Pole Exercises
By Lisa Wieben and Birgit Stutz | Photos by Gary Wieben Rider Lisa Wieben. Horse Pirro, young Warmblood gelding. Pirro is currently being ridden English, but will be shown in both English and Western Dressage.
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Exercises with poles are not only fun, but are also very beneficial for horses of all levels. Riding over the poles will engage the horse’s abdominal muscles and lift his back (providing his head does not elevate).
he following exercises require only four poles, so are easy to set up and can be ridden at a walk, jog, and/or lope, depending on the training level of horse and rider.
Heart exercise: Ride over the first pole, then arc to the angled pole to the right before circling around and back down across the centre pole. Or you can ride straight across the centreline, then circle around to the angled pole, then over the first pole again. Imagine riding half of a heart. Ride both sides of the heart. Aim for the middle of each pole and maintain straightness in your horse (straightness in relation to the line you are riding).
Riding the Heart: Either ride to the angled rail, then back down centre, Pirro changing bend from the right or go up the centre two poles, then arc to left bend over the last pole (the arc to the angled pole. first pole on the centre line)
Teardrop exercise: Jog across the first pole, arc to the angled pole to the right, then jog onto a larger half circle, pick up the lope and lope over the next angled pole (this is a good one if your horse hasn’t done many lope overs and you just want to try one pole). Aim for the middle of each pole and maintain straightness in your horse. Do the exercise in both directions. Circle over two angled poles: The next version is riding a circle at a jog or lope over the two angled poles. Make your circle big enough so you have enough strides between each pole. Depending on your horse’s stride length and whether you can shorten or lengthen the stride will determine where you cross the poles and how many strides to ride between the poles. As with the previous exercises, ride the exercise in both directions. Lisa was riding a fairly green horse so she rode more toward the outside of the poles on a slightly bigger circle. The poles were spaced so three to four strides fit between. Remember to always keep your eyes up and look where you are going and turn your body in the 14 14 • JULY 2021
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Riding straight down the centreline after riding over the angled pole.
direction of the bend. Riding circles and bending lines helps develop the horse’s bend off the rider’s leg. Ask the horse to bend by applying rhythmic pressure from your inside (inside of the bend) leg at the girth while at the same time turning your body into the direction of the turn (outside hip toward the horse’s inside ear). Depending on the size of the circle/ bending line your body has to turn more or less. Your hands will follow the turn of your body. If your horse needs more help turning, use your outside aids – the outside rein against the neck will help turn the horse’s shoulder and your outside leg against the horse’s side will help turn the body. Pulling on the inside rein could cause the horse’s neck to overbend, which will then allow the body to continue to drift away from the turn. Thinking of your reins and legs as blocking where you don’t want the horse to go and funneling the horse where you do want to go will also help. Your horse should change from bend to bend without inverting (lifting his head and hollowing his back). If the horse inverts while going over the pole or starts to lean into the turn and not bend through his rib cage the exercises will not be as effective. If your horse has a tendency to fall in when on a circle or bending line, think leg yield out and shift your weight slightly to the outside of the horse’s bend without leaning or collapsing in your hip. Aim to ride a few strides straight – one stride before, over, then after the pole before beginning a new turn.
