I found useful for getting an accurate weight for Phoenix for worming and travelling. She weighs 495kgs, which I’m happy with. There were also off-horse Pilates sessions we could join in. Under the impression that it would be a light workout to take into consideration how much riding we were doing over the weekend, I signed up for two sessions. A minute into the plank I was regretting this decision …

On Sunday morning we could choose our lesson format. I opted for another showjumping lesson as I felt that was most beneficial to us. After all, I have regular flat lessons and have a progression plan in that area, and with a showjumping competition on the horizon, my choice was obvious really. Phoenix jumped the course confidently and boldly over all the fillers. It was the biggest course I’d jumped her over without building it up gradually in height and “scare-factor” so I felt it was a good test for her, and a positive note to end camp on.

It’s easy to see why adult camps are growing in popularity; I felt I came away from camp feeling like I had a better relationship with my horse, with a few new exercises to work on, and some new training goals. It was great being surrounded by friends, getting support, encouraging others, and putting the world to rights over our banquets (that’s the only way to describe the quality of the catering!).

I’d better start negotiating childcare for next year’s camp!

Lameness Diagnosis?

It’s incredibly frustrating when your horse “isn’t quite right”, which is what one of my clients is going through at the moment. There are a couple of avenues that we are exploring, but this takes time.

You end up talking about this mystery not-quite-rightness to anyone who will listen, and invariably you run of the mill suggestions, which of course you considered on Day One. But hopefully one day, someone will make a suggestion that you haven’t thought of and you can investigate its potential.

This happened to me last November. I was tacking up a client’s horse when another livery whom I knew from sight was riding in the arena next to me. I wasn’t paying particular attention except for the fact she seemed to be faffing. Trotting, then walking, then changing the rein and trotting again. So I asked if she was okay.

The rider launched into this story about how her horse had been slightly lame on and off all summer and she’d had the vet, physio, saddler, dentist and no one could shed any light on the problem.

The horse was fractionally lame, and the rider really noticed it as a reluctance to go downhill with pottery steps. After four or five days, the horse was fine for another few weeks.

I asked when was she shod. I wasn’t about to slate her farrier; as far as I could tell the mare was shod well. She had been shod the week before, and had been slightly lame last weekend.

With a bit of deduction, we worked out that the farrier had been on Wednesday, and the mare had next been ridden on the Saturday. Which suggested to me that the lameness could be due to the farrier or her feet.

My only real suggestion was that the farrier was taking the mare’s hooves a little too short for her liking so the shoes felt uncomfortable for a few days. Looking at the feet, the toes didn’t look too short, or that they’d been dumped, but I know that some horses have more sensitive feet – thinner hoof wall, sensitive laminae closer to the edge of the hoof, etc. Tight shoes could cause short strides and a reluctance to go forwards. I wasn’t sure if it would cause a reluctance down hills.

The lady went off with this suggestion and looked in her diary. Each lameness period coincided with new shoes. So she rang her farrier and talked to him.

The next time I saw her she updated me on her investigations, and said the farrier had taken on board her thoughts about the shoes and they were going to put the mare onto a seven weekly shoe cycle, and leave her with slightly longer toes.

Since then, the mare has been sound: full of energy, jumping confidently, and winning competitions.

Now I don’t claim to be an expert in horse lameness or farriery. I based my suggestion on the fact that I’ve previously seen a horse shod badly (the toes were dumped and the shoe was too small for the foot) who became reluctant to go forwards and became pottery in her stride. This is why it can be so useful to talk to others about your horse’s not-quite-rightness. They may have seen a similar situation and be able to point you in the right direction so that with the help of the right professional your horse becomes sound.

Bow Tie

I’m feeling like I’m neglecting my blogs a bit at the moment, but life seems to be taken up with work, chasing the toddler, birthday parties, hen parties, parental invasions, car services and then this week Demi Dressage judging. Which means that when all of that is done I find I need to sit in a slightly vegetative state in order to recover and prepare for the next day. Which means my to do list grows exponentially!

Here’s a quick exercise I picked up last week, which is great for focusing horse and rider, improving balance and suppleness, as well as tuning the horse in to the leg aids so that they become more manoeuvrable and accepting of the aids. I’ve used it with clients as a warm up and a way of focusing a distracted horse, with a rehab horse to improve his suppleness, and with Phoenix to help her accept the aids and improve her balance when changing the bend.

Called the Bow Tie, it can be ridden in walk and trot, so you can layer it as appropriate for the current level of ability. With the rehab horse I expanded the exercise to give him more time to change his bend and not push him out of his flexibility comfort zone.

