Riding Exercises

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.

We're having improvement on horsemanship. She's learning to move, stop and go backwards, also to move around. Is better on her left hand, but we're improving small steps on her right hand. At first I couldn't move her with the rope on her right hand, now I can do it, next step is to go on poles on the ground with her right hand at trot.

I found a great set of exercises that I thought I'd share with you all🤍 〰️Requirements:4 poles, 4 cavaletti or 6 poles, 4 cavaletti (see diagram below) 📏Tips for setting up:Place two poles to form an alley of 1.3 metres width parallel to the centreline, preferably at G and D. Set up the four cavaletti between B and E with a distance of 1.3 metres. Make sure the two inner cavaletti and the two pairs of poles are all in line to build a straight alley down the centreline ⚫️Objective:Ride a three-loop serpentine with each loop touching the long side (red line). Practise rising trot over the poles. Changing the rein this frequently engages the hind legs and the back and builds up strength. Always aiming at the centre of the pole requires horse and rider to be focused ⚪️Options: – After the poles ride a transition to walk and then trot on again. These transitions in quick succession foster suppleness and strengthen the hind leg – Ride transitions on the centreline: Ride trot-walk transitions or simple changes on the centreline between the poles (blue and green line) – Decrease the distance between the outer pair of poles to 0.8 metres. Start with the three-loop serpentines at a walk, then trot on after the first two poles, continue at trot over the cavaletti at X, then go back to walk over the last two poles – Change the poles to form a 90 degree angle to the centreline – two poles between F and K, four cavaletti at X, and two poles at M and H. Keep all distances between the poles at 1.30 metres. This is very beneficial for both of your concentration levels as you have to maintain the same regular trot rhythm between and over the poles.

The most recent thing we are working on is working about 1m away from the track to make me use my outside rein!! To be honest it is harder than you think, I can tell I definitely wasn't using it the way I should have before!! I can tell a massive difference and it makes me work a lot harder! Have you ever tried it?

So, not a single exercise but, I wanted to share these books of exercises. Personally, working with a trainer or a riding coach every time is not realistic so having other guides is useful. I really appreciate these programs because if you/your horse struggle with an exercise, the author tells you what to go back and work on specifically. I am curious, what books or online programs do others in collective use?

Now and again I love to do this exercise with my horses. It makes them more independent jumping and they learn how to use their body properly without anyone on them!! This is Draco jumping 1m

Hii, I don't know if you can appreciate but we did poles last Saturday and after doing them at walk then we introduce it at trot as well. In the first instance she jumped but then everything went well trotting among the elevated poles. So happy practicing groundwork with her, we really enjoy it!