Sideways pole people help please!!

[Flowerofthefen]

We are having a go at working equitation in a few weeks. I've seen that one of the obstacles is going sideways along the length of a pole. This is something I could practice before hand. I was going to start in hand. Any hints/ tips, do's and don'ts please? Thank you.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I’ve just started this..it’s great. Starting in hand is a good idea..however..I’m gonna boast here so I apologise but I was so proud of my mare…..our first lesson…instructor asked us to straddle the pole a quarter up it’s length and asked me for a side step and mare obliges right off the end…we ended up doing the whole length of the pole. Instructor started standing to side and taking a step towards us at first to encourage the move but we ve been happily ”half passing” along poles for a couple of weeks on our own! We even picked up lance and ring from the bull first time.

 

[daydreamer]

I'm not a working equitation person but I do do sideways over a pole with my youngster. Some of the things I did .......

taught him to move his hind quarters away (he will do this from a signal from the hand, or from the whip, or from my sideways noise or from a hand at the girth)
stand in front of a fence head on, move the shoulders one step to the side then ask the hindquarters to catch up, repeat a step at a time (at first I was sort of in front of him and moved the shoulders by bringing the head towards that side, now I can push from the far side)
repeat this little and often until he was happy with it and would just offer steps sideways
repeat over a pole, just start by walking over the pole about a third of the way along, stop with front legs over the pole and then ask for sideways, lots of praise at the end of the pole, repeat going further along the pole when possible

 

[Barton Bounty]

Im gonna have a bash at it love pedro torres

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I’ve just started this..it’s great. Starting in hand is a good idea..however..I’m gonna boast here so I apologise but I was so proud of my mare…..our first lesson…instructor asked us to straddle the pole a quarter up it’s length and asked me for a side step and mare obliges right off the end…we ended up doing the whole length of the pole. Instructor started standing to side and taking a step towards us at first to encourage the move but we ve been happily ”half passing” along poles for a couple of weeks on our own! We even picked up lance and ring from the bull first time.

Well done you!! Very impressive!!

 

[Boulty]

No expert but would teach sideways without the pole to start with, doing it facing a fence / wall helps stop them creeping forwards to start with. If inhand you’re probably going to want to use either a hand roughly where you’re going to want to cue with your leg or pressure from a whip in the same place initially. If horse can already move quarters & shoulders then you could start moving these alternately to start with to give the horse the idea; I did this with the Welsh but when teaching the Highland I just did gentle whip wafting/ tapping just behind where the girth would b until he moved away from it. Would then half step him over the pole about 1/4 to 1/3 way from the end and ask for literally a stride or two to start with and build from there then introduce ridden once has the idea.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I'm not a working equitation person but I do do sideways over a pole with my youngster. Some of the things I did .......

taught him to move his hind quarters away (he will do this from a signal from the hand, or from the whip, or from my sideways noise or from a hand at the girth)
stand in front of a fence head on, move the shoulders one step to the side then ask the hindquarters to catch up, repeat a step at a time (at first I was sort of in front of him and moved the shoulders by bringing the head towards that side, now I can push from the far side)
repeat this little and often until he was happy with it and would just offer steps sideways
repeat over a pole, just start by walking over the pole about a third of the way along, stop with front legs over the pole and then ask for sideways, lots of praise at the end of the pole, repeat going further along the pole when possible

Great tips, thank you!! We have done a little bit of moving front end and back end in the past, hopefully he will remember it!

 

[Red-1]

I also start near the end so they don't have far to go initially. Then half way etc. until they are doing the full length. I di start on the floor, but then am usually doing everything myself.

One tip... The middle of the horse is not under you. Sounds obvious but 99% of the people I have taught have tried to do the pole under them. It needs to be further back!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Im gonna have a bash at it love pedro torres

I'm getting very disillusioned with dressage so we needed something to do!! We have a clinic near us in a few wee and I can't tell you how excited I am!! Have a go!!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I also start near the end so they don't have far to go initially. Then half way etc. until they are doing the full length.

One tip... The middle of the horse is not under you. Sounds obvious but 99% of the people I have taught have tried to do the pole under them. It needs to be further back!

