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Ground pole exercise

How to control the speed and stay in harmony with the horse’s locomotion

Droits d'accès: 
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This comprehensive exercise is excellent to encourage the riders to be disciplined in their position and their capability to follow a precise path, to anticipate their actions, to maintain the movement forward and control the speed.

Niveau de difficulté: 
Intermédiaire
Goal: 

This comprehensive exercise is excellent to get riders to be disciplined in their position, their track and to plan ahead of time while following the forward movement yet controlling the speed.  This last point will be the main goal of this first step of the exercise. The ability of the rider to control the speed of the horse while following the horse’s motion is crucial to be successful in most disciplines (jumping course, dressage test…). The main mistake we see, is when riders ask for a transition but then, freeze their request which results in horses who can’t understand them and become defensive:  Getting above the bit, speeding up, refusing, bursting forward, bucking…

The goal of this session is to gain good reflexes resulting in smooth transitions in harmony with the cadence of the horse for each gait.

This exercise is linked to the sheet CA3 of the booklet Training program 1

Progress: 

Michel teaches Sélène who rides Surf de la Cense. The exercise starts with slower gaits to introduce the path to the rider and horse. The idea is to get the rider accustomed to the track and the flow of the movement at a walk and a trot. The set-up with ground poles marks the path with precision.
To follow Michel’s instructions, Selene doesn’t have a choice but to plan mentally and physically each part of the track ahead of time. She needs to stay mentally active while planning for the next move.
After practising a couple of times at a slower gait, Selene practises at a trot and a canter. Michel adjusts the set-up to favour the correct cadence at each gait.
To Michel, Selene’s work is excellent and should be a reference for any rider. The slow motion sequences of the video are very useful to the viewers to get the correct feel for it.

Cours associés

Test your connexion with your horse

Droits d'accès: 
Abonné
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Résumé listing: 

This exercise is comprehensive and technical, which is among Michel’s favourite exercises.  It teaches the riders to be very meticulous in their position, the track they are on and the control of the speed.  It is a perfect exercise to practise the basics prior to a jumping session.  The goal is to program the horse and rider before jumping.

Niveau de difficulté: 
Intermédiaire
Goal: 

This exercise is comprehensive and technical, which is among Michel’s favourite exercises.  It teaches the riders to be very meticulous in their position, the track they are on and the control of the speed.  It is a perfect exercise to practise the basics prior to a jumping session.  The goal is to program the horse and rider before jumping.

The set-up which consists of two ground flexi Jump poles, is really easy to realise and shows no risk for the riders and horses. That said, it will require a lots of focus and some preparation from the rider.  He/ she will have to comply with the requirements of a course, practising the flexions to the right and left, the approaches and landings, a certain number of strides between poles, the straightness, some flying change of leads, increasing and decreasing the speed….all that while keeping a light seat, to offer the freedom of movement to the horse. Quite a program.

This exercise is shown on the sheet G7 of the Training program 1

Progress: 

For this session, Michel teaches Charlotte and her mare Rasbury. She starts the exercise at a trot. For less experienced horses and riders, it would be better to start at a walk two or three times. It will allow them to get a feel for the pattern and the requirements of the exercises in a quiet way.
Charlotte will have to resolve some difficulties such as keeping her mare straight between the poles and changing the lead in a spot more suitable for the rest of the course. Little by little she gets better at it, thanks to Michel’s advice.

Don’t hesitate to practise this exercise. It is an excellent way to test the connection with your horse and the quality of your work before going to jump.

Cours associés

Rider's position and rider's influence fineness

Droits d'accès: 
Abonné
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How to obtain more fineness in the rider's aids and improve the horse’s level of understanding.

Time: 20 mn

Niveau de difficulté: 
Intermédiaire
Goal: 

In this session, Michel teaches Pierre who is riding Quatmandou, a 9 year old gelding.   
Pierre is in control of his horse, but he has a tendency to overly constraint his horse with his legs and hands. The goal of this session is to obtain lighter aids from the rider in a manner as to let Quatmandou move with more freedom. In the end, Pierre will gain in efficiency by letting his horse express his full potential.

 

Progress: 

Michel makes Pierre and Quatmandou work on some ground poles placed in a circle.  As already discussed, working over ground poles is an excellent way to verify if the parameters of speed, track, and balance can be maintained.

 

At first, Michel explains Pierre how to get his horse to stretch down his neck with a minimum of influence. Little by little Quatmandou starts to trust the rider’s hand, and is seeking for the connection. This movement of stretching the whole horse’s muscle mass and his joints is an essential step toward the collection.
 

During the exercise, we noticed that Quatmandou wanders off the circle. Michel offers a very efficient solution by only working on Pierre’s position.

 
The session continues by going over a ground pole at a canter. The priority is to maintain a given speed and a precise path. Nonetheless, Pierre has to work on his position in order to follow the jump whatever the stride and spot.

Michel explains Pierre how to set his mind to better anticipate his actions and to follow the priorities given for the exercise.

Lesson: 

To remember:

. The rider has to act as little as possible and needs to alternate requests and releases.

.  Successful rider’s influence starts with a positive mind set image:  a successful canter depart, a successful turn, a perfect jump…
 

Cours associés

Improving the horse’s length of stride

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Abonné
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Being able to shorten or lengthen the horse’s stride while on course is valuable, especially on lines when the distance varies between fences. In this video, Michel is teaching an exercise that will help develop the hind legs propulsive force enabling the horse to gain some strength and height above fences.

Niveau de difficulté: 
Intermédiaire
Goal: 

Michel offers an exercise aiming at developing Alice’s horse different length of strides. The latter must be able to lengthen his stride calmly while maintaining a steady speed before, above and after the exercise’s set-up.

This ability to shorten or lengthen the horse’s stride is important especially on lines that require adapting the distance between two fences. It’s also an efficient way of developing the hind legs pushing power enabling the horse to gain some strength and height above fences.

Progress: 

Alice’s horse has kind of a short back and he’s always rushing. Michel sets-up some trotting poles then some cantering ground poles. The goal is to increase Pharaon’s length of strides by modifying the set-up as the exercise progresses. As for Alice, she needs to adjust to her horse’s behaviour and never interfere with her horse’s stride while channeling his excess of energy. Michel teaches her how to improve her control over the horse using her aids in a better way. In the meantime, the rider has to stay perfectly serene in her mind and body in order to let her horse’s movements go through without fueling his excitement.  The exercise has to be performed with a minimum of physical constraints for the horse so they’re basing the work on Pharaon strong abilities and easing in his weakness.

Lesson: 

To remember:

. It’s possible to lengthen or shorten a horse’s stride while maintaining the same given speed.

.While practicing the exercise,  move your hips forward to avoid jabbing the saddle and crushing the horse’s back.

. Use your outside rein by driving back your elbow to slow down the horse. The inside rein maintains the flexion but should not be used to slow down the horse.

Cours associés