Exercises for developing engagement?

[Jnhuk]

Does anyone have any specific exercises/tips for developing engagement?

I am currently working on transitions between paces and within the pace.

 

[susieoci]

Lots of single, double and triple transitions, both with and without reins, and a few strides lengthened of whatever gate your in then a few shortened and repeat a few times to each rein, make sure you are equal to both reins. Hope that is of help. x

 

[TigerTail]

Rein back.

Rein back to walk, rein back to trot rein back to canter .....

 

[Triskar]

Check out this blog on SchoolYourHorse.com - which is a FANTASTIC resource! http://www.schoolyourhorse.com/2011/12/10/get-your-horse-connected/

 

[Auslander]

My favourite exercise is more of a floorplan, within which you can shorten and the steps within the pace, and use lateral work, changes and transitions or just half halts in between each circle, depending on your horses level of training.

It's pretty simple - you start with a 10 metre circle in one corner, change the rein and do another 10m circle at X, then change the rein and circle in the next corner, and keep going round the school, changing the rein and circling on a different rein each time. Fiendishly difficult to explain, but beautifully simple and very effective when you get the hang of it.

Most simple way to remember it is to think of riding 3 10m circles down one side - each one on a different rein, then three down the next, again, each one on a different rein. You touch, but never cross the centre line.

I can draw a picture if this isn't making sense!

 

[Jnhuk]

My favourite exercise is more of a floorplan, within which you can shorten and the steps within the pace, and use lateral work, changes and transitions or just half halts in between each circle, depending on your horses level of training.

It's pretty simple - you start with a 10 metre circle in one corner, change the rein and do another 10m circle at X, then change the rein and circle in the next corner, and keep going round the school, changing the rein and circling on a different rein each time. Fiendishly difficult to explain, but beautifully simple and very effective when you get the hang of it.

Most simple way to remember it is to think of riding 3 10m circles down one side - each one on a different rein, then three down the next, again, each one on a different rein. You touch, but never cross the centre line.

I can draw a picture if this isn't making sense!

Just checking that when you say change the rein, are you talking across the diagonal (eg KXM) or down the centre line (AXC)? At first I thought you meant across the diagonal but this doesn't give the floor plan you mention in the last paragraph. So presume you are talking down centre line - with each circle on a different rein if I understand correctly?

 

[Jnhuk]

Check out this blog on SchoolYourHorse.com - which is a FANTASTIC resource! http://www.schoolyourhorse.com/2011/12/10/get-your-horse-connected/

Thank you for this link! Very useful indeed!

 

[Jnhuk]

Rein back.

Rein back to walk, rein back to trot rein back to canter .....

Okay... suspect this one may take awhile to master

 

[Jnhuk]

Lots of single, double and triple transitions, both with and without reins, and a few strides lengthened of whatever gate your in then a few shortened and repeat a few times to each rein, make sure you are equal to both reins. Hope that is of help. x

Thanks for this - am working on much the same lines just now and it is really helping!

 

[Auslander]

Just checking that when you say change the rein, are you talking across the diagonal (eg KXM) or down the centre line (AXC)? At first I thought you meant across the diagonal but this doesn't give the floor plan you mention in the last paragraph. So presume you are talking down centre line - with each circle on a different rein if I understand correctly?

Yep - that's another way to explain it.

 

[MrsMozart]

I like the Sweetie, and the Little Circles

Sweetie:

Ride a twenty metre circle at B.
When you cross the centre line, come off the circle and do a ten metre circle in the area between the big circle you were on and the end of the school (this forms the twisted wrapper part of the sweetie ).
Come back onto the track and continue on the twenty metre circle until you cross the centre line on the other side of it.
Do the ten metre circle again.
You can vary it a bit by doing the ten metre circles within the area of the twenty metre circle if you feel so inclined
In trot is best, you have to really hold all together to get off the twenty metre and into the ten metre. I find it hardest to come off the ten metre and back onto the twenty metre and actually hold the shape of the bigger circle

Little Circles:

Another HHO'er told me this one
Pick a corner of the school.
Do a ten metre circle so that when come out of the circle, you come off the outside track and over to B or E (whichever is on the opposite side from where you started).
At B or E, do another ten metre circle.
Come off the outside track when you've completed the circle and head diagonally back to the side you started, but at the opposite end.
Once there, do another ten metre circle.
Once you get the hang of it, you can go round the school doing them
You have to ride this one between hand and leg to get the pace and implusion right for each circle. I tend to sort of flop on the little straight bits inbetween as neither the horse nor I are very ridden/riding fit at the moment, but when we've done a couple of weeks of it, I can really feel the difference

Just have to be careful as they get a bit addictive...

 

[Tnavas]

Transitions, transitions and more transitions - within the pace and between paces.

Also circles, loops, serpentines, shoulder in etc - all improve suppleness and ease of engagement.

And don't forget gymnastic jumping and raised trotting poles

 

[Jnhuk]

Brilliant! Thanks for all the tips/exercises and looking forward to trying them out!

Many thanks and much appreciated!