♘امیرحسین♞
♘ مدیریت انجمن اسب ایران ♞
The following ground pole exercise, which represents one line of fences, will help you learn to sustain the correct pace on course and develop a better eye. It allows you to simulate jumping a line of fences without having to stress the horse physically with the much greater effort of taking off and landing over larger obstacles.
In a rectangular arena, measure 24 feet from the railing at the end of the line and place a ground pole there; this will be pole number 4 and will represent the place at which the horse should change leads after it jumps a line of fences. Then place three more poles in line with pole 4, leaving spaces of 57', 60', and 57' between them for horses; 54', 57', and 54' for large ponies; 51', 54, and 51' for medium ponies; and 48', 51', and 48' for small ponies. These are all 4-stride distances between poles.
The distance between the first and second pole represents the approach to a line of fences; the distance between the second and third pole represents the footage between a line of two fences; and the distance betweeen the third and fourth pole represents the space in which you must collect your horse, balancing it for the upcoming turn.
To practice establishing and maintaining the proper pace on course, build the horse's impulsion and increase its length of stride around the end of the ring, approaching the line of poles at a pace you believe to be correct. Try to negotiate the space between poles 1 and 2 and between poles 2 and 3 in four strides each. On most horses, you will have to progressively lengthen the horse's steps between poles 1 and 2 to cover this distance in four strides, since the horse is coming out of a corner which restricts not only its pace, but also its length of stride. However, you should be able to cover the distance between poles 2 and 3 in four even strides, since the horse should have reached the proper length of stride just before jumping pole 2. Following pole 3, perform a downward transition, halting in front of pole 4. After halting for 4 to 6 seconds, walk the horse over the pole.
Now analyze each segment of your performance. If your horse added a stride between the first and second pole, the pace to the first obstacle (represent by pole 2) was too slow. If the horse left out a stride between the first and second pole, or took half a step on the near side of the second pole and half a step on the far side (representing a crash), then the pace to the first obstacle (pole 2) was too fast.
The same holds true for the distance between poles 2 and 3. If the horse added a stride, it did not have enough pace; and if the horse left out a stride or straddled the rail, then the pace was too great. Finally, consider the horse's willingness to stop at the fourth pole. If the horse pulled on the reins and crossed the pole, then you know it would be unwilling to collect its frame and lighten its forehand for a change of lead.
Practice smoothly negotiating the three poles and halting before the fourth. When you are able to do this exercise well, continue galloping over the fourth pole, asking the horse to switch leads as it crosses this pole, if it is traveling on the counter lead. Use an outside leg at a behind-the-girth position to signal the horse to change leads while in the moment of suspension above the pole.
If your ring is too short to set the poles four strides apart, delete one stride between poles 1 and 2 and poles 3 and 4, so that the approach and departure will call for three strides, instead of four. The measurements would then be 45', 60', and 45' for horses; 43', 57', 43' for large ponies; 40'6", 54', and 40'6" for medium ponines, and 38', 51', and 38' for small ponies. This tighter setting of the distances is harder to negotiate because it requires abrupt adjustments of the horse's stride, particularly during the last strides before the halt. It also causes more trauma to the horse's legs leading into the halt, which is the main reason that I prefer the four-stride setting.
The next step is to raise poles 2 and 3 so that you can practice seeing distances to actual fences, with the approach and departure still marked by poles 1 and 4. (Set the fences three feet high for horses and six inches below the normal fence heights for ponies. Use additional poles to fill in the spaces underneath poles 2 and 3 so that these fences are not too airy.) During this exercise, the horse's arc should be even--that is, the animal should leave the ground and land equidistant from the center of each obstacle--and the strides betweeen the fences should be of equal length. If you have difficulty finding a good take-off to the two fences, draw lines in the dirt six feet away from the near side of them to help you concentrate on placing your horse's front feet on these lines. Of course, white lines made with lime would be even easier for you to see, but somethimes a horse will spook at something unfamiliar on the gruond, which can be dangerous at the point of take-off. If you decide to mark the take-off with a bright substance, practice over very small obstacles first.
When training your eye, it is beneficial to set three separate lines of fences--normal, short, and long--with the same number of strides between them, so that they can be used for comparison. To set the short and long lines, subtract six inches to a foot per stride for the short line and add six inches to a foot per stride for the long line, still allowing for a six-foot landing and take-off at each obstacle. Concentrate on pace and evenness of stride, rather than worry about the take-off spot. By keeping the horse collected on the approaching strides to the short-distance line, and by galloping forward on lengthened strides to the long-distance line, you can greatly increase your chances of finding a suitable take-off spot to the first fence in each line.
