Switched on

An event horse has got to have his wits about him. Come competition day, there’s so much going on that he needs to be capable of digesting his surroundings while simultaneously focusing on the task at hand. That’s why I aim to get my horses accustomed to schooling in busy environments at home. However, it’s not just eventers who’d benefit from a bit of ‘organised chaos’ and this month’s exercise is an example of just that. As you’ll see from the photos, I’ve weaved it into one of my old faithful gridwork exercises – I’ll tell you more about that one next month. But for now, let’s get started on this simple but effective pole-based challenge.

Set it up

Based on a four-loop serpentine, set up your choice of poles around the points where they cross the centre line…

• A set of four trot poles, at a distance of 1.5m.
• A set of three canter poles, at a distance of 3m.
• A pair or two of tram rails, with a width of 1.5–2m between them.

I’ve used one each of the above options, but to introduce this exercise, I’d choose two sets of trot poles and a pair of tram rails. Canter poles will drastically heighten the difficulty of this layout. You’ll start by riding the different components separately, incorporating them into circles and lines throughout your sessions. Then, once you’re confident riding over each part separately, you can start building towards riding over them all in one as a serpentine.

Short on space?

While I’ve based this polework exercise on a four-loop serpentine, if you’ve only got space for a three-loop serpentine, you could pick two of the three elements to work over in your schooling session.

Short on poles?

While I’d recommend using the number of poles above, if you’ve only got a handful, just alter the layout to your advantage. For example, you could use just three trot poles instead of four, or include two sets of tram rails and just one set of trot poles.

Short on time?

It’ll depend on your yard’s rules, but the great thing I find about this exercise is that any horse can benefit from the lessons it teaches. Why not see if you could leave the layout out in the arena for a day – or a couple of days – for the rest of your yard to try? That way, you could lay it out and someone else might be able to put it away later on.

For more of Laura’s top tips for channelling your horse’s energy in the right direction, grab a copy of October Horse&Rider – on sale now!