basic flatwork exercises

S

Steorra

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Someone has asked me for advice and, though I have a few ideas of my own, I would be really grateful to hear your thoughts. Here is the situation:

The rider: experienced, but lost her nerve entirely some years ago and has only recently got back in the saddle. Is finding that balance / coordination are coming back, but frustratingly slowly. Rides approx 2 days a week.

The (shared) horse: very quiet, honest lightweight cob type. Rising 7, but apart from a couple of weeks of being produced to sell has never done any schooling. Rather backward thinking and generally not on the aids, I think mainly due to being green.

The issue: Although the horse has a lovely nature, his lack of responsiveness is making the rider anxious. Upward transitions take a good hard nudge, downward ones a tug on the reins. He doesn't respond to seat aids at all, and steering is tricky. He is also hollow on the left side, struggles to bend to the right.

I'm sure you are thinking that a rusty rider and a green horse are not a great combination, but this is the first horse the rider has felt at all confident on in years and he really is very sweet. So...could anyone recommend some straightforward schooling exercises for rider to try? The overall aim would be to get him more off the leg, establish really good brakes, and help him become more balanced and supple.

Many thanks, all suggestions welcome!

S
 
I am doing similar kinds of thing at the moment. Some of the things that I do are:

Riding 5 strides walk, 5 strides trot, 5 walk, stand, 5 walk, 5 trot, 5 canter, 5 trot etc etc Obviously it doesn't have to be five, in fact it does good to change that so the horse can't predict what is coming. This improves obedience and brings the back end under so encourages the horse to carry itself correctly.

Extending and collecting the walk and trot according to where you are in the school. For example walk the outside track of the school, shortening the stride at the short ends and lengthening down the long ends. Then changing rein and lengthening on the short ends etc. Gets the horse listening and more responsive.

Riding the letters of the alphabet, keeps you and the horse focused and listening because they are not predictable patterns.

Of course, circles, transitions, normal schooling shapes riding properly through every single corner.

She might want to get some lessons and get professional ideas as well :)

I can't think of any others off the top of my head, though it might be an idea to invest in the 101 Schooling exercises book. It is very good!

Hopefully this is helpful :)
 
Thanks E_Lister, these are very useful. I particularly like the idea of transitions within paces at specific points around the school. I'll pass everything on :)

Regarding tuition, she is having the odd lesson, but money is a bit of an issue.
 
Marciamac said:
Why doesn't she book a lesson with an experienced, qualified instructor who will then give her some things to work on?
Click to expand...

because money is an issue?

You could also try: trot a 20m circle and then spiral inwards until you're on a 10m circle. Then use the inside leg to spiral back out again.

And of course serpentines, etc.
 
Marciamac, obviously this would be ideal. But unfortunately money is an issue, for one. Secondly the rider is self conscious about being out of practise and unfit. Thirdly, her initial confidence issues began with an instructor who convinced her that she was simply no good (untrue!), and at the moment any criticism (even constructive) knocks her back again.

She has had a couple of short sessions with the very sympathetic BHSII who used to teach me, and maybe in a few months time will be ready to have a course of lessons with him. For the moment she is just enjoying being on a horse again in an environment where there is no pressure and no one has any expectations.

Hence why I am asking for tips on her behalf! :)
 
My instructor spent a lesson with me doing figures of 8, different sizes and in different directions. (with going large mixed in) it really made my pony concentrate as he didnt know what was coming next. We did these in both walk and trot only doing the smallest possible circles/figures of 8 to the biggest. this has really helped with his bending and getting him more responsive.
 
I guess it's a bit hard to recomend things if the rider is a bit rusty and the horse also needs further schooling or is a bit green as it will be like the blind leading the blind so to speak.

This is just an idea, perhaps if you could say where abouts in the country your friend is, perhaps some kind and experianced person on here may offer an one off lesson to get your friend and her horse going and give them something to work on? I think that would be really helpful and benefit your friend even if the person just bobs out just the once.
 
What's the horse like to hack? If she's feeling nervous and self concious about her riding, schooling isn't necessarily going to help as it can highlight where you're going wrong. Instead, she could hack him out just to enjoy being on a horse again. It certainly did my confidence a lot of good, and is much less stressful than worrying whether the horse is going correctly or not...
 
Suffolkangel: thank you, I'll pass this on too.

Kenzo: that is such a lovely idea. I will suggest it to her, but I think she will be too self conscious to ride in front of a stranger atm.

Kittykins: the horse is ace to hack, very calm, and this is what she is mostly doing. However he is a bit slow to come back from trot and canter, a bit slow to move across if there is a car, a bit inclined to drop behind the leg if he sees a gremlin etc. So he would be a safer, nicer ride if he was a bit more supple and responsive.

Thanks for your help so far everyone!
 
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