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Veteran
Posts: 211
Location: Florissant CO | After getting out of barrel racing for about the last 3 years due to finishing my BS degree, and working on my masters. I have decided to get back into the sport. I have a nice reining cow horse mare that I think will be perfect. But I live on the back side of Pikes Peak and I do not have an arena, I do have the means to make it to an arena about once a week, but I know I need to ride her more then that. I do have lots and lots of dirt roads and cul de sacs. What exercises can you all recommend? I have been working on her arch and counter arch.
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
  
Location: 31 lengths farms | Long trot the dirt roads, not sure what the back of Pikes Peak looks like but if it isn't too rocky I'd do some hills on him too. I'm limited in space to ride also unless I haul to ride or I have to ride down the creek which isn't the best for a horse with thin soles, made getting ready for Pendleton "interesting but we got it done. You might get some Old Mac's or something to make the long trotting down the roads easier on him too. I had to get pretty creative with using the space I did have. Fiance worked up a patch for me in the middle of the pasture as well as a trotting track around the pasture. We'd lope X number of circles in the dirt patch, then trot around the track a few times, out the gate up the driveway (our hill), walk back down and repeat the other direction. |
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 Horsey Gene Carrier
Posts: 1888
Location: LaBelle, Florida | I have the same problem. I can only ride in my pasture or trailer out as the area I was riding in has now been fenced.
I work on the basics....lots of slow work perfecting things at a walk and trot.
Now that rainy season is here, I most likely won't even be able to do more than a trot in my pasture as it will soon look like a lake. |
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | Use bushes, trees, rocks , whatever natural obstacle you have to practice flexing, shaping up for a turn, turning, etc. transitions are very important, so practice using correct body position to communicate upward & downward transitions. If you have about 40 ft of at least sort of flat ground you can set up drill patterns with cones. It's do-able! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 742
| No advice but what is that in your avatar? I'm pretty sure its a horse head, right?  Just curious.  |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | kramerica - 2015-07-25 11:38 AM
No advice but what is that in your avatar? I'm pretty sure its a horse head, right? Just curious.
Yeah. I think it's the one from The Godfather..
I've been on the back-side of that mountain. Nice area!!!
Edited by komet. 2015-07-25 2:58 PM
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I would love to have dirt roads. I do circles around mail boxes if it permits. I side pass from one side of the road to the other. I speed up slow down speed up slow down ask to move off the leg doing serpentines. |
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Veteran
Posts: 211
Location: Florissant CO | komet. - 2015-07-25 1:13 PM
kramerica - 2015-07-25 11:38 AM
No advice but what is that in your avatar? I'm pretty sure its a horse head, right? Just curious.
Yeah. I think it's the one from The Godfather..
I've been on the back-side of that mountain. Nice area!!!
Its a multi media piece by an artist Jo Taylor.
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Veteran
Posts: 211
Location: Florissant CO | Thank you all for the advice. |
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | If you have any relatively flat space that's not too Rocky and around 40' you can lope circles on that. I have a round pen but spend most of the time loping circles in relatively flat spots in the pasture. One advantage of loping out like that is that they learn to get consistent on inconsistent ground, they learn where to put their feet. Too, they'll lope a better circle usually in the pen but when we get out in the pasture they don't lope a circle as well and I can see what I need to work on.
You can also work on things like rate and speed control, collection when you're out riding on trails. You can use trees, rocks or just a wide place in the trail to do circles. Sometimes having a drop off on one side tends to make you turn a little better, lol!
Edited by Fairweather 2015-07-26 10:24 AM
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