Ride along the long side of the arena, let’s say we’re on the left rein. At K, ride a 10m demi-volte, returning to the track on the right rein at E. At E, ride a right 10m circle. Continue on the right rein to H, where you ride another 10m demi-volte and return to the track at E ready to ride a left 10m circle. And repeat.

The demi-voltes to circles provide a quick change of bend, so requires a lot of balance and strength from the horse. Using the 10m circles and half circles requires more flexibility from them, so makes the exercise harder than if they were on a serpentine or figure of eight. Going from a curve to a straight line requires a degree of balance yet also gives the horse a slight reprieve from the circles so doesn’t put too much pressure on them mentally.

I made the exercise larger by using a 60m arena and riding 15m circles and demi voltes, but you can adjust the exercise to best suit you and your horse. I’ve found it a really useful and adaptable exercise so will definitely be bringing it out of my toolbox frequently from now on.

Below is a sketch of half of the bow tie, it gets confusing to draw the second demi volte and circle on, but it should give you an idea.

Changing the Approach

A quality of a good jumping horse is having an adjustable canter. So they can adjust the length of their stride in order to fit in a whole number of strides between two jumping elements so that they can jump comfortably. This may mean shortening the canter, or lengthening it.

So when you’re walking courses, and planning your lines to jumps, you want to bear in mind your horse’s length of canter stride. But when you’re working through an exercise at home, do you ever find that no matter what you do you just can’t meet the first element well?

Of course, you can look at adjusting the canter. But we are working with our all-rounder leisure horses, who may or may not be jumping supremos. So we have limitations as to how adjustable their canter is.

Let me put it another way; a top class showjumper has numerous gears to their canter. Let’s say working canter is gear five, and they have a range of canters between one and nine. They can jump out of each gear. Our average horse has a working canter of five too, but only a range between four and seven, per se, that they can comfortably jump out of.

When you consider your approach to an exercise, think about the quality and the gear to your canter, but also consider the distance of your approach. If you have adjusted your canter on the approach, but you still meet the first element half a stride too far or too close to it, then start playing around with the distance of your approach.

You don’t want to push the horse out of their jumping canter, but by riding a slightly inner line than previously, you may well find you meet the exercise in a better place. It may be that you need to ride a wider line, so giving your horse an extra three foot of room to play with as they approach the jump.

You need to be careful at this point, that you don’t just let your horse fall in on turns or cut corners. You are still riding your set line and balanced turns and canter. You are still approaching the fences in the middle and straight, not jumping off a curve or at an angle.

Quite a lot recently I’ve discussed with clients the benefits of changing the distance of their turn onto a line of jumps or poles rather than trying to adjust the canter outside of the horse’s comfort zone.

Left Anchors

I’ve done a few lessons this last week, strangely enough, correcting various riders on their hand position. And particularly, their left hand.

I’m not sure why it seems that so many riders are fixing their left hands down; I can only suggest that society’s bias towards right handedness causes people to use their left hand to stabilise themselves whilst their right hand does the dexterity work.

Anyway, I’ve had several riders this week who ride with their left hand held further back than the right, and low to the wither, like an anchor. This positioning has more impact on a horse’s way of going than many people realise, which is why I’ve been drumming on about it so much.

Let’s take a closer look at the effect of anchoring your left hand down.

On the left rein, you usually find the horse bends more easily and you find it easier to ride round the turns. Having the left rein fixed onto the wither creates left bend in the horse’s neck, which is why it can seem like they are going better in this direction, but when you pay attention to the hindquarters they usually are not following left curves. Riders who fix their left hand usually use this rein to steer, and so their right leg is less effective at pushing the horse left.

This becomes a cycle in that the horse doesn’t respond to the right leg so the rider is more inclined to rescue the situation by pulling their left rein, which means the horse becomes less responsive or understanding of the outside aids.

The left rein needs to be improved by reducing the amount of left bend. I usually ask the rider to take up more contact with the right rein and to raise their left and carry it further forwards. So it feels like it’s much further forwards than the right rein (then they become level) and then to focus on the right leg turning the horse round each turn and the left rein merely indicating.

I quite often ride squares or diamonds with riders who fix their inside rein as it focuses them on their outside aids and encourages them to ride their horse with a straighter neck. I also experiment with counter flexion to increase their awareness of how their horse tends to give too much inside bend in the neck.

On the right rein, an anchored left hand gives a more stable outside rein which I find the horse tends to prefer and they definitely look more settled, but if there is too much anchorage in the left rein it will encourage the horse to look to the outside and to fall onto the inside shoulder and so fall in. They will find it harder to produce right bend, purely because they are restricted. When working on the right rein I encourage my riders to soften the left arm to allow the horse to look right. Then I get them to focus on using the right leg to keep their horse out round the track, on circles etc. Most riders in this scenario fall into the trap of pulling even more with the left rein to try and pull their horse back out to the track. So I do some leg yielding exercises to improve the horse’s response to the right leg and to change my rider’s thinking so they are riding from inside leg into outside rein, rather than using their hand first. This usually triggers an epiphany moment, when they feel the horse begin to give right bend because the right hind is coming under their body more and to feel more balanced.

