~ Flatwork Execises For My 4 Year Old ~

[jess_ruby]

Hi Guys !

So yeah title says it all really I have a 4 year old who has been broken for about 8 months but ridden on slowly So i'm basically looking for some flatwork exercises to do with her including things to improve her turning etc.. and fun things i can try to keep things interesting seeing as she is a youngster and thanks for all the replies in advance !

 

[Littlelegs]

I do it out hacking. Baby leg yield round a parked car comes easily, they step around it themselves so its just a case of influencing how they move round it rather than asking for it outright. It's also easier for a 4yr old to follow the road around the corner, with you asking for some bend than it is to correctly ride a corner in a school with the barrier on the outside rather than the inside. Likewise lengthening stride on an interesting stretch of road is more fun than in an arena. Same goes for shortening stride, if you trot most horses through muddy (not a dangerous slippy bog) ground, they are naturally inclined to shorten the stride, you only have to influence how, rather than outright asking. I also think out hacking they learn to concentrate regardless of outside factors which is a huge benefit long term, let alone at competitions. I then only move the exercise to a schooling session once the basic aids are established. Youngsters have such a small range of things they can do in a schooling session they easily lose interest, so I find waiting till they can do more varied stuff keeps it fun & interesting.