Schooling order

dwi

dwi

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Do you have a particular order in which you school?

Years of being in a RS have stuck me in a rut of 8 - 10 min in walk, 8 - 10 min in trot, a couple of canters on each rein and then down to the activity that you have planned for that schooling session.

Tonight I was having real trouble getting D to bend properly in trot when we were warming up and I perservered for ages before I moved onto canter work thinking that she wouldn't be able to canter well if she wasn't thinking in trot. I was really wrong. The canter work seemed to make her think, she couldn't be lazy about bending once she was going at greater speed around a 50x30m arena because its quite tight. It improved her trot work no end when we finished our cannter exercises and we even ended on some leg yielding in trot which is really good for her.

Your thoughts and experiences would be really welcome
 
Because canter is unilateral it's easier for the horse to supple up in this gait than trot which is bilateral - If you warm up in canter it usually sparkles the trot up a bit, stretches the horse and warms the joints up - Definitely the best way to warm up an older/stiff horse!
laugh.gif

Kate x
 
I always try to vary it a bit incase they anticipate, but I do warm up and cool down.

Also I try and wait and see what the horse feels like, one day the canter is going well so i do that more, another day the horse feels less sparky so I do less work, maybe end up hacking around the village instead.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Because canter is unilateral it's easier for the horse to supple up in this gait than trot which is bilateral - If you warm up in canter it usually sparkles the trot up a bit, stretches the horse and warms the joints up - Definitely the best way to warm up an older/stiff horse!
laugh.gif

Kate x

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks, that makes alot of sense, its nice to know there is a sound reason for it and not me being mad.

She's only 10 but developed some stiffness due to a couple of months box rest and holding herself differently while she was lame so its taking a while to get her schooling back to where it needs to be
 
I was once told to walk around the arena on one rein, do a figure of eight (finishing on original rein), change the rein across the diagonal, walk around the arena, another figure of eight, then repeat in trot and then canter. All on a long rein. It never worked for my mare who much preferred to go in and walk, then start working, but the gelding I used to ride loved being warmed up like that and worked much better afterwards. It also ensures you spend enough time warming up instead of having to time yourself! I know a lot of horses who work much better in the trot after cantering.
 
dwi I had the same problem when I first got George after 30 years of riding at a RS! I too have learnt that once I have walked George a bit I go straight to canter and this really helps to loosen him up and balance a bit better.
 
I walk Mae twice around the arena on both reins, then do serpintines up and down the arena, we do the same at a trot, then do circles.

Sometimes i walk her around the lanes, trot back again and then go school. Walk her around the arena or lanes to cool her down. Untack her in the arena to enjoy a nice roll if no one is around.
 
I generally just walk a little, trot and little and then canter a little. I then start doing circles and play with lateral work to feel how he feels. From there I decide what I am going to do next.
 
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