Energetically Challenged?

Would ‘energetically challenged’ be an apt description of your horse? You’re not on your own. Many riders prefer to be in control of the forward gears but as your confidence grows it’s only natural you start to feel a bit frustrated.

Many people think the less excitable equines just need a kick or a smack and everything’s fine. If only it was that easy! There’s a knack to drawing your equine tortoise out of his shell. The good news is it’s something you can learn.

If you want your horse to change his ways the first thing you have to do is change yours. You’re going to need bucket loads of energy and self discipline. He doesn’t need a telling off. He needs a reason to get excited and you have to give it to him.

Your arrival on the yard should be energetic and cheerful. Even if you feel like curling up in front of the fire you need to bounce down the yard and greet him with a grin on your face. Inspire him from the second he sees you.

Once tacked up make sure he walks with purpose to the mounting block or school. Walk alongside him and use your whip behind you to chivvy him along. Never allow him to shuffle to the school. This is FUN! Start as you mean to go on.

You can be forgiven for thinking you need to go as fast as possible to inspire your horse but stop right there! The only thing that will do is tire you out and unbalance him. Walk is your ideal pace. Get him motivated in walk and the rest is easy.

Lazy horses will often ‘offer’ the next pace up. How often has your horse jogged when you’ve kicked him on in walk or hopped into canter when you’re trying to get him trotting on? Don’t be too grateful! If he offers a pace you don’t want be quick to correct him. He needs to work harder at the pace you’re in not do the next one badly.  

The way you use your leg, spurs and whip is essential to your horse’s training. Your calf muscle is the part of your leg that sends him forward. Your heel, spur and whip are there to back it up NOT get him going. Check out – http://schoolyourhorse.blogspot.com/2010/12/lazy-rider.html before you ride. It shows you how to get the best out of your horse without kicking.

If your horse ignores a squeeze from both calf muscles use both heels together. Use them once – hard. He should shoot forward. Be quick to praise him. If he doesn’t use your whip once directly behind your leg. Don’t be tempted to use your whip on his quarters. That’s just telling him off. You’re teaching him to move off your leg. Smack him on his quarters and he won’t understand your exact reason. Repeat the heels together and then the whip as quickly and sharply as you can until you get a reaction. The instant you feel any forward movement on his part use your voice to praise him and keep your leg still.

Your rein contact is essential. Without it you’re wasting your time. Imagine a bottle of coke. Shake it up with the lid on and the drink fizzes inside and the bottle expands. The energy is contained within the bottle and by slowly opening the lid you can release it. Take the lid off and what happens? The drink fizzes and goes flat. The energy you create with your legs needs to be contained too. Your hands are that lid.

A lazy horse is often unfit. Regular exercise will get him fitter and his energy levels will increase naturally. Keep schooling sessions short and intense. Half an hour of focused full on exercise twice a week is better than an hour once a week of half hearted enthusiasm.

Do everything in short bursts. Trot a 20m circle and then canter one. Walk two circuits and go again. It may not seem like a lot but done well it will have a huge effect on your horse. If everything he does from now on is done quickly and positively he’s less likely to feel like it’s an effort.

Walk in between exercises – even on a long rein - should always be forward. It’s your time to get your breath back not your horse’s. If you’re feeling tired you can guarantee he’ll decide he is too. If you’re up there geeing him up he’s far more likely to feel inspired.

The more you can do to encourage your horse to put his hocks underneath him the better. Use 10m circles and three loop serpentines which encourage him to work harder with less effort from you. It’s essential to remember not to kick constantly. He must go forward from a squeeze from your calf. Every time you find yourself kicking go back to walk and re-establish the aids.

Direct transitions are good to get your horse going but only if he’s listening to your leg. Start with simple walk to trot or trot to canter transitions. Limit yourself to ten strides in each pace as you work your way round the school. The quick changes will motivate him without you having to kick on too hard.

