I’ve been adding more and more training exercises to this blog. When I began to take it seriously, I asked my friend Melissa what kinds of posts she thought would bring people to my blog. She said training exercises; patterns and movements people could go to when they couldn’t think of new things to do with their horses… This was way back in summer 2019. I should have paid more attention to her. It took me a long time to get the first three training idea blog posts out. Finally, this last summer, I noticed that #3 was getting a decent amount of traffic. I wrote a similar post, and this one (#4) started slowly, but by its second month had thousands of views.
Now that I’ve decided to dedicate time to providing this type of content, I thought I should provide a Training Idea Blog Posts page that listed all past and future training blogs. Here it is!
List of training idea blog posts:
Training idea #1:
A surprisingly challenging yet fun warm-up exercise. This one is designed to do at the trot, but can also be performed at the walk. If your horse is very fit and advanced, you could also do so at the canter!
Above: Training idea #1
Training idea #2:
An advanced warm-up exercise for your horse. I do this one all the time, even at endurance rides. It brings Fantazia’s focus back when she’s worked up. It consists of shoulder-in, haunches-in, small circles, leg yields, and half passes, all at the walk. I also add spirals and turns on the haunches. You can do it at the trot also. I used to trot it with WSG My Girl, a horse I trained in Oklahoma. (See “Mya” completing the “Ease of Handling” trial at a Working Equitation show).
Above: Training idea #2
Training idea #3:
A warm-up exercise for a round arena. This is an adaptation of # 2 for a round arena. Our indoor arena is round, so I often use this version. The basic pattern can be adapted anywhere. Fantazia and I do it at every endurance ride.
Above: Training idea #3. Here is a video of my power point presentation explaining it.
Training idea #4:
Clover-leaf exercise for a round arena. This can be done at the trot or the lope (see my video of Fantazia and me loping the clover-leaf). It’s excellent for practicing rhythm and bend. I love this exercise, and so, apparently, do lots of people! This blog post has received more views than any, even though I just published it in July.
Above: Training idea #4, with broad leaves. Narrower leaves are more difficult!
Training idea #5:
Four spiral exercises to do at the walk. This is the first of at least two spiral exercises blog posts I have planned. It includes four different exercises to do at the walk, with videos taken with my GoPro. Making spirals with Power Point (or Photoshop, another option) is very tedious, so I won’t share an image. But you can view narrated videos of each, linked in the post.
Training idea #6:
Warm-up exercise for trotting and loping/cantering. This exercises utilizes a rectangular arena, with a pattern that repeats circles and Figure 8s systematically. It’s all forward, like the clover-leaf, and helps build rhythm. I use it all the time when it’s not too hot to be outside the training barn.
Above: Training idea #6. This one involves working on the rail as well as circles and Figure 8s.
Training idea #7
Spiral exercises to do at the lope, canter, jog, or trot. This is my second spiral exercises post. They can be done wherever you can start on a relatively large circle (e.g., 20m or yards). I usually lope them, but you can canter, trot, or jog as well. (Or gait, if you’ve got a gaited horse!)
Above: Spiral exercise to do at the lope/canter/jog/trot Version 2. this one involves spiraling in, stopping, changing direction, and spiraling out.
Training idea #8:
Simple Serpentine exercises is my first serpentine blog post, and covers the basic three-loop serpentine with one variation. I do it at a trot and canter or lope.
Above: An example of one of my three-loop serpentines to do at the trot/jog and canter/lope.
Training idea #9:
Bow-tie warm-up exercises can be as simple or as difficult as you want to make them! I do them with haunches-in and -out, half-passes, leg yields, etc.
Above: The Bow-tie warm-up exercise can be adapted to all levels of horse and rider.
Training idea #10
This post has different double serpentine exercises to do at the walk, trot/jog, or canter/lope. You can make them as difficult as you want–or not!
Other posts related to training:
Equine bone maturity: When can I start training a horse? This post caused some controversy when I published it, but not nearly as much as the next one!
Using a whip is not horse abuse, it’s communication. Yes, I have received some rather nasty comments and messages about this one. Read it yourself and let me know what you think!
Return-to-conditioning exercise: This is one of my Road to the Tevis Cup posts, and it describes what I did to bring Fantazia back in shape after the fires in fall 2020. It involves trotting in smaller increments, with backing and turning in between; a countdown, e.g., 5 minutes trot, one minute stand, 4 minutes trot…. all the way down to one minute of trotting. Make sure you go both ways. Can be done at the canter/lope too.
The advantages of ground-tying. Another Road to Tevis post that provides some ideas (and links) on how to teach your horse to ground tie.
Teaching Jazz to ground-tie. A brief post on how I am training my younger horse, Jazz, to ground-tie.
How to memorize dressage tests (and other riding patterns). The training exercises I present in my blog tend to be simple, but it can be difficult to memorize full dressage tests or medal class patterns!
Arena etiquette: Do’s and Don’ts of sharing an arena. Traditional rules for riding in arenas.
Trail etiquette: Do’s and don’ts of riding outside the arena. Your horse needs to be trained enough to be a good trail companion.
Coming soon:
Opening gates