RIDING WITH A PLAN

When you plan out your ride in advance, you have a head start. Before your session, choose two or three exercises that you want to try. Arrange any equipment in advance (e.g. poles and cones) and make sure that the distances between any obstacles ‘fit’ your pony’s stride, size and experience level.

With a plan, you will be much more confident, and this will help your pony to follow your guidance more trustingly.

Warm-up

During your warm-up, practice riding near any poles or cones or other obstacles you might be using in your session. Make sure, however, that you keep your turns big and that you don’t start working on your planned exercises until your horse has fully warmed up. NOTE: Lay your poles out or set up your jumps in advance of your session.

Advantages of planning

The big advantage of riding with a plan is that you have a fixed idea on which to focus, which helps you orient yourself and avoid riding ‘large’ for 30 minutes. It also means that you have a structure to the session, which aims to improve something about you and your pony’s way of going. In thinking out what you want to achieve, you will ensure that your riding is heading in the right direction and that you are not just ‘riding for the sake of riding’.

Beware

Sometimes you and your pony will not be able to achieve everything you have planned for a session, and this is perfectly okay. Planning is really important, but it is only a goal – not a fixed list of tasks you and your pony must get through before returning to the stable. For instance, if you are struggling with exercise 1, rather than progressing onto exercise 2 before your pony is ready, take your time and break down exercise 1 into smaller steps.

You and your pony are both living creatures, not robots, so sticking to an exact plan, whilst great if possible, is not an absolute requirement.

Take-home message

A clear plan and goal helps you to ride more precisely and with more purpose, even when your plan doesn’t work out right away!