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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
    
Location: Georgia |
I'm looking for some good exercises to keep my horses in shape that extends past just loping circles and working the barrel pattern. Just trying to keep things fresh for them and for me lol.
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | i long trot mine up and down hills............i dont work a lot of circles and do any barrel work at home (probably why it takes me 10 years to get one running..lol)...........and i pole bend around trees........lol
sometimes its the simplest things that work...imo
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | I put mine to work as ranch horses. Lol.
Also, on trails and outside - use trees and bushes and what not to work on leg yields, work on turns - make up pretend patterns with them and then see how sharp you can do them.
When out moving cows or whatever the job is, I always will weave through trees or around bushes, asking for sharp two-tracking and softness. Or just playing I will say: stop at the iris plant and haunch turn left, lope off to the cedar tree, circle left at the cedar, stop, lope right circle, stop, back five steps, forehand turn right 180, trot back to iris bush, stop.
Just be creative and fun, but still expect sharp, willing movements (whatever they may be). |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
Location: London Ontario | I ride with my MIL who rides and trains Dressage very competitively. I highly suggest you take a few lessons with a dressage trainer, doesn't have to be in an English saddle, it just keeps you and your horse fresh with new exercises/drills. I also do lots of horsemanship patterns (start at cone a, walk to cone b, posting trot in right diagonal to and around C, back at C change diagonal to left and do a half circle to right, half way on circle lope right lead, when back at C flying(or simple) change to left lead, lope to D, stop back up 5 step, 180 turn on haunch's to left and exit at sitting jog...etc.) Google horsemanship patterns and you can go on for dayyyyys.
I also do rides with no stirrups.
Try team penning, drag logs, etc etc. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I have an obstacle course set up on a sloped area with cones, poles, barrels, and cavaletti. I can incorporate every movement I need to work on into this. One of my favorite areas is 4 cones set into a large square with a barrel in the middle. I can do circles or squares around the outside, circles around the inside (which sets a perfect pocket area around the barrel), turn the cones, turn the barrel, weave the cones in a circle without changing leads, roll back the other way, do shoulder out circles, do a lead change and circle back around the other direction. It helps me a lot to have a visual and I think the horses understand it better too. |
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 Certified Snake Wrangler
Posts: 1672
Location: North MS | I'm hearing good ideas- and here I thought I had a light bulb moment with my "need more rate" horse the other day. I walked around the arena and stopped using seat then reins, then trot to a walk and lope to a trot etc. After he got the gist of it more I would do the trot to a walk rate and ask for a barrel turn around my imaginary barrel on the edge of the arena. Then the lope to a trot version of it. I had hauled to an arena when I had this epiphany. At a clinic I was advised to shut him down when I wanted to rate and all it really did was make him brace, throw his head up and bounce me up in the air. Something had to give so I decided we need a LOT of this new rate exercise I came up with which would get me out of his mouth and HIM listening more. I practiced it bareback around my roundpen today at a walk and he was paying more attention than I expected him to (In the round pen because I was actually going to trim his hooves and then I just felt like hopping on).
On the trail ride side of things- I usually just exercise mine around a field behind my house but they planted to the very extreme edge and I can't make room. So I traveled across the road to another field and found some trails/hunting lanes they had recently mowed and I made use of them last week. A bit muddy but I only want somewhere to stretch their legs, build wind, and free the mind a bit. We just ride and listen to the workout program on my equitrack app where I pick the "light" workout and it tells me to walk, lope, trot after certain time periods. Handy- even gives you the # of calories you and your horses burn.
Edited by bluerose2001 2014-06-05 1:58 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| If my horses are finished competitive barrel horses, then all they get is exercised in wide open spaces. No circles, NO PATTERN what so ever unless there is a problem. I rope on them also, gather cattle, etc. But the best way to keep them fresh in my opinion is to reward them for learning what you taught them on the pattern by NOT picking on them and making them do it over and over. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | bluerose2001 - 2014-06-05 12:54 AM I'm hearing good ideas- and here I thought I had a light bulb moment with my "need more rate" horse the other day. I walked around the arena and stopped using seat then rains, then trot to a walk and lope to a trot etc. After he got the gist of it more I would do the trot to a walk rate and ask for a barrel turn around my imaginary barrel on the edge of the arena. Then the lope to a trot version of it. I had hauled to an arena when I had this epiphany. At a clinic I was advised to shut him down when I wanted to rate and all it really did was make him brace, throw his head up and bounce me up in the air. Something had to give so I decided we need a LOT of this new rate exercise I came up with which would get me out of his mouth and HIM listening more. I practiced it bareback around my roundpen today at a walk and he was paying more attention than I expected him to (In the round pen because I was actually going to trim his hooves and then I just felt like hopping on).
On the trail ride side of things- I usually just exercise mine around a field behind my house but they planted to the very extreme edge and I can't make room. So I traveled across the road to another field and found some trails/hunting lanes they had recently mowed and I made use of them last week. A bit muddy but I only want somewhere to stretch their legs, build wind, and free the mind a bit. We just ride and listen to the workout program on my equitrack app where I pick the "light" workout and it tells me to walk, lope, trot after certain time periods. Handy- even gives you the # of calories you and your horses burn.
The "gearing down" is a half-halt and that's how I teach mine to rate a barrel and do lead changes. It's a good movement for re-focusing as well. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| I worked for a dressage trainer through college and it helped me so much! I became a better rider and it gave me a ton of things to work on with my horses that will pay off on the barrel pattern but not bore them to death. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 754
Location: Arkansas | My barrel horse is a head horse during the week (and occasionally on the weekends). I also like to ride bareback just loping big circles, figure 8's etc once a week or so to keep myself sharp. |
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | FLITASTIC - 2014-06-05 8:42 AM If my horses are finished competitive barrel horses, then all they get is exercised in wide open spaces. No circles, NO PATTERN what so ever unless there is a problem. I rope on them also, gather cattle, etc. But the best way to keep them fresh in my opinion is to reward them for learning what you taught them on the pattern by NOT picking on them and making them do it over and over.
This. My arena has weeds growing most of the time because I never use it. I have miles of wide open spaces riding through fields. I'm really not sure why I have an arena except for the fact its nice to have an enclosed area with a soft landing if I'm riding one of "those" kind of horses. |
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Certified Snake Wrangler
Posts: 1672
Location: North MS | I've read about half halts in a badly worded dressage book apparently so I never made the connection. I read the paragraph over and over again. Now that I described it and you named it- ding another light bulb. Thanks! Now I can practice that on the trail too with the other horse just as a quiet reminder. |
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