SCHOOLING PLANS, GOAL SETTING & TRAINING GRID
When working with your horse either ridden or in hand it is important to have a plan of what you want to achieve and a structure to the session.
If you do not have these things in place your time spent in the school can feel aimless and frustrating.
There are some important things to remember to keep you sane and your horse engaged:
Your horse has no idea what you want of him, he is just being a horse. You must break each thing down so it is very simple and give clear aids and reward each correct action immediately by relaxing the aids, praising or a little tickle or stroke.
Horses are kind, accepting animals who are very easy to train if you give the correct instructions. Until you can speak the same language, which takes time and practise and involves you both listening to each other, you must keep everything very simple.
You will have good days where you feel focused and energized (not enough of these, if you are like me) and other days where you feel sluggish and exhausted. Your horse is exactly the same. If it is a bad day, treat it as just that, nothing more. Do some simple things that you both enjoy and keep it short.
If you get stuck on a certain area and over time there is no improvement, for example flexion (where the horse flexes his head in the direction he is going so you can see his inside eye), it is important that you have your horse health checked, including his back, and your tack checked by a professional. If you are still struggling, then it would be worth getting a professional rider to see what the issue is, so that you can progress knowing there is no underlying problem.
It is important that your training sessions are where you focus entirely on your horse. It is no good trying to teach your horse how to stop, if you are having a chat with your friend about the price of bread at the same time. Just stop or walk around, not asking your horse anything, until you can devote all your attention to your connection with your horse.
Keep each section of your schooling short and simple, only progressing a little each time. Slowly means quickly in the end. If the foundations are good and built on well then the furthur on you go the easier it becomes.
It is important that you build on your last session so, for example, if you practice stopping in one session make sure you recap in your next session. If you leave it too long before repeating, your horse should not be expected to remember.
TRAINING GRID
When you are trying to work with your horse it is important to have a goal.
This can work for anything.
The first example I will use, is to aim to do a fun ride with my friends.
Some people can just jump on their horse and off they go without batting an eyelid or breaking a sweat.
I am assuming this is not the case in this example.
So the top of my grid is a fun ride.
As I work down I break each section into stages.
You can carry on breaking each section down and putting as much information in as you can.
You start at the bottom and work up each section, only when you and your horse are happy and confident with each bit.
There is no time limit on each section and if your horse has difficulty on a particular section go back to the bit below.
I underline the end sections as these are my starting points.
Below is a grid for doing a basic walk trot test with the local riding club
Once you have an idea of where your training is going now you need to break down your schooling sessions.
SCHOOLING PLAN
I will give you an example of a basic schooling session and then a more advanced one, remember each session can change at any point if you or your horse are struggling.
Points
It is very important you do the same exercises on each rein at every session.
In between each section let your horse rest and relax, I let mine walk around on a long rein and stretch my legs and neck, checking for any tightness, going through the last section in my mind and planning my next section.
Each section can be as long or as short as you want. A five minute very productive session is better than 20 minutes doing the same thing over and over.
Each section can include whatever you want to work on and be in whatever order you want as long as it progresses naturally.
15 minute warm up session
1-This includes working at a walk for 5 minutes then introducing trot.
2-Keeping a long rein to start with and gradually picking up contact.
3-Make sure you do large shapes to start with reducing the size slowly.
4-Go through your position and do some warming up exercises for yourself. I have put a good position work out on my lesson section for you to listen to as you ride.
First 10 minute schooling session- transitions
1-Work on transitions, firstly from halt to walk using as gentle aids as possible, strengthening slowly if needed. Reward by releasing the aids as soon as your horse does as you want.
2-Build up to trot, again start with gentle aids as above.
3-Try some indirect transitions, for example halt to trot. Again start with very gentle aids and increase them slowly and as soon as your horse does as you want release the aids. Keep repeating until your horse does the transition from the softest of aids.
Break for a couple of minutes
I walk the horse around on a loose rein, stroking and chatting to him.
Sometimes I let him stand just to let him completely relax.
Second 10 minute schooling session- bending and flexing
1- Work at walk then trot on a 20m circle. Checking the horse has a good bend and slight flexion, covered in more detail on my lesson section.
2- Practise some different shapes, reducing the size down gradually.
3- On each turn, use the softest aids possible, increasing gradually, as soon as your horse goes in the direction you want, soften your inside rein.
These are a few examples of school figures you could practise
Shallow loop.
A change of rein across the diagonal.
A turn across the school.
A figure eight.
A 15m half circle to change the rein.
A 3 loop serpentine to the edge of the school.
Break for a couple of minutes
Third 10 minute schooling session- canter
1- Practise the canter gait, giving the softest aids to start with and praising his response by releasing the aids as soon as he strikes off.
2- Aim to achieve a lovely canter around the edge of the arena where he is keeping a steady pace with you just sitting there quietly.
3- When you are ready come back to a trot, again with the softest aids you can.
Finish with a 10 minute cool down session.
I often just go out for a walk on a long rein for this bit.
A MORE ADVANCED SESSION
10 minute warm up session
This will be the same as in the previous section.
First 10 minute schooling session- indirect transitions
1- Work on transitions from halt to walk to trot and then include canter.
2- Work equally on each rein.
3- Make sure you are keeping the softest aids possible.
4- Introduce some indirect transitions, for example halt to trot and walk to canter.
Break for 5 minutes
Give your horse time to digest his work and stretch, as you do the same.
Second 10 minute schooling session- school figures and transitions
1- Work on figures in the school including transitions.
2- Build up to a change of rein in the canter through trot.
3- See if you can progress to a simple change. The red section is canter and the green section walk.
Break for 5 minutes to stretch and relax
Third 10 minute schooling session- leg yielding
1- Work on leg yield in walk then trot.
2- Start on a line just inside the long side and leg yield towards the track, gradually increasing the distance between when you turn and the track.
Finish with a 10 minute cool down
Final Thoughts
With all your training sessions it is important to remember this is supposed to be fun for yourself and your horse. If at any stage this stops then you need to back step to work out why you are no longer enjoying it, and remedy this.
If your horse is struggling, it is important to call in the professionals as soon as you can to eliminate any kind of pain.
Have fun and I look forward to seeing all your and your horse’s journeys.