Fun Training for Weekend Riders
Photo: Brenda Imus from myHorse.com
Do you work a forty hour week? Are you limited to just the weekends to ride? Are you unable to trailer out due to inclement weather? Here are some fun horseback activities you can do to keep your horse reasonably in shape and to keep his mind active.
Many riders find that the use of cones offers endless variety and complexity for training options. Just three cones in a spacious triangle, or on a straight line (verticle or horizontal), can mimic a trail ride by using the cones as ‘trees or rocks’ to maneuver your horse around. As you wind through them you can alert your horse to: not drifting sideways outside the intended circle; not to change speeds on his own; not to ignore your seat and force you to only use your reins for turning; and not to be one-sided, but instead bend both ways, right and left, when asked. As he gets the hang of it at the walk then you can pick up the pace to a trot, and when he gets really fluid and comfortable, the canter work has endless options for practicing figure eights, flying changes, and even counter canter.
Ground poles expand your cone lessons by moving beyond the turning and flexing exercises. The discipline of the work helps your horse with learning to shift his weight backward and begin lifting to step over objects. This helps increase your horse’s impulsion and dexterity of stride, and assists you in gaining better control and influence in the saddle. (There is no reason why you can’t add a tarp to walk on, too.) One of my favorite uses of ground poles is to place two to three groupings of poles throughout the ring. I lay them flat on the ground with a cone at each end. Then I practice figure eights by having the horse step over the center of the pole, bend around the end cone, step again over the center of the pole, then bend around the other end cone. As you come over one set of poles you can head for another set while in a leg yield/shoulder-in/half-pass, then return to the figure eight at the new set of poles.
You can see that even if you only have a few hours a week to ride, you can still imagine how to ride full-time. Try jotting down your ideas during the day so that you can remember to try them out on your next weekend ride. When you finally return to riding your horse outdoors your horse should be better prepared from these special exercises, and you’ll have a closer relationship with him from spending extra time with him during the wintry months.