Starting near the end is a great tip. I will remember the position of the pole...thank you!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

No expert but would teach sideways without the pole to start with, doing it facing a fence / wall helps stop them creeping forwards to start with. If inhand you’re probably going to want to use either a hand roughly where you’re going to want to cue with your leg or pressure from a whip in the same place initially. If horse can already move quarters & shoulders then you could start moving these alternately to start with to give the horse the idea; I did this with the Welsh but when teaching the Highland I just did gentle whip wafting/ tapping just behind where the girth would b until he moved away from it. Would then half step him over the pole about 1/4 to 1/3 way from the end and ask for literally a stride or two to start with and build from there then introduce ridden once has the idea.

Thank you. Will try without pole first. We havnt done inhand stuff for a while so should be interesting!!

 

[rextherobber]

I also start near the end so they don't have far to go initially. Then half way etc. until they are doing the full length. I di start on the floor, but then am usually doing everything myself.

One tip... The middle of the horse is not under you. Sounds obvious but 99% of the people I have taught have tried to do the pole under them. It needs to be further back!

Thank you, I'd have been one of those people!

 

[little_critter]

The WE clinic I went to also said to start teaching it by stepping over (straddling) the pole just a foot or two from the end and then ask them to step sideways off it. The also said the the pole needs to be a little behind your bum so the horses don’t clank it and get put off.
We practiced at home first too and started off in hand. I had to remind Theo about being able to move his bum over so did a bit of turn on the forehand first. The first few (many) goes tend to be erratic, you’ll move the front feet, then the quarters, then the front feet so you end up wiggling your way along. The trickiest bit I found is convincing them that this movement has no forward element to it. So maybe position the pole so the horse is facing the wall to prevent the temptation of just stepping over the pole?

 

[Flowerofthefen]

The WE clinic I went to also said to start teaching it by stepping over (straddling) the pole just a foot or two from the end and then ask them to step sideways off it. The also said the the pole needs to be a little behind your bum so the horses don’t clank it and get put off.
We practiced at home first too and started off in hand. I had to remind Theo about being able to move his bum over so did a bit of turn on the forehand first. The first few (many) goes tend to be erratic, you’ll move the front feet, then the quarters, then the front feet so you end up wiggling your way along. The trickiest bit I found is convincing them that this movement has no forward element to it. So maybe position the pole so the horse is facing the wall to prevent the temptation of just stepping over the pole?

More great advice, thank you!!

 

[Britestar]

I'm not a working equitation person but I do do sideways over a pole with my youngster. Some of the things I did .......

taught him to move his hind quarters away (he will do this from a signal from the hand, or from the whip, or from my sideways noise or from a hand at the girth)
stand in front of a fence head on, move the shoulders one step to the side then ask the hindquarters to catch up, repeat a step at a time (at first I was sort of in front of him and moved the shoulders by bringing the head towards that side, now I can push from the far side)
repeat this little and often until he was happy with it and would just offer steps sideways
repeat over a pole, just start by walking over the pole about a third of the way along, stop with front legs over the pole and then ask for sideways, lots of praise at the end of the pole, repeat going further along the pole when possible

This is how I teach it to mine

 

[Suncat]

Lots of good advice above, I've nothing to add - but its exciting to see Working Equitation growing and more H&H's giving it a whirl! Like Fern007 I took it up to make mostly dressage more fun... and to please my inner gymkhana child, who only got to do pony games in the back garden with a broom handle and some imagination

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Lots of good advice above, I've nothing to add - but its exciting to see Working Equitation growing and more H&H's giving it a whirl! Like Fern007 I took it up to make mostly dressage more fun... and to please my inner gymkhana child, who only got to do pony games in the back garden with a broom handle and some imagination

I'm hoping to do a few more clinics then possibly have a go at a comp!! Havnt seen any comps advertised though!! Any advice on where to look please? Is it laid back and friendly or is it really competitive?

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Where in the country are you Fern007? There was a comp near York at the weekend and it’s growing quite a following in the NE. My instructor would like me to compete in July but I’m not really into competing anymore…

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Where in the country are you Fern007? There was a comp near York at the weekend and it’s growing quite a following in the NE. My instructor would like me to compete in July but I’m not really into competing anymore…

Miles away......South lincs. Will try and join a few fb groups. Go on give it a go!!!

