What can i do while warming up my horse?

Question

I already do figure 8's and circles but i want to do other things

give me some ideas thanks!

Answer 1

if you have a fence or along the side of a barn you can work on your stops and your roll backs.  trot or gallop along side the fence and when your ready give your horse its' cue ( verbal physical, or both) , then sharpely turn.  turning into the barn side will help for a sharper and quicker turns.

Answer 2

i'd do some lunge work on the ground and stuff. or some one could lunge while your on. :D Work on some half halts to, that would be good. also do some sidepassing. :D

Answer 3

There's so much work you can do just at the walk! My trainer says that in warm weather, if you can't make your horse work up a sweat at the walk, you need to be trying harder. Do bending and neck stretches, first at the walk, then at the trot. Practice extending and collecting at the walk, then trot, then canter. Teach him to sidepass while keeping the neck straight. Circles, serpentines, figure-8s. Walk-trot-canter-halt transitions. Go over poles on the ground (canter over them to practice seeing spots to jumps, if you jump). Try to be soft with your hands and practice your leg aids, get your horse to accept the bit and listen to you.

Answer 4

You could teach it side-passing and stuff like that.  Other than that, there's not a whole lot to do while warming up...that's why you're just warming up.  

Answer 5

All I do with my TB are a couple of bending exercises at a standstill like him bringing his head to his side both ways. Then I just do WTC on a loose rein allowing him to stretch down and out and really use his back. He has a tendency to get really tense so this seems to really help him for the rest of the ride to stay loose and supple. I don't do anything in the warm-up that is new or difficult like leg yeilding. If your horse is already a master at it then go for it but I would suggest doing things that you both have down pat and try the more difficult things after the warm-up. The warm-up is to prepare you for the rest of your ride so unless you're going to be doing a bunch of half passes and tempi changes I would save the lateral work and lead changes for the actual work out.

Answer 6

well you could do things like circles, and leg yields and  such for your horse and also try doing stretches for you. swing your legs back in forth out of the stirrups, touch your horses butt, and things like that. there are probably some websites that have more excercises too.

Answer 7

It depends on your discipline but warming up should never be just warming up. Ground work is the fundamental building block to make sure riders and develop good bonds. I always focus on getting my horse round and making sure he bends and is supple. I also work with his gates and make sure I always test myself with some sitting trot. I also make sure my horse does his flying changes smoothly. Even little things, like backing up, are important to work on because it's the best way to test how well trained your horse is and how close you are with your horse. Build your horses confidence while flatting by rewarding him for good behavior and supple responses to your cues. Good luck :) !

Answer 8

If you jump maybe you could do some warm up fences. Like some little X's so your horse can wake up.

Answer 9

I ride western and I always do a lot of rollbacks. It makes the horse more supple to leg commands and makes him get under himself.

But I do lots of flexing on any horse. I do flexing at the walk, trot, and canter. You can also use this as an emergency hand brake if you horse spooks or trys to take off on a trail or something.

Here are the steps.

1. Give your horse rein.

2.Slide your hand down on the left rein, and then pull to your hip, when he gives you releae the pressure. Before you go on to the next gait he needs to be able to touch your sturrip.

Do the same to the left.

Another thing my horses really like is serpintines, and log work.  Another thing you can do while warming up is a clover leaf pattern, it helps you gain control of your horses legs.

Hope these spice up you warm up!