Some horses try to rush off when the left anchor is released, which is understandable as effectively the handbrake is being taken off. I often suggest the rider half halts with the right rein, even though it is the inside one, because it stops them anchoring the left rein back down, and also encourages the right hand to be a stabilising rein which has huge benefits on the left rein.

After working each rein independently, I then incorporate serpentines and figures of eight to help the rider feel the improved straightness and symmetry in their horse, and for them to tune in to the actions of their hands, when they are the outside and the inside rein.

By now, most riders are beginning to understand the consequences of fixing their left rein down, and with a few gentle reminders here and there, they are beginning to carry their hands and are more even in the contact. Sometimes it’s a matter of practice to retrain their muscle memory.

Correcting the left hand position improves the horse’s way of going, and usually the effect is instantaneous, but as an instructor I then need to work out why the left hand feels the need to fix down so much. Is it related to their confidence? Their balance?

The majority of the time, riders who anchor their left rein sit to the left. Which of course means they’re encouraging their horse to give left bend and will find it harder to apply their right leg. Both of which are symptoms of the situation I described earlier.

Chicken or Egg?

This leads me nicely onto my next teaching subject: working without stirrups and focusing the rider on sitting evenly on their seat bones and the correct aids. Hopefully in a couple of lessons both rider and horse will be working straighter, more correctly, and more symmetrically, which means the rest of their ridden work will improve.

Our Journey

I thought I should give you a little update on how Phoenix and I have been getting on.

Phoenix has settled into her summer routine and is definitely happier living out all the time. Her body language is much more relaxed. She did spend the first week up to her knees in grass and in full season, flirting with the boys next door which didn’t give me full confidence that her summer routine would sort her out.

Out hacking, she seems to have regained her previous confidence and feels much happier exploring the woods. I’ve been playing around with leg yield and shoulder in whilst out because she’s so much more accepting of my aids to change her balance and body position. I’ve been using our hacks to relax Phoenix and to strengthen our relationship. I was very pleased with her earlier this week when out on a hack we met a large articulated lorry. We were at the front of our little group and the lorry was very intimidating; I could feel Phoenix trying really hard to be brave, resisting her instinct to turn tail and flee, barely flinching as the lorry roared past. Meanwhile our equine friend behind us jumped sideways into a ditch!

Schooling has still been a bit of a challenge. I tried a different tack for my last lesson, by taking Phoenix for an hours hack before our lesson. My aim was to relax her and to warm her up outside the arena, perhaps taking the edge off her too in the process. She is a naturally fit horse and runs off adrenaline so there’s no way I can tire her out physically. We did seem to have a bit of a breakthrough then, with her starting off working in a much more relaxed fashion on the left rein, only getting uptight when we began working on the right rein. Small steps.

I feel that Phoenix is challenging my leadership in the initial trot transition of any session; trying to scoot off and get tense when I apply the aids. As soon as I get the first trot she becomes more amenable. Since having the conversation with her that she will trot, and I am still on top giving the aids, she has been less challenging in each schooling session. I think it’s just a test that I need to be aware of, and ensure she doesn’t get ideas above her station in that area.

I also think that she isn’t happy when her body is manipulated into a position that she’s not comfortable with. For example, when she sets herself into left bend (akin to our foetal position) and I try to straighten her or ask for right bend, she tries to scoot off in a little panic. It’s like she’s afraid of moving outside her comfort zone. During our last two lessons, and subsequent schooling sessions she has stopped trying to run away so much from my questions so much, now tensing and stopping to think, before trying to answer my question. So in that respect I am pleased, although I still feel we have a long way to go.

Each schooling session I start in walk on both reins; circles, leg yield, shoulder in. Then begin trotting on the left rein, establishing the rhythm and balance, and waiting for her to relax a bit. Then I change the rein in a “whoops, oh dear we’re on the right rein” sort of way. Ride some circles and movements to eek her out of her left bend and into right bend (or at least straight!). When she gives I ride for a couple more strides before rewarding her by going back onto the left rein. My aim is to spend more time on the right rein, get less of a panic over the change of bend, and less time on the left rein. I do think this behaviour stems from the winter when she was sore and right bend was difficult.

In trying not to get bogged down in our schooling woes, last week we went on a sponsored ride to Windsor. We rode around the Queen’s back garden and had a great day. Phoenix’s behaviour was great, she wasn’t sure what to make of the hundreds of deer who decided to cross our path, but took everything in her stride. She jumped well, and didn’t gallop off when a trio in front of us did. And I hate to say it, but she still had plenty of energy at the end of ten miles! As always, she loaded and travelled like a dream.

