Spice up your schooling

If you think schooling your pony’s a snore, then we’ve got just the inspiration you need! Take a look at our five things to try and top tips that will guarantee you a fun flatwork sesh!

1. Play with poles

Incorporating polework into your session is a sure-fire way to spice things up a bit! You could go for a super simple layout or something a bit more jazzy that’ll challenge your skills over a few sessions – there’s loads of inspo online!

Why not try…

• Setting out four trot poles at a distance suitable for your pony’s normal stride length
• Riding over the poles on both reins, thinking about your rhythm, straightness and balance
• Pushing the poles apart slightly (10–20cm, depending on your pony’s experience) to encourage him to lengthen his stride – remember to sit up tall and rise higher, allow with your rein a little to let your pony stretch his neck and press with your leg to maintain the rhythm

TOP TIP

Trotting aimlessly in circles is pretty boring for both you and your pony, so pick a focus for your session to make it productive, too!

2. Ride a dressage test

Whether or not you have a competition coming up, choosing a dressage test and riding through it will give you purpose and direction for your flatwork session. Learning the pattern of movements and working on them step by step means you can polish the areas that need improving and, importantly, relish in the success that your riding skills are ace! Even if dressage isn’t your thing, give it a go because you never know what might happen – maybe you’re destined to be a dressage diva but you just don’t know it yet!

TOP TIP

Search online for dressage tests or ask your instructor if they have any sheets you can use.

3. Flatwork with friends

Plan a time to ride with your yard bestie and once you’ve warmed up your own pony, swap over and ride each others for the rest of your session! Not only will you learn loads about how to get the most out of different ponies, but seeing someone else ride your pony will give you the chance to check out his way of going and look for areas that might need improvement – perfect!

4. Learn a new move

Teaching your pony some funky lateral moves, such as turn-on-the-forehand or leg-yield, will improve his strength and suppleness and make him – and you – look super-cool! So, whether you’re aspiring to move up a level in dressage or just enjoy developing his skillset, why not teach him something new?

Here are some leg-yield tips to get you started…

• Begin in walk on the three-quarter line then prepare to leg-yield towards the track by asking for a little bit of flexion with your inside rein and pressing with your inside leg slightly behind the girth to move his body over
• Support the shoulder from falling towards the track by lifting your outside hand a little higher and pressing with your outside leg on the girth
• If your pony has too much bend, he will lose the straightness so relax your inside hand slightly to straighten him up again
• Don’t ask for too much too soon – a few steps to start with is absolutely fine! Be sure to praise him as soon as he does as you ask, too!

TOP TIP

When learning new moves or refining your skills, use objects to help you stay accurate. For example, place four blocks on a circle or set out channels of poles for serpentines.

5. Do your homework

Want to really impress your instructor? Why not work on some of the elements and exercises that you worked on in your last lesson? Maybe you could even do some extra research by watching videos beforehand, and then practise them in advance!