Keeping schooling interesting

[FionaMc]

Won't go into the whole story again, but I have recently got my lovely mare back after 5/6 years of being on loan. She's really only been hacked over that time and then has been out of work for a little while. She's already getting much fitter, losing weight and looking a hundred times better and her schooling is definitely coming back after just 5/6 weeks.

Now - we're based in London so have very limited hacking and as we've both been 'out of work' (I've ridden only every 6 months or so over the last few years), I really want to make sure our time in the school is productive and interesting and keeps us thinking, learning, getting stronger, fitter, improving and, most importantly, interested.

So please, share your favourite schooling exercises (flatwork and jumping) and recommend good books with plenty of challenging exercises to help keep things fresh - she tends to switch off when it's all about flatwork and repetitive hacking (as do I).

It's quite a funny feeling to have a horse who you have owned since a 4 year old and competed with a bit to come back and to be starting from nearly square one all over again as a 16 year old!

Hopefully in a couple of months we'll both be fit enough to start aiming for a little competitive outing.

 

[Nickles1973]

I am rubbish with schooling ideas myself so I will watch this thread with interest but I recently bought a copy of Your Horse mag and there are some really good ideas for schooling with poles this month. Not just going over them but using them to help with suppleness and flexibillity and accuracy by going around them laid out as a cross. They look like they might be good and I'm going to give them a try latter this week.

 

[saskia295]

I got a great book for Christmas called '101 schooling exercises' as I really struggle in the winter, because of work I can only hack at the weekends. The book is great, gives you loads of exercises and gives you great diagrams. I looked on ebay but it was cheaper on amazon.