Having a well-balanced and straight pony is important, but so is suppleness and having the ability to bend in both directions – whether you do dressage or jumping!
I like to teach my horses the basics of straightness and bending from the get-go because it helps to establish a whole load of other skills, such as balance and rhythm. So, why not try my easy exercises that’ll test and improve your pony’s fundamental skills, too?
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If you find that your pony keeps drifting to one side, even though you’ve remained consistent with your straightness aids, get him checked over by your physio and vet to make sure he’s not sore or stiff.
All you’ll need for these exercises is two poles and three wings. Space your wings out down one long side, leaving at least six metres between each one. Then position your poles parallel to each other somewhere along the centre line making sure you have enough room to circle around them on each rein.
Pippa Funnell MBE Pippa’s PonyThe first exercise helps boost your pony’s straightness. As long as he’s in good balance and you’re giving him the correct aids, it will be pretty straightforward! Start off in walk, then progress to trot and canter when you feel ready. As you ride your straight line, think about…
• keeping your rein contact even
• sitting equally on both seat bones
• squeezing with both legs
• looking up and straight ahead of you
• riding your straight line all the way to the other side of the arena
Don’t forget to ride a smooth turn onto your line – if you cut or overshoot the corner, try to gently press with your leg to move your pony over onto the line rather than pulling him onto it with your reins, otherwise he might lose balance.
• adding more poles down the centre line
• incorporating transitions before, between or after the parallel poles
• widening the poles to see if you can still keep your pony straight
Weaving is a great way to test your pony’s suppleness and flexibility. Start off in walk and keep your curves shallow – only progress to trot when you’ve totally nailed it in walk! The key thing to remember about bending is that your pony’s whole body needs to bend – not just his head and neck. So, as you ride through the wings, think about…
• keeping your head straight and eyes up, looking at obstacles ahead of you
• gently squeezing on the rein that matches the direction you want him to bend in
• using your other rein to support his shoulder through the turn
• shifting your weight into the stirrup of the direction you’re bending
• pressing with your leg to encourage your pony to bend through his ribcage
The aim of this exercise is to use your weight to encourage your pony to bend in each direction. You might need to spend a bit of time practising this but you should find that if you put more weight into your left stirrup, your pony bends to the left and more weight to the right will encourage him to bend right.
• adding more wings along your line
• riding bigger curves
– make sure you only do this in walk
• doing it without holding onto your reins in walk
Check out This Esme’s five steps to learning a dressage test!
MMany people find learning a dressage test really tricky, but it’s super-impressive if you know it off by heart. However, even if you think you know your test like the back of your hand, when it comes to show day the pressure of competing can sometimes make you forgetful. Here’s my five-step plan that’ll help you remember your test every time!
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First, you need a hard copy of your test so you can read it and understand what’s required. You can usually buy and download tests online from event organisers, but it’s always worth asking your friends if they have a copy first.
Read the whole thing through several times, say each step out loud and have a go at writing it all down – you could even ask a friend to test you!
Grab a piece of paper or a mini whiteboard and see if you can draw your test from start to finish. This step will help you visualise the movements and turns, and you might even find that there’s a pattern to your test which could make it easier for you to remember.
You could use different colours to show the different paces, or a symbol such as an X to show where you make a transition.
While it’s important that your pony is fit enough for his job, you also need to have a good level of fitness so you can control him, go with his movements and enjoy your time in the saddle. Here are some ideas to help you improve your riding fitness and overall performance!
Did you know that your heart works really hard when you’re riding, and especially when jumping or galloping around a cross-country course? The more efficient your heart is, the better your brain and muscles will work, so you’ll find riding less tiring and be able to focus more easily.
To increase your heart’s efficiency, do exercises that gradually get your heart beating faster. I like…
• going for a power walk, jog or run
• swimming
• HIIT (high intensity interval training) for kids workouts – you can find guided videos online
