Riding Exercises

Fun polework

I've just recovered from a double hip replacement in February and riding my usual 4 days a week, though lightly most days. Returning to Rider's Pilates has made all the difference in activating my muscle memory and activating the muscles needed to ride in any discipline. It's quick, affordable and I do it in my bedroom. It's one of my prized recovery tools in my health tack box!

Just another one of these

Doing liberty jumping is so important for the horse to gain confidence with themselves during jumping without having no one on their back to tell them what to do and a thing I like to do after liberty jumping is to stretch all the body and the horse back and if the horse want I teach some tricks

I tried to do a pole course but this happened with all the 6 poles around the area 🤣🤣 so I let him do what he wanted but doing some poles exercises are very good for your horse P.S: my horse was a trotter and he did trotting courses 2 years ago and he started jumping September 2023🤣🤣🤣

I practiced this one today! I tried to get it on camera but my pivo seemed convinced that the fence post was more horse-shaped than me 🤷‍♀️ Excellent to work on a horse that falls onto the inside shoulder (don't they all sometimes?). I found that I got more engagement from the hind end generally after practicing this a few times each way. So, this is technically a straightness exercise but I also found it helped with collection. If you struggle with shoulder-fore or shoulder-in (or haven't done these before), try thinking about it as moving your entire upper body - hands, shoulders, head - in the direction of the bend. This controls the shoulder; no need to pull on any reins or go crazy, just shift everything above the waist to the right/left like you are turning a cart in the store. Do it at the walk first. Hope this helps! This is from the same book that @JessamynJ🌶️ recommended - it's one of my favorites!

I think a very important "exercise" is to play around with your horse and reward without pressure to do things perfectly. Here's a bit of fun we had last Sunday

Not everything is riding!! Yesterday we went for a nice little walk with Draco and my dog, Tigger. It's a brilliant exercise as you spend time with your horse, learn how he behaves and acts with different things and improve your bond.