In a rectangular arena, measure 24 feet from the railing at the end of the line and place a ground pole there; this will be pole number 4 and will represent the place at which the horse should change leads after it jumps a line of fences. Then place three more poles in line with pole 4, leaving spaces of 57', 60', and 57' between them for horses; 54', 57', and 54' for large ponies; 51', 54, and 51' for medium ponies; and 48', 51', and 48' for small ponies. These are all 4-stride distances between poles.
The distance between the first and second pole represents the approach to a line of fences; the distance between the second and third pole represents the footage between a line of two fences; and the distance betweeen the third and fourth pole represents the space in which you must collect your horse, balancing it for the upcoming turn.
To practice establishing and maintaining the proper pace on course, build the horse's impulsion and increase its length of stride around the end of the ring, approaching the line of poles at a pace you believe to be correct. Try to negotiate the space between poles 1 and 2 and between poles 2 and 3 in four strides each. On most horses, you will have to progressively lengthen the horse's steps between poles 1 and 2 to cover this distance in four strides, since the horse is coming out of a corner which restricts not only its pace, but also its length of stride. However, you should be able to cover the distance between poles 2 and 3 in four even strides, since the horse should have reached the proper length of stride just before jumping pole 2. Following pole 3, perform a downward transition, halting in front of pole 4. After halting for 4 to 6 seconds, walk the horse over the pole.
Now analyze each segment of your performance. If your horse added a stride between the first and second pole, the pace to the first obstacle (represent by pole 2) was too slow. If the horse left out a stride between the first and second pole, or took half a step on the near side of the second pole and half a step on the far side (representing a crash), then the pace to the first obstacle (pole 2) was too fast.
The same holds true for the distance between poles 2 and 3. If the horse added a stride, it did not have enough pace; and if the horse left out a stride or straddled the rail, then the pace was too great. Finally, consider the horse's willingness to stop at the fourth pole. If the horse pulled on the reins and crossed the pole, then you know it would be unwilling to collect its frame and lighten its forehand for a change of lead.
Practice smoothly negotiating the three poles and halting before the fourth. When you are able to do this exercise well, continue galloping over the fourth pole, asking the horse to switch leads as it crosses this pole, if it is traveling on the counter lead. Use an outside leg at a behind-the-girth position to signal the horse to change leads while in the moment of suspension above the pole.
If your ring is too short to set the poles four strides apart, delete one stride between poles 1 and 2 and poles 3 and 4, so that the approach and departure will call for three strides, instead of four. The measurements would then be 45', 60', and 45' for horses; 43', 57', 43' for large ponies; 40'6", 54', and 40'6" for medium ponines, and 38', 51', and 38' for small ponies. This tighter setting of the distances is harder to negotiate because it requires abrupt adjustments of the horse's stride, particularly during the last strides before the halt. It also causes more trauma to the horse's legs leading into the halt, which is the main reason that I prefer the four-stride setting.
The next step is to raise poles 2 and 3 so that you can practice seeing distances to actual fences, with the approach and departure still marked by poles 1 and 4. (Set the fences three feet high for horses and six inches below the normal fence heights for ponies. Use additional poles to fill in the spaces underneath poles 2 and 3 so that these fences are not too airy.) During this exercise, the horse's arc should be even--that is, the animal should leave the ground and land equidistant from the center of each obstacle--and the strides betweeen the fences should be of equal length. If you have difficulty finding a good take-off to the two fences, draw lines in the dirt six feet away from the near side of them to help you concentrate on placing your horse's front feet on these lines. Of course, white lines made with lime would be even easier for you to see, but somethimes a horse will spook at something unfamiliar on the gruond, which can be dangerous at the point of take-off. If you decide to mark the take-off with a bright substance, practice over very small obstacles first.
When training your eye, it is beneficial to set three separate lines of fences--normal, short, and long--with the same number of strides between them, so that they can be used for comparison. To set the short and long lines, subtract six inches to a foot per stride for the short line and add six inches to a foot per stride for the long line, still allowing for a six-foot landing and take-off at each obstacle. Concentrate on pace and evenness of stride, rather than worry about the take-off spot. By keeping the horse collected on the approaching strides to the short-distance line, and by galloping forward on lengthened strides to the long-distance line, you can greatly increase your chances of finding a suitable take-off spot to the first fence in each line.