Schooling exercises and suggestions please

[Ginn]

Am wanting to make schooling the new girl a bit more fun! She really isn't that ready for canter we have decided as her balance isn't there yet so we will be sticking to walk and trot for the moment.

Having ridden her the 100m up the road to the school there is no way we are going to be hacking her out until she is going off the leg better and actually listening 99% of the time as it would be dangerous and all our bridle paths are a good 1/2mile + on the roads.

So how do we spruce up our schooling other than endless transitions, sepentines and circles. Have no poles either to work with as the school with poles is a good 1/2 mile hack and we won't be going there without my instructor!

Thankies in advance.

 

[airedale]

without poles it's difficult to be inventive.

could you lead her the half mile to the other school instead of riding her - just for a change of scene perhaps once a week ?

you could do some unmounted work as well as mounted work and intersperse this. If she is unbalanced and weaker behind she might appreciate a bit of ridden work; a bit of unmounted work; then a 2nd bit of ridden work.

The unmounted work could be loose stuff/join up or in hand lateral work to help her engage her hindquarters more, e.g. turns on forehand in hand, 'leg yeilding' on a half circle in hand

So perhaps basic flat work, then some unmounted in hand lateral work to engage hindquarters and then a tiny bit of mounted work at the end to try a bit of canter

as regards ridden work - loops - in walk - on a 20x40 you could do 3x3m loops properly ridden with the correct bend and changes of bend in walk - VERY good exercise that ridden from the legs to create the bend rather than the hand.

riding a square (diamond) instead of a circle at b/e - at each of the 'corners' you ask for a turn.

instead of a 3 loop serpentine ride 3 changes of rein across the school and could also do say left turn then right turn onto centerline then left turn off center line in walk.

 

[Ginn]

Ohh, good ideas! Its been years since I've schooled and so my ideas are pretty rusty!

 

[lennysmith]

Hi hun, I'm rubbish with schooling ideas, just do what instructor tells me! But I've been trying to pm to say thanks for the other day, but you were full.So thankies for listening xxx

 

[Sal_E]

Some good ideas there! Also, how about introducing some simple lateral work? Turn on the forehand, shoulder-in (shoulder-fore initially), haunches-in, leg yeilding - these movements can be incorporated into lots of different movement adding lots of variety. Eg, when riding your small square at walk, half halt before each turn & then turn by doing a t-o-t-f so you're asking the inside hind to cross over & riding into the outside rein.

You can also work on transitions with the paces, inside & outside flexion in walk & trot, work on the inside track, 3/4 line, standing square, centre line straightness, serpentines but asking the inside to cross over laterally for each bend rather than following the shoulders round (works on riding into the outside rein, if that makes sense...).

There's lots of things to do laterally like going from A/C to E/B leg yeilding - or turning up centre line, riding straight for few strides, then leg yeilding few strides then straight again, over again etc. Spiralling out is a good exercise - you can spiral out then change the pace as you reach the outside track.

Probably loads more, let me have a think...

 

[Ginn]

Thats ok hunny. You feeling better about things now?

 

[lennysmith]

Loads thankyou! xx