Train The Endurance Horse To Use His Engine Part 1
By Di Armour
In this two-part series we have a look at a few good training practices for getting your horse to use his engine!
Getting your horse to engage behind and come lightly into your hands should be one of the most essential schooling requirements for all ridden disciplines. The rewards of this way of going are endless and gratifying.The physical demands placed on the endurance equine athlete are enormous. Probably 70% of breakdowns in the endurance horse are seen as a direct result of poor training, bad riding and inadequate nutrition. So it makes good sense to do it right from the beginning! A horse carries 60% of his weight in the forequarters, resulting in huge stress on the front limbs and shoulders, especially if one rides the horse on the fore, trains on the fore and has a saddle and girth that is uncomfortable. Teaching your horse to come off the forequarters and power himself from behind reduces these stresses considerably and makes the horse a more balanced ride. This results in less pressure on the front of the horse and makes it an easier and more pleasurable experience for the rider.
To begin with, one has to ensure that the horse you have invested in has the correct conformation for the job, is sound and is built to endure this rigorous sport and ensure your horse is on the correct nutritional requirements. Start right, it saves time, money and emotion! Bringing on the novice horse into a balanced frame takes a bit of time, so don’t be in a hurry. Allow for this and your horse will last longer. Plan well. Training sessions are very individual, particularly in this sport. Training your horse so he is light in your hands and working from behind is of utmost importance to the healthy longevity and success of your endurance horse. Most riders laugh when I say that I begin all my training sessions with any horse, for any discipline, with a good 15 minutes of balanced walking. How many horses, or riders, understand what straight is?This helps the animal loosen up and concentrate on your leg aids and seat. Early problems can be ironed out in this time together. Develop the need to lay the correct foundations of
your schooling. Keeping the horse’s head straight right through the spine is essential to his physical usefulness. Remember that the horse’s natural balance is disrupted when a human sits on his back and can cause all sorts of physical and muscular problems. By warming up slowly we try not to introduce muscular problems which result in a variety of evasions. The young horse must learn to work through his back with the rider in place. If this is your sport and you want to do it well, you need to ensure that your saddle fits your horse and is the correct make. (Consult with the top saddle makers in this field.) Once your horse has established working through his back he will work on the bit or on the aids in a correct and comfortable fashion. So your aims to good schooling should be to create rhythm, straightness, balance, suppleness and acceptance of the bit in all gaits. The following training is the start to basic schooling and should not be confused with an ‘endurance training ride’!
20m Circle
Walking Warm-up
Month 1. Once you have warmed up your horse with an active working walk for 15 minutes, use your schooling space to walk on the circle (20m) in the correct bend. Ride two circles as a figure of eight exercise doing this exercise on both reins equally for a further 10 minutes – this will loosen him laterally too. Assuming you have a good understanding of rider aids, light seat, medium seat and deep seat activation, contact, and work on the bend, the next walking exercise is a useful tool for obedience work. Walk into spiral turns off the 20m circle, getting smaller and smaller to end in a straight, square halt. At this
20m Circle
point I introduce the rein back, then move forward into spiral out, making your circles bigger and bigger till you are working on the 20m circle again. I continue this exercise until the horse completes it with easy rhythm before moving on to the next gait. These being exactly the same exercises, just performed at the trot. It is of vital importance that you get the correct bend. By doing this exercise you are also teaching your horse rhythm, which is absolutely vital to the success of the endurance horse and rider team. In a 10 km training ride, I like to ride alternating between mild collection and relaxation, so my horse is always thinking and listening. Allowing the horse to stretch long and low, but not hollow in his relaxation times, then a half halt and bring him into a good working frame and on the bit for a while, then relax again. But when you relax your aids, he must understand it as a reward for the moments in mild collection. If you give him rein when he is hollow you will encourage him to hollow more. So be aware of this! Towards the end of the third week the horse should be responding well to upward and downward transitions in walk and trot and have a full understanding of rein back. You will not have asked for too many new movements, just light repetition and easy hacking out on a training ride. One day off a week is essential. School work will last an hour and 15 minutes, as will my training ride. Really slow and easy, while earning trust and developing a good bond. Month 2. It is in these early stages of training that you can correct problems before they become entrenched as bad habits! In the second month I begin my grid work and trotting poles; the key to gymnastic balance and using the engine once the horse is fit and supple. Invest in 20 poles with a 10 cm diameter. Place five on either side of the long side of your arena (work area), 90 cm apart to begin with. Warm up your horse for 10 minutes, working on both reins, then trot over the trotting poles without
