The power of polework

Part one: A change of pace

Check your accuracy, improve your horse’s way of going and have fun in the saddle with polework expert Nina Gill

It’s no secret that polework is beneficial for horse and rider, both physically and mentally, but the focus of every polework session doesn’t need to be solely on improving your skills. Poles should bring with them an element of fun for you and your horse, too. So, why not try my supersize layout that will help you feel the power of polework and enjoy your time with your four-legged friend?

Set it up

For this layout, you’ll need 22 poles, ideally standard 3m ones. Start by creating two triangles in the middle of your arena so the points that touch lie over X. Place two poles parallel to the long sides 3m away from X on each side. At the base of one triangle, position four raised walk poles (0.8–1m), and then three trot poles (1.2–1.5m) perpendicular to the walk poles. At the other end, create a channel with two poles on the second and fourth stripes on five-band coloured poles. Add two more poles at a slight angle the same distance apart and, finally, create a triangle at the top.

TOP TIP

Don’t worry if you don’t have enough poles to create the entire layout. You could divide it up into three sections and try the lines one at a time over several sessions.

TOP TIP

Try to get into a habit of riding through each new line in walk first, no matter how many poles are involved or how simple the line is. Doing this will give your horse the chance to understand where he’s going and for you to build his confidence. Plus, walking over poles is much more beneficial for horses physically compared with trotting or cantering.

Line 1: Raise the bar

The first line to tackle is the set of four raised walk poles, which is brilliant for improving your horse’s co-ordination and helping produce more lift. Be sure to ride through in both directions and don’t forget to approach from both reins too.

Nina’s notes

Raised walk poles are my favourite – they give your horse a total body workout and, due to the fact walk is a four-beat gait, he has to think extra hard about where each leg goes and how high to lift them simultaneously. As you can see in the image above, Gremlin is starting to lift his left foreleg over the third pole as his right hindleg goes over the first pole – that certainly requires lots of brain power from him!

As for his physical agility, your horse has to stretch his head down and engage his core as he lifts each leg to stop his whole body rocking from side to side. If you feel your horse wobbling over raised walk poles, try relaxing your rein contact slightly and use your legs to channel him straight.

Find out more ways to spice up your schooling sessions, as well as improving your horse’s overall performance with polework in June Horse&Rider – on sale now!