 

[Red-1]

Where in the country are you Fern007? There was a comp near York at the weekend and it’s growing quite a following in the NE. My instructor would like me to compete in July but I’m not really into competing anymore…

Oooh, where in York please?

*Wonders if there is a low value class with easy obstacles that can be done at trot for BH to have a go.

 

[Suncat]

Miles away......South lincs. Will try and join a few fb groups. Go on give it a go!!!

You've probably seen the main website, but here it is just in case: https://abweofficial.co.uk/pages/training - have a browse about as it has lots of information about the sport, a list of all the accredited Trainers (who'll know what's on and what's brewing in your area), demo's training events and competitions. It is a small but fast growing sport, so the more people interested, the more events will be given a shot. I'm in South Wales and it seems to be really picking up with our Riding clubs. Mostly because its a lot of fun and the obstacles are educational and surprisingly easy to put together.
Facebook is the other great place to go - there's a main FB page (https://www.facebook.com/abweofficial) and 4 Regional Pages. I don't really remember where the boundaries are, they aren't geographically equal because the current membership/interest is growing at different rates locally - I'll take a punt that South Lincs will just about be in the "north" group https://www.facebook.com/groups/950921185636388 sorry if i'm wrong! Think there's Scotland, North, Wales @ West and South East

And yep, the best thing is that its a really friendly, welcoming sport. Everyone cheers for each other in my experience

 

[Flowerofthefen]

You've probably seen the main website, but here it is just in case: https://abweofficial.co.uk/pages/training - have a browse about as it has lots of information about the sport, a list of all the accredited Trainers (who'll know what's on and what's brewing in your area), demo's training events and competitions. It is a small but fast growing sport, so the more people interested, the more events will be given a shot. I'm in South Wales and it seems to be really picking up with our Riding clubs. Mostly because its a lot of fun and the obstacles are educational and surprisingly easy to put together.
Facebook is the other great place to go - there's a main FB page (https://www.facebook.com/abweofficial) and 4 Regional Pages. I don't really remember where the boundaries are, they aren't geographically equal because the current membership/interest is growing at different rates locally - I'll take a punt that South Lincs will just about be in the "north" group https://www.facebook.com/groups/950921185636388 sorry if i'm wrong! Think there's Scotland, North, Wales @ West and South East

And yep, the best thing is that its a really friendly, welcoming sport. Everyone cheers for each other in my experience

No i hadn't seen the main website. I will have a good look later, thank you!!

 

[tristar]

i wait till end of a session, then walk round the pole in a bendy circle to make sure they see it properly, then walk up fairly straight to the pole end, then halt, about 12 to 18 inches away, i find that very important, so the long end of pole is the well down the horses body, then ask the horse to lookin the direction it will be travelling, then direct my weight slightly into the direction of travel, then ask for sideways with the outside leg, the horse knows the pole is there and tries not to step on it, i look in the direction i am travelling, and try not to have too strong a contact


knowing half pass helps before doing full pass

 

[Burnttoast]

When you've graduated to on board, pole level with the cantle is about right for positioning.

Sue and Holly Barber at Pine Lodge (Norwich) would happily take you in for a mini-break/boot camp if don't mind crossing into Norfolk ()

 

[Boulty]

Btw I’m in West Yorks & would be really interested in knowing what the scene is like in this area / about instructors etc as something I’ve always wanted to try. Don’t think the Highland with be quite as much of a natural as I think the Welsh would have been but we’re trying it at a camp this weekend so if he likes it I’d love to get into it. Wish I’d known about the comp at York as would have loved to go & watch!

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Red-1 ..I ll ask..the yard manager where I am newly moved to has just qualified as an instructor and tries to support as many competitions as she can…I knew she was heading to York..wonder if it was Yorkshire Equestrian centre?

 

[shortstuff99]

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Thank you. I couldn't hear video but very useful, I now know what I'm aiming for.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I really enjoyed working equitation with my last horse. My 2 year old is familiar with moving his shoulders, hind quarters, and doing turns in the haunches or shoulders in hand. He also gets a few steps of walking "leg yield" from the ground too, so I might try this pole thing with him next. I don't think I have yet. I've gotten him to straddle it the longways (the pole challenge that went around for awhile). So I'll see what he does and see if I can think of anything to add here, from a ground perspective.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I can honestly say I didnt make a pretty a picture as that grey in shortstuff99 s video!