interfering with the horse’s rhythm. The first time a horse is introduced to trotting poles, he may try and jump them, and will knock them. Don’t worry or make a fuss, just keep on trying. You, as the rider, must sit in a light seat and look beyond the last pole; don’t look down, it interferes with the horse’s balance! Stay with the rhythm. Keep repeating the exercise until the horse learns to trot over the poles with rhythm and balance. It is essential to reward the horse once he has trotted over them without knocking and in balance. Positive reinforcement always reaps rewards, while negative reinforcement causes more evasions. It is preferable to have someone on the ground with you the first time you do these exercises to ensure the poles remain equally spaced if the horse knocks them. Once the horse is comfortable with the trotting poles on the long sides, use the other 10 poles on the bend on the 20m circle. Ensure your horse trots over them on the bend and keep his head on the correct bend. Don’t let his shoulder fall in either. This is tiring work for your young novice horse, so be sympathetic. Work these exercises for six days out of seven and speed up your training ride to 10 km/h. (Never walk over trotting poles!) I do not introduce canter work in the arena until I have established good obedience to my aids in the walk and trot. I will now ask for a smooth response to upward and downward transitions, do a little more
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extension and collection in the two gaits, and will introduce lateral work. At this point I introduce more difficult pole work, where every second pole is raised 20 cm. This gymnastic training is excellent for balance and the engagement of his hindquarters. A week of this and you will feel the horse becoming more responsive to your hands with obvious useful engagement behind. In other words he is coming off his forequarters. An hour’s worth of good schooling and an hour’s training ride in the field, will establish a reasonable level of fitness and good building blocks to bone density and hoof conditioning (providing the nutritional requirements are correct). This simple training should all be established in the first six to eight weeks. When you are schooling in the field, do your upward and downward transitions, and work on rhythm in all three gaits. The trot develops muscle, balance and fitness and is an excellent gait to expose difficulties, both in horse and rider! If you introduce obedience to the upward and downward transition in walk and trot, the horse is generally better balanced into the canter work in the school and won’t tend to race into this gait in a hurried and unbalanced way. Endurance riding is one of the equine sports where developing a symbiotic relationship with your horse is essential to your success and your safety. Through good training and riding methods you will develop strong bone, strong lungs, elastic muscle, a sound mind, superb balance and a dependable spirit.
Trotting poles 90cm appart
A short mention about working the horse on the lunge. This can be one of the most damaging practices if done incorrectly and on the wrong surface. Too many horses are asked to go round and round a 20m circle for too long, hammering their limbs and reducing their long-term capabilities. Lunging a horse is an art form and is very useful, but ensure that you learn how to do it correctly before embarking on this practice. It is not a good practice for getting a horse fit! I love the art of lunging, and teach my horses all the lateral work, work in collection, balance and the development of a wonderful top line in the lunge arena. However, I am careful not to exceed 20 minutes of intense schooling in the ring. I ensure that my horse is 100% obedient to all my voice commands on the free lunge before introducing him to long reins and other training aids.There are lots of benefits to the various training aids available, but rather take your time with your horse, than speeding it up artificially. After two months of the above simple training, your horse will be fit enough to do a slow introductory stepladder or 80 km ride without putting him off. Remember: stamina of mind, body and soul is developed slowly if it is to be maintained! In the next article we will look at more advanced training for balanced going. For more information, schooling of horses and riders or problem-solving assistance, contact me on 084 562 9818, or email barmour@worldonline.co.za.
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