POLE WORK

Pole work is an important part of training a horse. The horse has to work a little harder, lifting his legs a little higher, therefore increasing the flexibility and strength of his muscles. Horses which are worked over poles with a lowered neck position and therefore arching their backs is a good suppling exercise, especially when done on a circle line including bend.

I generally concentrate on pole work in canter to improve the obedience of the horse between fences. However, I do carry out some pole work in trot, especially with young horses, to improve their balance and strength. Occasionally having 3-4 poles placed on a straight line or on a circle line around the arena, and going over them intermittently during the training session is a plus for any horse, both physically and mentally. Poles make the horse think a little bit more, he has to work things out, and balance himself. The trotting poles should be placed 1.30m to 1.50m apart. It is very important in all pole work to have someone helping on the ground who can place the poles at the correct distances or adjust the distances when necessary according to the horse's stride. Please note that a young horse which has never trotted over poles should be first introduced to a single pole in walk and then in trot.

Pole work is also an important exercise for jumping riders, especially for young riders learning to jump. The exercises should be done in a normal dressage seat (upper body slightly forwards) and in the proper forwards jumping seat with shortened stirrups. The rider must learn to keep in balance with his horse, always being careful to "give" with his hands so that the horse can use his neck to balance himself.

In canter I use four poles on a 20m circle, one on each tangent of the circle. The rider has to ride a perfect circle incorporating each pole into it, riding always over the middle of each pole. The same correct number of strides has to ridden between each pole. If the canter is not controlled or collected enough, the rider has to do a smaller circle inside the 20m circle of 4 poles in order to help collect the canter a little more. Then he can go out to the 20m circle and try the poles again. This is also an excellent exercise for a rider who does not turn correctly. He must learn to turn the horse's shoulders with two reins, never using too much inside rein or pulling back on that rein (a usual fault,,,) and increasing the pressure with his outside leg. Later, the circle line can be adjusted slightly, either smaller or bigger, going over the inner side or outer side of the pole, to decrease or increase the number of canter strides by one stride. See video to watch Sandra Piwowarczyk-Baluk and Starfighter riding the 5 strides and 4 strides on the circle in perfect style!

I also use 3-4 canter poles, placed on an arc (approx 2.50m distance in between each pole), which improves the horse's suppleness as the horse has to keep turning and bending his body as he canters over the poles. Here, again it is a good exercise for the rider, especially if he does not turn correctly. The rider must canter over the middle of each pole, including the last one!

On straight lines, I work with two poles with a distance of 6 canter strides in between. Horses who tend to get excited and rush their fences usually benefit from this exercise and become more obedient. First the rider has to ride the normal 6 strides between the poles. Then he uses a 10m circle to collect the canter a little, and rides 7 strides between the poles. If the horse is behaving well then he can try opening the stride and riding 5 strides between the poles and afterwards return to collecting the canter and riding again the 7 strides in between. Basically this is all done to help the horse to listen more to the rider and to "wait" for the rider. Later these exercises can be carried out over cavaletti. I have always found that any excitable horse who is worked 15 minutes over poles and cavaletti before actual jumping practice behaves far more obediently than if this is not carried out.