Things to do while no saddle

[Loopy_Laura]

Ok guys, getcha thinking caps on!!
I have a fit and healthy, raring to go lil horsey and saddle still. :( But we are on the hope stretch, and it should only be weeks before the new saddle arrives! :D :D
We are both rather bored with the whole process now so i need some final inspiration for things to do with her!
Lots of ridden exercises that can be done bareback (walk only- trot is far to uncomfortable and canter is still a work in progress!)
Ground work ideas
Useful things to teach her that are good assets for a horsey to have
And anything else you can think of!

So far have done lots of hacking in hand and bareback, lunging, longreining in walk round our hacking routes. I want to keep her as fit as possible, so that we can get started straight away wehn the saddle comes.

Please please all ideas are great!!!!

[Blair Witch]

You can set up a small obstical course. Use pylons and make your horse walk between them without knocking them over and gradually move them closer together. You could also set up some low cavelettis or trot poles to get your horse to lift it's legs. A lot of hacking bareback will be very beneficial for your balance. You could also work on sidepasses, turn on the haunches and forehand if your into that.

[Daffy Dilly]

Learn to trot bareback. ;)

Get into trot and then really slow it down to a jog, so it's barely there. I find myself leaning in on turns, so if you do the same I would stick to short stretchs on straight lines. Eventually you're able to build it up to a proper trot, and then you can progress to canter, which in itself is fine on most horses, its the transition down that causes the problems. The key is to relax and let it happen, trying to keep yourself on just results in bouncing!

I went from bouncing around in trot in November, to sitting canter-trot by the end of December, and I have a welsh cob (notoriously bouncy!) so it can be done. :p

I do not recommend hacking out bareback though. I did a few times, and he's normally extremely good bareback. Then going down hill he tried to trot off with me, and on the next hack he tanked off with me, on narrow roads, downhill around a bend, and it was a real struggle to stop him. Had a car been coming it would've been extremely nasty. In that sort situation, I would normally have tensed up to hold on, which would have resulted in me coming off, so its lucky I didn't.

I am happy to let a complete novice ride him on the roads with me accompanying, but I will not be riding bareback on the roads again. Its not safe, for us or anybody around us.

[puzzles]

ditto ditto ditto - these are all fab, i'll bear them in mind for the future!

you can try some of the T-Team exercises (google it), long-ereining, lunging, in-hand walks, stretch exercises...loose schooling

[Teehee]

This link has a couple thing you probably do bareback...

http://iceryder.net/playground.html

[puzzles]

that's very similiar to T-team.

how about a 'little and often' valuable time spent working on the ground, establishing trust and leadership, doing some NH and so on.

[Loopy_Laura]

DD- thanks for the trotting advice, i will keep at it.
As for hacking bareback- i never ever ever would do this on the road. I would only ever do it with someone on the ground that my pony trusts, or hacking with her incredibly sensible best friend field mate. Our school has no fencing, and so she can just as easily bomb off with me in there, and to be honest she is still just as likely to spook in the school then out hacking. I cant see how one is much worse then the other?

[Loopy_Laura]

Oh and i have a book on t-touch so i will get that out tonight!
Thanks

[mayoguinness]

NH groundgames and ridden stuff is always good, do a lot bareback as there so much you can do even at a walk. Trotting barebacks fun and easy, I don't find it a bit unconfortable either, just work at it:)

[puzzles]

bareback you can reaklly work on you and your horse's reactivity and use of weight aids; horses often become much more sensitive saddless, and more respionsive especially when changing gait and direction, in whateevr pace.

[Loopy_Laura]

So far since i have started this post i have taught her to pic up both feet from each side so near and off from near side etc. Her back up has much improved and today i got a few steps of turn on the haunches and side pass from the ground. Wooo hooo!
This weekend will try bareback trotting, and some pole work like the laberinths and stuff. Thanks guys, keep those ideas coming!!

[Loopy_Laura]

Oh and puzzles- in walk she is more responsive to the aids- she stops really nicely. so far trot has been *interesting* but maybe more to do with me tensing up?

[puzzles]

it could well be; it's difficult to get a good balance between 'firm yet spongey' and 'tension;' of the muscles...try working on your podsition, perhaps with an experienced/knowledgable friend or two on the ground (where it's far easier to pick up faults in the rider that he/she is even be aware of).
storing strength in your 'core stability' area (around your stomach) and keeping a soft yet firm and relaxed shoulder-hip-heel alignment, looking up (to help lighten your horse's forehand at least; believe me, he can feel it when you move your head. it weighs several pounds and is one of the heaviest individual parts of your body) and carrying your hands, encouraging springy, forward movement and encouraging your horse to accept the bit and use his hindquarters for energy (to do this he must lighten his forehand).
this may or may not sound a tad tricky, but bareback you will probably be able to use subtler aids and, therefore, a little less effort in your actions that you would with a saddle: try simply sitting tall and turning from your belly button-up, focusing your eyes on a spot without twisting the rest of your body (though allow a little more pressure on your inside seat bone without leaning), you may well find that your horse follows where 'you' are going, in that very direction without specific rein aids.
have a play around, using trial and error - physical aspects of your horse's movement may well be more obvious and set for improvement bareback.
within reason, the more you work on the things your hrose finds hard (make sure you praise her when she has tried hard/done well, and give both yourselves regular breaks on a long rein in walk, to allow you both to rest, relax and re-focus mentally).
i also strongly recommend that you encnourage her to stretch both at the beginning and at the end of the lesson, right down as though going to graze. you can do this in walk at first, then in trot.
carry your hands forwards and down to encourage this, and make sure you are relaxed: a relaxed horse mirrors a relaxed horse, and only relaxed horses stretch down like that.this is an essential and useful part of warming up and cooling down, stretching her topline muscles right through to and down her back.
good luck!

xx