During the winter, I really have to convince myself to change my clothes and leave my warm house to go work Max. Much as I love him, the older I get, the more I also like my creature comforts...however, duty prevailed and off I went to the stables. Unfortuatnely, except for the weekends, if I want to keep max tuned up, that means I have to work him at night after work. :-)
Lately, when I ride Max, I engage in a somewhat new "preflight prep" sequence because of his prior problems with his front legs. What I do is to first turn him out into the arena while I gather my saddle and tack. the basic idea is to have him move around prior to the start of our ride. Although some horses tend to stand and stare out from the arena, this isn't Max's problem and usually he'll shamble about, checking things out and grazing on whatever grass he can reach through the rails.
Once I've got my gear together, I'll then saddle Max. Once mounted, I walk him for about 10 minutes on the track, splitting the time between going in each direction. As part of the program, I'll also beging to wowrk in some leg-yields to keep him thinking and to loosen him up- nothing extreme.
Next, I'll kick him up into a posting trot, usually switching between walking and trotting every so often. At the trot, I'll also start doing some limgering up exercises for myself- usually swinging hips from side-to-side, doing 2-beat down/1-beat up posts and finally 1-beat down/2-beats up posts (these really give the calves a workout. If I'm in a real masochistic mood, I also post without stirrups.
Eventually I'll push Max into a forward trot and alternate this with a working trot and/or a sitting trot. Finally, I'll put him into a canter. Throughout out this process, I also try and do some transitions- typically walk/trot or trot/canter. Lately, I've also been working on some walk/canter transitions but I don't do a lot of these at one time.
Now I might not do all of the above all the time but I like to vary the movements and not simply do all one thing or the other- the big idea is to keep Max thinking a bit by demanding that he be alert to whatever I might call for. I also like transitions for this reason. Also, sometimes I'll also do a lot of leg-yielding (although I usually employe this as part of the warming up. To me, a lot of this is a much a mental thing as simply exercise. Finally, I also like to use collection with the trot and canter- I work to instill the idea in Max that there are multiple speed settings for all gaits and it's not just a matter of "go".
Also, there are nights where will do some cavalry work, either with or without the sword. This mostly consists of a lot of cantering and trotting while changing directions abruptly and incorporating turning on the haunches and the forehand. If things are really going well, I might even do some half-passes at the canter combined with spins. Finally, if I feel like a more sedate work-out, I'll do a lot of this at the walk/trot. Sometimes I also do shoulder-ins at the walk and trot. In short, I like to vary the program depending on Max's mood and my inclinations. :-)
My average workout time is for about an hour although when the days are longer, I tend to ride longer. The key here is quality more than quantity. Sure, racing around is fun but the more I do this, the more I like to have a goal in mind and direct things towards that.
I definitely look forward to longer days because sometimes it's difficult to tell if you're doing a manuever correctly. :-)
Lately, when I ride Max, I engage in a somewhat new "preflight prep" sequence because of his prior problems with his front legs. What I do is to first turn him out into the arena while I gather my saddle and tack. the basic idea is to have him move around prior to the start of our ride. Although some horses tend to stand and stare out from the arena, this isn't Max's problem and usually he'll shamble about, checking things out and grazing on whatever grass he can reach through the rails.
Once I've got my gear together, I'll then saddle Max. Once mounted, I walk him for about 10 minutes on the track, splitting the time between going in each direction. As part of the program, I'll also beging to wowrk in some leg-yields to keep him thinking and to loosen him up- nothing extreme.
Next, I'll kick him up into a posting trot, usually switching between walking and trotting every so often. At the trot, I'll also start doing some limgering up exercises for myself- usually swinging hips from side-to-side, doing 2-beat down/1-beat up posts and finally 1-beat down/2-beats up posts (these really give the calves a workout. If I'm in a real masochistic mood, I also post without stirrups.
Eventually I'll push Max into a forward trot and alternate this with a working trot and/or a sitting trot. Finally, I'll put him into a canter. Throughout out this process, I also try and do some transitions- typically walk/trot or trot/canter. Lately, I've also been working on some walk/canter transitions but I don't do a lot of these at one time.
Now I might not do all of the above all the time but I like to vary the movements and not simply do all one thing or the other- the big idea is to keep Max thinking a bit by demanding that he be alert to whatever I might call for. I also like transitions for this reason. Also, sometimes I'll also do a lot of leg-yielding (although I usually employe this as part of the warming up. To me, a lot of this is a much a mental thing as simply exercise. Finally, I also like to use collection with the trot and canter- I work to instill the idea in Max that there are multiple speed settings for all gaits and it's not just a matter of "go".
Also, there are nights where will do some cavalry work, either with or without the sword. This mostly consists of a lot of cantering and trotting while changing directions abruptly and incorporating turning on the haunches and the forehand. If things are really going well, I might even do some half-passes at the canter combined with spins. Finally, if I feel like a more sedate work-out, I'll do a lot of this at the walk/trot. Sometimes I also do shoulder-ins at the walk and trot. In short, I like to vary the program depending on Max's mood and my inclinations. :-)
My average workout time is for about an hour although when the days are longer, I tend to ride longer. The key here is quality more than quantity. Sure, racing around is fun but the more I do this, the more I like to have a goal in mind and direct things towards that.
I definitely look forward to longer days because sometimes it's difficult to tell if you're doing a manuever correctly. :-)
2 comments:
sounds like a good program. transitions are such a great way to prepare for the more advanced work, and the walk or halt to canter transition is one of the greatest indicators of your horse's balance and readiness for collection, imho :-) definitely not something to overdo, but once you've got that, you are well on your way!
We're doing pretty good but there are those days where we "hit" just right and those days where we're just out of synch. Probably most of this is due to rider error (i.e. me).
My trainer tells me that I've brought Max along more than just about any non-dressage breed horse- i.e. take a brand "x" horse and see how far you can go.
We're both learning at the same time. :-)
Some day, funds permitting, I'd like to get a horse that's a bit more breed-specific (i.e. warmblood/something like that). But for now, it's just about learning the moves and working with the horse you have to bring out the best.
And people around here think I'm some sort of "reining guy"... :-)
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