MARCH/APRIL 2010 THE RIDER /15
Natural Horsemanship & Body Control Foundation Reining Training
• Groundwork exercises - first part of session (15mins+/-). See article above. • Warm up flexing exercises - middle part of session (15mins+/-)
groundwork & warm up exercises than the previous 2 weeks. The horse should be able to start riding now unless they are still out of shape. The groundwork exercises will decrease slightly once the horse is able to handle the exercise& skill and as the riding part of the work out increases since the horse will be in shape for it.
• Body Control Longeing exercises - middle part
(15mins+/-)
Conditioning Time Frames & Exer- cises & Winter
Last month I discussed the goal of conditioning, some factors to con- sider especially in winter, & the 4 stages of conditioning: legging up or
LSD, specificity training or intro- ducing the maneuvers, progressive loading or refining the maneuvers & maintaining the condition such as cattle work.
Stage 1 – Legging Up is what I will talk about for the purposes of time estimates and exercises to use in this article since that is what was asked for last month - Conditioning on the roads in the wintertime with no arena.
Framing the Time Estimates & Exercises – Riding Session Format
When we’re talking about time estimates and exercises to use for legging up, we need to do so within the context of a riding session. So I want to briefly mention the riding session format that I use. I use this riding session format - groundwork, mounted warm up (flexing etc..), work out, & cool down (& ending on a good note) in all my riding. As you develop your
own custom riding session to suit
your needs, we need to keep in mind that a riding session needs to give the horse time to warm up their mus- cles, remove stiffness & resistance, have a work out to also increase knowledge, skill & confidence and then time to cool the muscles, have sufficient recovery time and have an enjoyable end. Not to mention pre- venting any injuries due to over strain. After all... that's why we're conditioning. It also keeps the horse wanting & enjoying to be ridden. And us too! (That’s something that I always strive for in my training & coaching.)
If you’re interested in more, please read my arti- cle:
www.reinersuehorsemanship.com/2010/01/rid- ing-sessions-winter-conditioning.html.
Length of the Riding Session
The length of the session is based on monitoring the horse's energy level (horse health check) and stopping before the horse gets too over tired and learns to resent a training/riding session; which is the mental component of riding. Each part of the session is lengthened as the horse gets in shape. There is always groundwork, warm up & cool down; no mat- ter the length of the work out.
1st Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena
Emphasis this month: ground work & warm up. Longeing & riding will be light in the last 2 weeks. The horse may not be able to do a full session the first couple of weeks depending on their factors. 1st & 2nd Week: We're working up to an enjoyable 1hr+ session of leisure walking on a flat surface. • Groundwork Exercises - half, most or all of session (1hr+/-) -Flexing, round pen work, longeing. Please see my article:
www.reinersuehorsemanship.com/2009/01/ground- work-paradigm-shift-in-training.html for exercises.
• Warm up flexing exercises - introduce in
middle part of session (15mins+/-) Please see article:
www.reinersuehorsemanship.com/2009/01/warm-up- check-for-resistance.html for exercises and more information.
• Body Control Longeing - introduce in last part of session (15mins+/-) See
www.reinersuehorse-
manship.com/2009/01/groundwork-paradigm-shift- in-training.html#Longeing for exercises. If the horse is really out of shape, I would leave out any longeing in the first week or so. That would only leave the free longeing.
• Lots of cool down & ending on a Good Note. –
however long it takes walking & sight seeing!
• Riding at a walk - introduce in last part of session (15mins - 1/2hr.)- The length of time riding at an enjoyable, leisure walk will increase to 1hr. as the horse gets in shape.
2nd Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena Emphasis: Riding at a walk, jog & trot. The ground- work exercises will consist of mostly longeing and warm up. The warm up exercises will go from groundwork to mostly mounted.
1st & 2nd Week: We're working up to a good 1hr+ session at a jog and trot.
cises - first part of session (15mins+/-)
• Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - mid-
dle part (15mins+/-). See article above.
• Riding at a walk - last part of session
(1/2hr+). “Let’s go for a cruise...” I refer you to
www.reinersuehorsemanship.com/2009/01/cruise- control.html#cruisecontrolexercise for those who have access to an enclosed area outside or an indoor arena.
• Riding at a jog - introduce at the end of ses- sion (10-15mins+/-)
ing.
- The length of time riding at a jog will increase to a good hour riding on an easy surface. • 'Cool em out' - however long it takes walk-
• Riding at a walk - Probably not in shape for riding depending on the horse. I did not ride Lady in the first couple of weeks. I did exercises in the barn.
• Lots of cool down& ending on a good note - how-
ever long it takes. The walking/hand walking is a great way to cool the horse down.
3rd & 4th Week: The horse should be well into the
This format is used in all sea- sons but this article wants to focus on a winter riding session which
means we simply factor in the cold
weather.... And doing so means adding extra time for all the compo- nents of the winter riding session especially the cool down (& ending on a good note).
• Groundwork, Body Control Longeing, &
Mounted Warm up exercises - first part (15mins+/-)
• Riding at a walk - middle part (15mins+/-)
• Riding at a jog - last part of session (1/2hr+/-) • Riding at a trot - introduce at the end of ses- sion (10-15mins+/-). See Cruise Control exercise above.
3rd & 4th Week: The horse should be well into rid- ing at a walk and some jogging. Trotting is intro- duced.
• Lots of cool down & Ending on a Good
Note. - however long it takes walking.
3rd Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena
Emphasis: Riding at a jog, trot & lope or slow canter.
• Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exer-
1st & 2nd Week : We're working up to a good 1hr+ session at a jog ,trot and some loping or slow canter.
• Groundwork, Body Control Longeing exercises, Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - first part
(15mins+/-)
• Riding at a walk, jog - middle part of session (15mins. -1/2hr+) • Riding at a trot - last part of session (1/2hr+/-)
• Riding at a lope/slow canter - introduce at end of
session (10-15mins+/-)
- The length of time riding at a lope or slow canter will increase to an hour riding on an easy surface. • 'Cool em out!' - however long it takes walking. 3rd & 4th Week: The horse should be well walking, jogging & trotting. The horse, if in shape, can now be loped/slow cantered to build the conditioning.
• Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exercises, Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - first part
(15mins+/-)
• Riding at a walk, jog & trot - middle part of ses-
sion (1/2hr +/-). See Cruise Control above.
• Riding at a lope or slow canter - end part (15mins
- 1hr+/-)
• Lots of cool down & Ending on a Good Note. –
however long it takes walking & sight seeing!
As you can see it's a steady progression, intro- ducing more work as the horse is able to handle it – mentally & physically. From here the horse would go into Stage 2 Specificity Training …where for me that would be introducing simple reining maneuvers. What’s yours?
If you need help with this, please contact me. For this and more! Please see the numerous articles on my website. “Putting my spin on things.”
- The length of time riding at a jog & trot will increase to a comfortable hours riding on an easy sur- face.
About the Author: Susan Dahl is a certified profes- sional horse trainer, NCCP coaching theory certified, writer, competitor, clinician and owner/operator of Foundation Reining Training Centre, where she spe- cializes in natural horsemanship & body control foundation reining training for horse & rider. She has trained & won numerous ORHA, NRHA, & Reining Canada Top 10 awards. For more informa- tion on her very innovative & fun approach to train- ing, clinics, lessons, or coaching, please visit her website
www.reinersuehorsemanship.com.
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