Ideas for schooling in hand

[Supertrooper]

Looking for some ideas for schooling in hand pls, want to do it with a aim to liven up our schooling but also to work on his listening and responsiveness.

I've come up with walking/halting when asked, backing up, poss turns on forehand, circles, changes of rein. Was going to put some cones in field and trotting poles to add variety.

So any other ideas and/or obstacles we could use?

I was planning on putting him in bridle with lunge line attached? Is that ok?

 

[chestnut cob]

This is a fantastic book for in-hand work, covers everything from basic school figures and suppling stretches to lateral movements.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schooling-E...9649/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299505841&sr=1-1

 

[Wheels]

Yes that book is great chestnutcob - I have it

I also have a book called 101 horsemanship exercises that has a rather large section on groundwork which is also very good

 

[unbalanced]

I do loads of groundwork with my horse. We do:
- stick to me - I walk, she walks, I stop, she stops, I jog, she trots, I skip, she canters, I back up, she backs up.
- sideways and sideways over things like poles or barrels - learnt this from my Western trainer and it builds confidence and makes them more aware of their feet.
- get her to walk, trot and eventually canter a figure 8 around two barrels - with me standing still.
- I lead her by her tail!
- I also taught her to lead by her legs by looping a soft rope around them - this was really useful when she got her leg stuck in a barbed wire fence and knew to yield to the pressure rather than pull on it.
- Cantering circles around me and change direction with a flying change.
- Back her away with me standing still - she backs about 15m.
- I really want to teach her to lie down but haven't got up to that yet.
- Poles and cavelettis.
- Get her to walk on things like a tarp or climb onto/over things like a bale of straw. Stepping over things slowly is good for the stifle as well as confidence.
- Getting her to half pass with me walking behind.
- Looping the rope around her neck and getting her to follow the feel of it.
- Backing up up a hill strengthens the hindquarters and core muscles.

Look at natural horsemanship or a book called Equine Fitness for more ideas. Good luck and have fun!