EGB magazine art 6: Improving our horse

This is the second in a new series of articles in which we will investigate the quality aspect of training and how to maintain a healthy, sound, and happy equine athlete. While logging miles is important, the manner in which we do so is equally, if not more, crucial. The first article touched on the basics and "riding in the box," and in this instalment, the focus will be more on the practical quality aspect of training, including some exercises that can be incorporated.

To begin, it is essential to identify any potential issues. When riding your horse next, consider the following:

- Is your horse on the forehand?

- Is your horse moving straight, on two tracks, or possibly on three or even four tracks?

- Is your horse using its back?

- Is your horse responsive to aids in both upward and downward transitions?

It may be helpful to have a person on the ground or a riding companion assist in answering these questions, as we can sometimes become accustomed to our horse's way of moving and overlook certain issues. Another option is to record some of your riding sessions and analyse them to assess balance and straightness. 

We want our horse to move with minimal obstruction and loss of energy, I call this a "Flow of energy". The energy of the horse originates from behind, you can shape this into more collected energy when needed, and more extended when you want to go a little faster. It is essential for the horse to be off the forehand, straight, and using its back in order to allow the energy to flow freely without any obstructions that could cause discomfort in the long run (a little compared to a traffic queue versus the smooth flow of traffic when all is fine).

To allow this flow of energy we need a soft yielding contact, the horse should be in balance (not on the forehand!) and we as riders need to move with the horse, not causing any disbalance, obstruction or other hindrance. Riders skills are important and in the next article we will look more closer to us as riders.

Exercises to help you create a more free flowing energy during your training and competitive rides are:

1. My favourite and most important exercise which all of my horses learn as soon as they are backed is leg yielding: this helps you ride ride from the centre which will help with good balance as we stay closer to the centre of gravity of both your horse and yourself. The advantage of riding from the centre is that it is easier to balance both horse and rider, we can do less with our reins, our horse will be less on the forehand and we will protect the front legs more because we are not pulling our horse to one side

2. Shoulder in/travers: Another great exercise and like leg yielding it's a great one to do on boring stretches of roadwork. A lot of horses tend to move on 3 tracks, sometimes even 4 and if you have observed your horse (or have asked feed back from a rider behind you) you might know which way your horse wants to go. The aim for this exercise is to do the opposite of what your horse wants to do: so if it wants to go "bum out" to the left, ask for travers to the right, or shoulder in to the left. Both will ask your horse to put a little bit more weight on the left hind leg and ask the right shoulder to track up. Travers is a little trickier as we really have to feel what the horse is doing behind so start with shoulder in.

3. Changing diagonals: a simple but great way to work on asymmetry. You might have noticed that your horse will always start you on one diagonal in trot, ideally it will want to keep you there. And you will prefer that diagonal as well as switching feels wonky and not nearly as pleasant but it is really important that you stay alert on the amount of trotting you do on each diagonal. Without being aware, we often cultivate our horse's wonkiness by doing too much work on the nice diagonal. So balance it out and if you really feel your horse needs strengthening you can even do a little more on the "bad" diagonal. Do make sure your horse stays on 2 tracks and doesn't fall out of the shoulder

4. Changing canter leads: Another great exercise to work on asymmetry but also for balance. Every horse naturally has a preferred lead for their canter, which stems from their inherent asymmetry developed as a young foal. When a horse gets spooked, they will always instinctively canter away on their stronger lead. It is common for about 80% of horses to prefer the left lead, but many can do either lead when asked. However, if your horse struggles with a specific lead, it is important to work on improving it. This will not only make your horse stronger and less prone to injury, but it will also increase your awareness as a rider during your rides. To address a weak lead, it is recommended to seek assistance on the ground as there are various reasons why it may not be working well for both the horse and rider

5. Hill work to help with upward transitions. Going uphill the correct way mimics an upward transition and is therefore very good for horses that need to get stronger in their hind quarters and back. The main thing is to make sure your horse lifts its breastbone, pushes from behind and does not pull itself up by the shoulders. A way to avoid that is lifting the head a little, and activating the hind quarters. Start slow with easy hills though you will feel the correct push more on a short steeper hill. Once you have felt how a horse moves itself up correctly you can then apply that to your upward transitions on the flat.

6. Hill work for balance (going down), especially exercise is especially important for those horses that want to go on the forehand, as is going uphill. Because uphill is harder work many focus more on the quality of that and let the horse rest and find its own way back down. But going down is just as important and a very good exercise. Like going up, the hind quarters need to do most of the work, the are the breaks this time, and not so much the driving force. The shoulders need to stay light, breastbone a little up and the core muscles activated. Small steps is usually best to start with, until you got the hang of it and can then ask for a little more. Once you got this good balance you can even trot or canter downhill but be aware your horse doesn't go on the forehand.

7 .Extra flexion for the joints: pole work, riding in water or long grass, water treadmills. Especially our horses that have been doing endurance for a longer time can get "efficient" in their movement, they have realised they can travel with less energy expenditure by lifting their feet as minimal as possible. Whilst that is a good thing energy wise, the lack of flexion is not good for the joints so adding work where your horse needs to lift its legs more is a good quality exercise. Raised poles is the usual go to as the horse has to work on proprioception and core stability as well, but lunging in high grass or working in water will have a very good effect as well. Key as always is to stay straight.

I hope you will start using some of these tips in your ridden work. Groen Equestrian can help you with coached ridden sessions as well so if you need help, send a message.

Next article will focus on us riders: Improve yourself to improve your horse