Mary Allen
Now is the best time to do something with your horse. The days are long enough and it’s getting warmer. But what can you actually do? Here are a few ideas on how to add variety to your workout.
Change of Place
You probably have a riding arena or hall available at your stables. There you can train with your horse and maybe even get riding lessons. So that your horse can also get to know other places, just change the place: Ask at a neighboring stable whether you can come to lessons there or if you can go to the riding facility for a fee. Not only do you collect new impressions, but also your horse. If you also want to go to tournaments, this is particularly important. Your horse gets used to changing places, new noises, and a strange environment. It is also sometimes helpful if another riding instructor gives you a few new or additional tips. Of course, you can also book a weekend course with another trainer and spend a whole weekend in someone else’s facility to gain experience.
New Surroundings
It is at least as nice to explore unfamiliar terrain! Perhaps you can arrange to meet up with riding friends to go to another area, or you have friends at another stable who will take you on a ride into their area. Since they already know their way around there, they can show you their most beautiful paths straight away. It goes without saying that you agree beforehand on what and how fast you want to ride. The weakest rider and the most inexperienced horse naturally determine the speed!
You can of course also look for organized rides. Associations such as the Freizeitreiterverband VfD (Association of Leisure Riders and Drivers in Germany) offer organized rides for members and non-members, but there are also farms that offer professionally guided rides for guests.
Variety
You can not only be active on the horse: There are also great courses on the subject of floor work or circus lessons, where you not only meet like-minded people but also have a lot of fun with the horse. You are sure to find a course near you on the Internet. Groundwork is a good way to refine the communication between you and your horse. Circus lessons are also suitable for this – they are also fun if you don’t want to perform with your horse. In addition, a lot of health-preserving gymnastics can be incorporated into the courses: Side passages on the hand, for example, are used for gymnastics and thus also help with work under the saddle. The Spanish step moves the forehand and shoulder. The often tense shoulder muscles become more flexible again. Exercises like this make your horse more agile and often more motivated. And even if you don’t necessarily need a horse, which can roll out a carpet – this exercise is fun!
Skill
A specialty among the groundwork courses is trail courses or terrain obstacles. Both of course also refine communication, but they also train your horse’s calmness and dexterity. A horse that goes under a fluttering curtain is of course much more relaxed when it comes across a barrier tape or a freshly erected maypole on the next ride. And one that has overcome wooden bridges and tree trunks on a natural trail can hardly be disturbed by any obstacle in the terrain! It then climbs over transverse tree trunks without any problems. Such activities promote trust and calm, but also the dexterity and coordination of your horse. And of course, they’re also fun!