TIME FOR A STRAIGHT LINE

Building on the first two exercises, Ben now makes things slightly more difficult. For this, he moves near to the arena fence. “You’re using exactly the same technique, but this time think about your horse moving sideways along the arena fence, one step at a time,” says Ben. “His bum is to the fence and you’re on the side he’s moving away from. “He will be bent to the inside (towards you) and the bend should be through his body, not just his neck. Don’t expect this to be perfect straightaway.” If your horse gets stuck, stop and lead him in a big circle, then back to the track to try again. As well as tackling barging, this exercise teaches your horse the principles of lateral work, which will translate to his ridden work.

Even with , always groundwork on both work evenly on the reins, starting finds one your horse will easiest as this build confidence The bend should be through your horse’s body, not just his neck DECEMBER 2018