Training

Schooling hacks body building and fun

We should I suppose now be well into our season but in reality, most of us are probably just getting back into the swing of things. So, I thought rather than heading straight in to target training as was suggested at the end of the last article we could look at the schooling hack and some hills.

The schooling hack should always be a part of your week – it can progress in length and intensity depending on your level of competition expectation, fitness, advancement of a rehab programme. It can make boring schooling fun, slow work more interesting and is a great way to take a look at some of the outdoor “issues” (puddles, killer logs and life in general) and help to improve some of your rider fitness and balance – this is a partnership and this is the time to weld it together.

The difficulty is usually knowing where to start and to be honest after all the uncertainty of late and lack of purpose, maybe just to be out is what we need: a bit of time on the outside is good for you and your horse's mental health. But I think we all agree slopping around on the buckle end is not doing anyone any good so let’s make it worthwhile and fun! Roads and other hard, flat surfaces There is no getting away from it we really do need to do some work on these surfaces – it’s great for strengthening, flexing and straightening. As your horse’s foot connects with a hard surface, concussive forces travel up his leg. Exercise here can help to strengthen bone, muscle and tendons. Remember, your first priority on the road is to stay safe. A businesslike attitude can give your horse the confidence to face traffic and spooky objects on the roads.

Softly flex your horse in either direction. This can build towards shoulder in and will help you get past the killer bins, barking dogs and road works. You can gently flex his neck (and therefore, eyes) away from the scary situation.

Trotting on roads is a controversial subject, with much debate about whether increased concussive force is good or bad for your horse – every case is individual but in my book you need to do some – keep it light and collected not hammering along – for maximum benefit and minimum concussion. At some point at a ride you WILL need to trot on a road – practise, need I say more! So let’s look at some straightening exercises... trotting in a straight line changing the rising diagonal every 10 strides. A flat surface will show up an asymmetry in you and/or your horse, as one side may feel slightly more secure or one of your legs might wiggle. Your horse may feel stiffer on one diagonal or drift or wobble to one side. Aim to feel the same on both diagonals. If you find it hard to keep to one diagonal for 10 strides, take it down to every 5 strides / it might be easier with a wiggle or stuck horse doing x 5 to be rewarded with an easy x 5! It is also a great warm up/settle down/listen to me exercise!

Bridleways, commons and soft wide forestry tracks Try using the sides of the track as a guide for staying straight and then practise leg-yielding back and forth across the track as you move forward. Start in walk and progress to trot. Use whatever is around when out and about to school – step over logs, zig-zag through trees, leg yield puddles and scary monsters. Allow your horse to stretch and step carefully over a rooty path. The more creative you are the more you’ll build your horse’s strength, flexibility and mental dexterity. Rough ground will no longer be your enemy on a competitive ride – you drop the reins and allow your horse to do his job!

Wide Open Spaces Instead of careering off, why not choose this point for a little “natural arena” schooling. Channel that extra energy into getting accurate transitions and improving suppleness in patterns.

"A bit of time outside is good for you and your horse's mental health"

Use a tree line or landmarks to plan accurate transitions. Think of trotting at that tree, opening up the canter to the large bush before coming back to trot at the bench, then halting and walking back on a long rein. Riding to markers will give you purpose to your transitions and is great confidence booster for those of you who get a bit windy about open spaces.

Top Secret

You are not the only one who gets windy out riding sometimes, everyone has their demons, lots of these exercises will help you and your horse to get rid of them!

Experiment with different schooling patterns in an open area. Working on serpentines and circles in a wide-open space out hacking can be a real challenge – you’ll likely get an annoyed wiggle or nap. Work on making the circles and serpentines consistent and use the extra impulsion produced to improve suppleness.

Hills Hill work is about building power and strength and by adding some lateral work to boost that overall fitness and dexterity ... an all-terrain beast in the making. Start simply with walk exercises, using halts/half halts and adding leg yields on the way up and down. Do the same in trot and start making it harder by dividing the hill into thirds – trot a third then halt, walk a third then halt, trot a third, until you are building to trots and canters in the thirds and halt to canters. Using lateral movements downhill means natural gravity will help your horse to step under himself. So, don’t rush it or push it – perfect in walk before moving on.

Body building needs stretching, so the next part of the series will look at some canter work exercises as well as your all important crew. In the meantime, have fun with your horses and feel free to drop me a line at onthehoofdt@hotmail.co.uk. If you need a question answered or can’t wait for Series 3 to get some ideas.

Happy Schooling Hacks.

Maggie Pattinson

Top Tips

• Slow work is your friend

I promise – “you can walk a horse fit but gallop it dead”. You can use this time to swing your hips in time to the walk, loosen your legs, get your body moving in sync. I like to use my mind’s eye to picture the movement of my bones, ligaments and muscles throughout my body and finally a glass of champagne or hot soup (depending on the weather and my mood) sitting right in the centre of my pelvis – providing I move with my horse not a drop shall be spilt. Physical health and wellbeing benefits of our sport have never been more precious or important to shout about.” • Try to get that work log out sooner rather than later.

Recording the lightbulb moments as well as the disasters can be a huge part of the overall picture and if it’s part of your planning process it should be a habit you just ‘always’ – never an onerous task – make it work for you! • Most riders have a

‘natural diagonal’ too – so aim to change your rising diagonal as soon as you go into trot.

Practise changing whilst standing as it is better for the horse's back – once you have mastered your balance! It’s a great strength builder for you too.