Next weekend we’re going showjump schooling, and I’ve signed us up for a showjumping competition in July, as well as riding club camp in a couple of weeks time.

There is a livery space at our yard for a mare, who would join Phoenix’s field to make a herd of three. I’m hoping we get one soon as whilst she’s very happy with her field companion, I do wonder if she needs bossing around in the field, or the dynamics diluting. She’s not a particularly dominant mare, last year she was number two out of six, so I do wonder if her leadership duties are causing a distraction – either by making her less submissive to being ridden, or by causing her to focus less or to be anxious about leaving her domain.

Who knows. All I know is that Phoenix is an enigma.

A Lot of Poles

I went to a gridwork clinic last week with a client’s horse. It was great fun, and as ever there were some exercises I could borrow and adapt when teaching myself. This week I’ve had great fun using a long line of poles with some clients.

You need a long arena for this, I was lucky to have access to a 50m and 60m long one when teaching. Begin by laying out as many canter poles as you can fit along the length of the arena. I used about 12. Ensure there is enough space at each end for the horse to turn.

I warmed all my riders up over the poles on the flat for quite a long time. We started off in trot, aiming to get two trot stride between each pole, and the important thing was that the trot stayed rhythmical. This work improved the activity of the trot and helped my riders tune into the feel of improved power to the gait and how to maintain it. Then we did the same for canter. The poles dictated the stride length, so a lazy wakes up, puts some effort in and the canter becomes much more energetic and jumpable. A horse who tends to rush, is encouraged to slow down so the energy is maintained. With all the horses I worked with, I felt that cantering over the poles improved the cadence and impulsion to the canter. The horses were forwards without rushing, and all the riders could feel how much rounder and bouncier the canter was. When I say rounder, I’m not talking about the horse’s frame, but rather the movement seemed rounder. The hindquarters were more active which will improve the horse’s bascule and jump. Using the poles to create this canter helped my riders learn the feel for it, and also helped the horses learn to maintain this canter.

From here, you can adapt the lesson to meet the individual requirements of the horse and rider in relation to their training.

For the horse I took on the clinic, using the poles with a simple jump at each end helped encourage him to look between the wings and take me into a fence. He’s recently lost his confidence jumping, so it was a real confidence building exercise.

The first client I taught with this exercise needed help seeing her stride. Her horse can do a kangaroo impression on the approach to fences, partly because he loses his balance on the turn and he finds it difficult to maintain sufficient impulsion in the canter to jump. The poles established the jumping canter for both horse and rider. I the made the second canter pole into a fairly small cross pole. So they had a placing pole, jump and then canter poles on the getaway. This meant that they were guaranteed to meet the cross on a good stride, which would help my rider develop her feel for a good jump, and she could get more in sync with her horse, and then they were both encouraged to ride positively away from the jump.

Once they had mastered maintaining the canter rhythm throughout the exercise, I put the penultimate canter pole up as a cross, and had the pair ride the exercise on both reins. The second jump was always better than the first because the canter was so much better because of the poles, but the exercise really benefitted my rider in that she started riding positively between the jumps so linking them together nicely. We analysed the differences between the two canter leads, discussed which was the easier rein, and generally improved my rider’s awareness and understanding of the way her horse jumps.

I repeated the exercise on both reins until the duo were consistent throughout the exercise. Knowing how this rider can back off an upright jump, I put the second fence as an upright and we repeated the exercise until it flowed nicely. I finished the exercise here with them as I felt they were benefiting most from the poles creating their jumping canter.

The next couple of lessons I used this set-up with was with more established jumpers. With one, she tends to rush albeit she finds it difficult to stop her canter getting flat and long striding, and the other needed to improve his consistency to the canter as he can suddenly lack energy.

Once we’d worked through the exercise with a jump at each end, I started to add in some questions. It was about getting the rushing horse to slow down and think about each pole, and the other horse to improve his gymnastic ability.

I raised the two canter poles before the upright fence so that the horses were encouraged to sit back on their haunches and lighten their forehand, which improved the bascule over the upright.

Next up, I made a low upright three canter poles after the cross. This really helped make the rushing horse slow down, and stopped her flattening her canter and playing Pick-Up-Sticks with the canter poles. The other horse used the little upright to give his canter a little boost, which helped him negotiate the rest of the grid.

The best thing I found with this exercise, apart from the fact I didn’t need to go to the gym after setting it out, was that there are so many levels to the exercise it is very adaptable to all riders and horses, and all will feel a benefit from using a line of poles to create and maintain a jumping canter.