Exercises to improve collection

• Katie Jerram-Hunnable suggests starting out by working horses on the lunge over poles, so they learn to lengthen and shorten their stride without a rider on board. “Encourage length to begin with,” she advises.

• Damian Hallam’s favourite exercises sound simple, but actually take quite a lot of skill and effort to perform well: “Riding 10m circles makes the horse self-regulate his balance, and shoulder-in is a great engagement exercise. They have stood the test of time.”

• Katie likes to practise changing paces within the trot and alternating sitting and rising trot to help with this: “You want the horse to learn to switch between paces within the trot and to learn the difference in feel with your riding position. Make sure you remain relaxed in your seat and work on this a little bit more every day.”

• Damian also believes riding transitions within the trot is one of the most beneficial exercises to practise: “Playing with the gears is hugely useful for improving balance and strength, and therefore the horse’s ability to collect. It gives you a snapshot of how engaged the horse’s hindlegs are. How effortlessly is the horse doing the work? The rider’s ability to shorten the horse’s step and vary the speed of the step will develop the horse’s strength, agility and balance – all essential components of collected trot.”

• Riding squares is an exercise Katie learnt from top eventing coach Ruth McMullen (see diagram, right): “It is difficult. I ride four strides in trot in a straight line, turn, four strides, turn and so on. Don’t let the horse drift or bend on the straight sections. Riding a circle is easy, but riding squares is hard, also because everything comes up quickly. It helps the horse to learn balance and makes you use your core and outside aids. Use poles on the ground to make sure you ride square corners.”