Thinking Outside the Box

Pole-work really does work wonders. We recently participated in a British Evening Training & Education demonstration called 'Ready, Steady, Event.' A particular highlight of the event was Sam York's in depth discussion about 'The Power of the Pole.' Sam's ultimate pick 'n' mix of pole exercises got me thinking... If I had to choose one pole exercise as the foundation of everything I did, what would it be?

'The Box,' as I call it, is a simple tool that aids horses of all ages and abilities. Over the 3 years I've owned Lily I have adapted the simple exercise in a number of ways that have helped us get from green rider/youngster to, what I'd like to think, is relatively well schooled. I thought I'd show you them first, so take a look at my masterpiece below!

Emilie Chandler's 'Three S's' have been playing on my mind since our lesson. Below, I've used them to explain how the 3 boxes helped us...

• Top box - Year 1: Straightness: The basic box will help both horse and rider with straightness through helping them find their central balance. Often poles are painted in 3 or 5 sections. Use the sides of the box first and ride from one colour to the matching opposite colour in a straight line. Mirrors would really come in handy here because you can pick up any asymmetry then correct your position and hopefully in turn your horses way of going. Once you feel comfortable start attacking the corners and angles!

• Middle box - Year 2: Suppleness: The circular box will help with rhythm and roundness, ironically it's built around circles. Start off by riding a circle (in any pace) around the box. Make it smaller and larger using lateral movements whilst all the time maintaining a consistent rhythm.Then integrate the box. Ride a circle through the midpoint of the poles. Once you're comfortable, gradually creep towards the corners of the box. When you use this exercise always strive for a forward nose, relaxed back and round movement... A.k.a. supple!

• Bottom box - Year 3: Submission: The susceptive box is one that works on responsiveness to aids and transitions. Effectively it combines everything from above and keeps the horse on its toes (perfect for hot horses)! Begin with a walk-halt in the middle of the box, remember to always aim for a square halt - use the mirrors! There are so many ways you can progress from here... Turn on the forehand, walk-canter, canter-walk, leg yield out over the pole, the list goes on. Oooh, and you can raise the poles or put them on angles to spice it up!

Much Love x