Placing poles distance

[[59668]]

So, when I set up a grid, for a 1 stride canter double I will set the jumps at 18ft. My horse has approx a 9ft canter stride.
So if I want to canter in and want a placing pole how far out do I put it?
Everywhere seems to say 9ft but that's standard I think for a 12ft striding horse. So how do I work out distance for the placing pole for my 9ft stride?

 

[Wheels]

9ft is a very short stride- are you riding a small pony?

 

[[59668]]

It's not that small! I'm riding a 15hh cob. A regular stride is only 12 ft....and I'm talking grids here so built on the shorter side.

 

[SWE]

So, when I set up a grid, for a 1 stride canter double I will set the jumps at 18ft. My horse has approx a 9ft canter stride.
So if I want to canter in and want a placing pole how far out do I put it?
Everywhere seems to say 9ft but that's standard I think for a 12ft striding horse. So how do I work out distance for the placing pole for my 9ft stride?

9ft is pretty short for a place pole approaching in canter for a normal horse. I'd usually go 10 - 11ft.

Therefore for your 15h cob 9ft would probably be fine.

 

[JFTDWS]

I can never get placing poles right. I hate them, they're evil. I can stride out a grid nicely enough, but I can never get a placing pole quite right.

No help, just... solidarity?

 

[be positive]

I can never get placing poles right. I hate them, they're evil. I can stride out a grid nicely enough, but I can never get a placing pole quite right.

No help, just... solidarity?

If approaching in trot it is easy, coming in at canter they are often more of a hindrance than a help, approaching in canter as long as the canter is level you should meet a fence fine without needing a pole, if you really need a pole then you should probably be coming in at trot so the horse can work out the question in front of it.

 

[JFTDWS]

That's actually reassuring, BP - I always find it easier without them, usually any wacky strides taken without them are a result of not having a good enough canter / piss poor riding from me

 

[be positive]

I very rarely use them in canter, approaching a grid in canter is treated more like a line of related distances than a grid so if the horse and rider are ready to deal with it they really should not require a pole on the ground to help, or hinder, if the horse has a poor canter it will usually make little difference and may do more harm than good.
When I first learned about using grids they were all done out of trot even with something huge at the end, a ground pole, x pole, stride to an upright, two strides to a 4ft oxer was never approached in canter, the canter was developed through the exercise so if you had come in wrong you could still power through if you started with a decent trot, it is also good discipline to be able to maintain the trot all the way to the pole so they use the pole properly to push off into canter.

 

[JFTDWS]

This is all just reminding me that I need to do some gridwork with my mare! I love gridwork, but I need someone on the ground to do poles (better yet a decent trainer!)

 

[Bernster]

I really struggle to remember pole placing even when I’ve written it down ?

I clearly have a rotten eye. I’m way better with a canter placing pole than without. It feels a bit like training wheels! Horse sorts his own legs out but I have difficulty controlling my brain to let him get on with it. A placing pole seems to give me better focus.

 

[be positive]

I really struggle to remember pole placing even when I’ve written it down ?

I clearly have a rotten eye. I’m way better with a canter placing pole than without. It feels a bit like training wheels! Horse sorts his own legs out but I have difficulty controlling my brain to let him get on with it. A placing pole seems to give me better focus.

If it is you that struggles without and needs a pole on the ground to see where the take off point is then going around a course, which is presumably the aim, can be an issue, it sounds as if the horse can read the fence well enough so the rider needs to learn to trust him, and themselves by not having a placing pole, easy to say but not always easy to do, using them most of the time schooling at home can create a situation where the rider has less confidence in what they are doing, it is a bit of a balancing act to get the training right to allow progress and not cause an issue that means moving on is a problem.
Some people can count into a fence, some find that means they forget to ride, some people look for a stride, some just let it come to them, some feel what is going on under them and some fiddle about trying to tell the horse what to do, a good trainer needs to find what works for the individual but generally set up a decent canter, approach straight, leave the horse alone and look up and beyond the fence works well for most once they are past the early stages and before they are jumping more serious fences but by then everything should be well established.