Learning to loosen up

When it comes to getting the best out of your horse, tension is your number one enemy. From hacking to test riding, where there’s tension, there’s often reduced progress due to a lack of synergy between mind and body. We alleviate a horse’s mental stress through patience, training and positive associations, but tension can be held through physical stiffness or weakness. Fortunately, there are plenty of exercises that can help him loosen up and release through his body.

Identifying which type of tension you’re dealing with is the first step, but step two is having the tools in your toolkit to diffuse the situation. The following exercises are for when your horse is feeling particularly tense and unfocused, but they also target suppleness and relaxation through the body, too.

Good intentions

Most riders start their session in walk on a loose rein in straight lines. While this might seem good for a tense horse, it could be the worst thing to do. If he’s holding tension in his body, whether through nerves, spooking or general stiffness, harness and maintain his energy in a productive way. Instead of increasing the tempo and thereby losing any longitudinal suppleness, change the question by asking your horse to go anywhere other than straight ahead – for example, through lateral work.

Be intentional during your warm-up by asking for shoulder-in or travers down the long side, rather than simply walking straight. Increase your use of shapes – various-sized circles, squares, spirals and serpentines – and don’t be afraid to introduce lateral work early on.

Doing this will all help to focus your horse’s mind and loosen his body far more effectively than allowing him too much time to think on a long rein while going large around the arena.

Did you know?

With a more established horse, starting your working session in canter can help loosen him up and improve the other paces.

Exercise 1:

Sequence of events

This exercise allows you to check you have full control over every part of your horse’s body. Including each move in a sequence helps focus your attention on where you’re going and on setting him up properly for the next task. You’ll need to be quick thinking and accurate, while your horse must be tuned in and listening to you.

How to ride it

1. Start in working canter on a 20m circle on the short side of the arena. Check you have a regular rhythm, the ability to half halt and can add some bounce to the canter.
2. Ask for travers on the circle. Imagine keeping the head, neck and shoulders on the circle and bring the quarters slightly to the inside. Use your inside leg to keep the bend through the ribcage while placing your outside leg behind the girth to move the hindquarters over.
3. After you’ve ridden a complete 20m circle, break off at the three-quarter line and head up the arena.
4. On the three-quarter line, ask your horse to leg-yield back to the track before seamlessly transitioning into shoulder-in for the remainder of the long side. When you arrive at the next short side, return to a 20m circle and repeat the sequence.

Discover more of Gareth’s tips for reducing tension in your horse in April Horse&Rider – out now!