What do you do in a schooling session?

[igglepop]

As title says really, what do you aim to complete, and how many different bits do you attempt in one go/session. Same for on a hack, do you school a lot or relax more.

For me I currently do walk trot canter transitions, extension work in trot and canter with leg yielding to finish.With in the transitions i do circles, figures of 8 serpentines etc. I find that after that the horse is tired (or more likely bored) and ready to finish. I will sometime use trotting and canter poles. In all its around 40 mins.

 

[Swirlymurphy]

We do a variety of things with our youngster depending on his frame of mind - some days it's a short 15 mins finding something that he can do easily and well then praise and call it a day. Other times it is a harder longer session. Last night was working on a bit of lateral work (still expecting good, rather than superb, transitions) and probably was about 35 mins. The evening before was a short one as he was obviously in no mood to work hard and was consistently throwing his toys out of his pram so all I did was to ask for some calm trot/canter/trot transitions and as soon as I got one on each rein, I stopped. Tonight we are going to get the poles out and who knows what mood he will be in!

 

[kc100]

For me at the moment it is getting my horse supple, he has only just come back into work after months off (his owner was injured and had no-one to ride him, horse hasnt been injured) and before his current owner he was uded to showing so has a lovely outline and very forward but not an ounce of suppleness!

So we are working on exaggerating bend in circles, lots of serpentines, figures of 8 etc. He is still a bit fizzy at the moment because he was off for so long, so I'm working on settling him into his paces, lots of half halts and generally ensuring I have control at all times! Once he does settle I'm working on transitions within paces to try and get him to lengthen his stride rather than just getting faster with short strides. Once I get him sorted in terms of 3 nice calm paces (currently got walk and trot nailed, canter is still manic) and more supple then I will start some lateral work with him. I'll also introduce poles and raised poles too.

With the other horse I ride his paces are fine, he just struggles in terms of stiffness and maintaining an outline, so i do lots of transitions with him ensuring he keeps an outline every time, and repeating transitions where he doesnt get it quite right. Then we work on a circle on the right rein where he is most stiff, and do lots of walk to canter transitions to get him listening. I also leg yield him on a circle, starting the circle small and leg yielding wider. Then ask for the walk to canter transition. And he loves jumping, so I try and get in a few jumping sessions with grids to improve his balance, control and build muscles.

Hacking is relax time for me, I school so much that when I do go on a very rare hack I make the most of it!

 

[Palindrome]

I start warm up on long rein at walk during 5 min and then lateral work at walk then trot, 5 meter circles and shoulder in, leg yielding/half-pass, going down the center line to check straightness, figure 8, halts, go back to leg yielding on 20m circle and spiralling in/out if she is really sharp or stiff or won't come on the bit. Then a bit of canter in 20m circles. She isn't very strong in canter so she still struggles to keep a good rythm and balance if not on the circle. I always ask her canter from walk as find it gives a better transition than her trying to accelerate at trot.
We haven't go an arena so school in an open field that is a 10 minutes hack away. Otherwise, when you're heading home on a hack, it's great to practice lateral work as they are relaxed and forward.