Any ideas on schooling exercises?

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Have now done my third schooling session with Rock since hes been back in work and hes working a lot better, today and yesterday he hardly leaned at all and worked really hard. Thing is im bored of just doing circles! I do lots of different sized circles in lots of different parts of the school and serpentines and stuff like that but its boring and i just feel like it wont help us progress incredibly well. Does anybody have any ideas on how to brighten up schooling? Some more exercises with and without poles? If you do could you please share and also share how they're supposed to help. As you know rock is very on the forehand so anything to help this good as well but really just any schooling exercise with or without poles other than circles and serpentines to help us progress with his schooling, fitness and muscle development. please please any suggestions welcome !!!

 

[samp]

Leg yielding, changes or reins, turn on the haunches, shoulder in etc

 

[Tempi]

hi hun

- raised trot poles is a good one, in a fan shape or a straight line - gets him to pick up his hind quarters more.

- lots of transitions from trot walk (3 strides) then trot again will help lift him off the forehand

- walk to canter transitions but the walk must be together and through from behind to get the transitions to have the desired effect.

- counter canter, whole figures of eight in counter canter, excellent for balance and suppleness

- shoulder fore in canter helps to pick them up in front and stops the quarters coming in which so many horses do.

- large loops in from the track in trot making sure you change the bend in the correct places, again really good for suppleness

 

[Peanot]

When you do the serpentines, try them 5m in from the track on an angle so they are shallower. Try 10m circles when you hit the track in the larger serpentines. Try riding a 20m circle and spiralling in and out.
Shoulder in on a circle. centre line work, shoulder in, one way then the other on the centre line.
The diamond shape using your outside aids to turn her aound the sharp angles. (start of demi pirouettes)
The 4 leaf clover shape inside a 20m circle, inside a square in the middle of the school. (changing rein using half 10m circles and 10m circles inside.)
Lengthening and shortening on a 20m circle. Make it so as you have 3 different trots to start, 1 being really slow, and 2, working trot and 3, medium trot. Going from trot 1 to 3 at different markers, trot 2-3, trot 3-1 etc, but only for 1/2 the circle at a time.
All of these exercies I have been doing with my trainer and they are all good for engagement and precision, especially the clover and diamond exercises.
Hope these are of help to you.
There are loads of differnt exercises.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Thats brilliant everyone thans so much especially like that clover idea!

 

[4whitesocks]

I was in the same position and bought a book...I know I know how sad but...lots of ideas in it (think it's 100 schooling exercises or something similar) great one for teaching half halt -

15/20 metre circle in centre of arena (around x) start in walk - when crossing centre line ask for halt, as soon as you get response ask to move off - keep at walk until horse starts to anticipate the stop then move up a gear - same in trot, transition down to walk at same point (on both sides of the circle)

can't think of any more at the mo brain a bit fried

 

[eohippus]

set your self some simple goals to acheive weekly. Write these down as an aim to work towards so that you can measure what you are acheiving or having problems with. It may be that you have mastered certain things and keep going over them which will make youfeel you are not acheiving anything new.
Use some of the tips mentioned above but aim for a particular acheivement, ie, focus on particulars of each movement, like your transitions, or correctness, or ability to half halt on transitions through serpentines ect ect.
Hope this helps
Dawn