Advice re Stretching over poles

[el_Snowflakes]

Hi there,

My horse is very established at stretching down into the contact & lifting her back however we tend to lose this stretchy frame over trot poles in a straight line. (Back comes up slightly & stretchy contact is lost) it may be a strength issue (i.e. Difficulty using the back with increased flexibility of the hocks required over poles. She is however much looser & stretchier over poles on a circle.

I'd love to hear any tips on how to encourage better frame & thoroughness over poles/cavaletti

Many thanks

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi there,

My horse is very established at stretching down into the contact & lifting her back however we tend to lose this stretchy frame over trot poles in a straight line. (Back comes up slightly & stretchy contact is lost) it may be a strength issue (i.e. Difficulty using the back with increased flexibility of the hocks required over poles. She is however much looser & stretchier over poles on a circle.

I'd love to hear any tips on how to encourage better frame & thoroughness over poles/cavaletti

Many thanks

If there is not another underlying issue( back - teeth etc )

really it is practice

I lot of pole work shorten the stride and lengthen it and have someone on the ground to change the strides. Poles on a 20m circle - raise poles etc.

I think you need to book a lesson with an instructor who can teach - watch - advise your exercises and give you a work regime.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

If there is not another underlying issue( back - teeth etc )

really it is practice

I lot of pole work shorten the stride and lengthen it and have someone on the ground to change the strides. Poles on a 20m circle - raise poles etc.

I think you need to book a lesson with an instructor who can teach - watch - advise your exercises and give you a work regime.

Hi ILC,
Thanks for your reply. I'm quite confident there are no issues (all checks up to date)
I do have an instructor but thought I'd ask for some advice while I'm awaiting my next lesson
She's very good at poles on a 20m circle- perhaps I could just raise them to get more out of the exercise.

 

[be positive]

I would think you are keeping her more active on a circle and holding a slightly more secure contact in order to keep turning so try and keep the same feel on the straight, you want her moving straight but with a slight flexion, either to the inside or outside, going through the line of poles, if you have enough put out a circle and a straight line and move between the two.

The other thing to ensure is that they are not too far apart and causing her to rush or hollow to get through them, ideally you want to keep them close enough so they take a fraction more time to go over each one which means they take slightly slower steps which brings their core into use, if they are a tad too far apart they reach rather than lift to get over them, having someone on the ground to move them to the optimum distance really helps as it may just be an inch or so that makes all the difference. If they are raised they need to be slightly closer to get the best effect.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

That's great advice BP- many thanks!