Never compromise your position to get your horse going. Leaning forward, flapping with your legs or throwing your reins at him will only unbalance him. That not only makes things harder for him it also gives him the perfect excuse! Read - http://schoolyourhorse.blogspot.com/2011/10/pull-up-to-ride-forward.html to see how to use your body to maximum effect.

It can take weeks to convince your horse you really mean it but it works on all horses – even yours! You have to be consistent and really want to sort it out. If you put in the time you’ll still have a horse that wants you to tell him when to go but you’ll also have one that doesn’t expect you to work harder than him!

Good luck and enjoy your schooling.

There's More to Schooling than Circles

Be honest. When it comes to schooling are you guilty of doing the same old thing day in day out? Do you think you’ve gone wild if you’ve put in a couple of figures of eight or a 10m circle? Is it any wonder your horse feels a bit flat when you go in the school? This week do him a favour and try something new. It doesn’t have to be difficult. A change of shape could be just the thing to get his attention back on you.

Serpentines are the perfect shape to play with. They’re just a series of half circles joined together with straight lines. The loops should be even. Plan your turns. Make the first too wide and you’ll run out of space for the others.

Horses can fall in or out on the half circles. This means the line across the school will be crooked. Push your elbows into your body, just in front of your sides. As you turn your upper body take your arms round with it. This keeps your hands together which will keep your horse’s shoulders together and stop him drifting one way or the other.

If your horse moves freely forward then you can use your leg to correct him. (If he doesn’t check out Be a Lazy Rider/December) A quick nudge with your outside leg will stop him falling out and the same from your inside leg will stop him falling in.

If your horse drops a shoulder as you turn don’t lift one hand up. Lift both! Raise one hand and he’ll lift up that side of his mouth. If one side of his mouth is higher than the other he’ll tip his head that way. Lift both hands together and push on. This will bring his shoulders up and keep them together.

Contrary to popular belief the definition of serpentine is ‘snake like’. It isn’t; three loops each reaching the side of the arena starting at A and finishing at C! A serpentine can have as many loops as you want and be any size that you want.

Ridden in walk or trot four loop serpentines are an ideal way to change the rein. They’re easy to judge too. Each loop is 10m wide. Starting at one end ride a half 10m circle. Straighten up and ride across the school. As you cross the ¾ line ride another half 10 which will put you onto the E-B line. This gives you exactly half the school in which to ride your last two loops.

Most riders have ridden a three loop serpentine in walk or trot but how about canter? There’s no reason why you can’t as long as you’re prepared and you take your time. Change leg over the centre line. Use canter to trot or canter to walk. Which ever suits you and your horse best. This is your session after all.

Transitions come up quickly in canter so take your time. Break it down onto stages. Ride the first and last loops in canter. Walk or trot the middle. This gives you more time to settle your horse before the next transition. It’s important to get him coming right back to you in the downwards transition. Use your thigh and knee to stop him running away from you. (See The Other Way of Stopping/ Dec) If he rushes you’ll struggle to find space for a transition in the middle loop. It may help to make a few transitions to halt just to back him off a bit.

Add in the middle loop when you’re ready. It doesn’t have to be the same day. You may find it helpful to ride a circle in the loop while you establish your canter. You can lose the circle when you get quicker with your aids. The main thing is you take your time. They can be fun for both horse and rider when you do them well. Rush and flap and you’ll defeat the whole object and spoil all your transitions.

Try riding three or four loop serpentines from the track to the ¾ line. You’ll need a strong outside leg on the middle loop. Your horse will expect to go on to the track.

Starting at A or C ride four loop serpentines from the ¼ to the ¾ line. These are just a succession of half 10m circles joined as you cross the centre line. Three loops are possible but the loops are harder to judge when the shape becomes narrower.

Most riders have ridden circles within the end of each loop. This is great to get your horse’s attention. An even better idea is to ride a 10m circle as you cross the centre line. Now that is guaranteed to make him sit up and listen!

Hopefully now a serpentine will mean more than the standard three loops you usually ride in trot once in a while. Use it to vary your schooling sessions. It will give you and your horse something different to think about. It’s true what they say. A change really is as good as a rest. Have fun.