Mounted Relaxation and Suppleness exercise examples

In riding and ground training, the best exercises allow for minimal interference from the rider and allow the horse to fully understand, participate offer his interpretation of what you have requested. You then can fine tune the pattern as the horse understands and raise the level of difficulty when it is appropriate. This would be when the horse is pretty consistent and relaxed in the exercise. You can then add the next element of difficulty which could be speed (change of gait), smaller circles, more impulsion etc.

Here are a couple of basic super simple Rhythm, relaxation and suppling patterns to try:

1. A simple Circle of 20 meters (aprox 65 ft): A circle ridden in a reasonably correct shape will naturally encourage the horse to settle into a relaxed, Balanced, and Rhythmic gait. For faster horses trying going 1-5 meters smaller. For less energetic horses, work with a large circle to encourage forwardness (energy). Change directions once you start to feel some consistency or if you have a greener horse who is taking a longer time.

2. When the above exercise is easy, you can add 6 strides straight ahead then circle, then 6 strides straight ahead, then circle and repeat until the whole pattern is as consistent as possible on the horses easy side first. Now go to the harder direction. Again here if you have a forward going horse you can reduce the circle 1-5 meters, And keep it nice and larger for the lower energy guys and even increase the number of straight ahead strides to 8-12. You can also keep switching directions back and forth.

As always, I would like to hear feedback on what you discovered with these exercises, any problems or successes in the comments section.

Training Scale Continued: Relaxation and Suppleness

Working on Suppling in hand...

Sorry I haven't posted in some time, but in case you didn't know I was in St. Vincents doing an amazing Clinic with Stina Herberg. It's on my other Blog if you want to see the highlights.

So I'm sticking to this thought on the Training scale series because I meant to finish it a long time ago so here is the second stage of the Training Scale which varies in interpretation by various schools. It is essentially the same concept though no matter the small differences.

Relaxation and Suppleness are the next step in the scale and some Scales or Pyramids do not include relaxation or it is a foregone assumption that the relaxation is there. I like to include it because it is essential to have relaxation in order to have true Suppleness and Throughness. A horse can be manually suppled by sawing, pulling and kicking but I doubt he will be relaxed! That is forced suppling and we can hardly even call it suppling at that. It is more like jamming the horse into a position.

I like to think about Suppling like a Yoga exercise for a horse. If you go to a Yoga class the instructor does not say to a beginner "ok put your feet behind your ears" on the first day of class. You start with very gentle and basic moves that gradually build strength and flexibility until one day you can do more advanced stretches or poses.

Suppling should be the same with a horse. We have to take into account the age, conformation, fitness level, training level, one sidedness and mind of the horse to gradually improve suppleness. I generally start my Training Scale exercises at Liberty because I want the horse to show me what is comfortable and natural to him without a rider, line, side reins, or head restriction. I can then see how to proceed with specific exercises at Liberty, on line, in hand, and or under saddle. I will choose exercises that will target weaknesses but work within what the horse offers at Liberty.

I can work with all stages of the Training scale (Rhythm, Relaxation, Suppleness, Contact, Straightness, Collection) at Liberty which is a gentle, fun and creative way to learn and work with it and your horse.

Getting back to the mind of the horse being relaxed as well as the body. Say you have a very high strung nervous horse, It would be a priority to relax this horse mentally if you were to have any hope of relaxing and suppling his body. Rhythm and balance exercises are a good place to work on Relaxation and open the door to the horse being able to accept suppling exercises.

I will have some video in the coming weeks showing some examples of me working on the Training Scale and  at Liberty, On line, and under saddle. For this weeks exercise to try, I want you to turn your horse loose in the ring, round pen, or small paddock and work on Rhythm, Relaxation, and Natural Suppleness. Meaning what your horses' baseline is when moving unencumbered or manipulated. It doesn't matter if he goes in a circle or large in the arena. Notice if he prefers one direction or the other, Notice if his natural rhythm is slow, fast or perfect (if he is fresh, wait until he settles in his gaits to evaluate), Once you have established a relaxed, walk, and trot Rhythm, you can try a canter (again don't worry about freshness, just let them play and settle in when they're ready). Notice if your horse travels looking out the circle and how they end up when you are near the end of your session. Does their topline soften? Do they stretch long and low naturally better in one direction once they have relaxed? Do they stay inverted and braced the whole time? Make mental notes and remember them.

As always I'd like to hear your experiences in the comments area. I'll post some patterns and exercises in the coming weeks.

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