how to set up ground pole course for horses

How to Set Ground Poles

• Walk or Trot Poles Several Strides Apart. Start simple, especially if your horse hasn't been over ground poles before.
• Multiple Walk or Trot Poles in a Row. After it becomes easy to traverse the poles that are several strides apart, you...
• Lope or Canter Poles Several Strides Apart. You can also perform pole work at the lope or canter. Once again,...

Full Answer

How to set up ground poles on a horse?

How to Set Ground Poles 1 Walk or Trot Poles Several Strides Apart. Start simple, especially if your horse hasn't been over ground poles before. ... 2 Multiple Walk or Trot Poles in a Row. ... 3 Lope or Canter Poles Several Strides Apart. ... 4 Multiple Canter or Lope Poles in a Row. ... 5 Closing Thoughts. ...

How to train a horse to circle around a pole?

Place four poles end-to-end in a zig zag pattern, making sure you have room to work off the rail. You will begin by trotting over the pole, then circling to change direction, over another rail, and circle in the opposite direction. At the end, you will have circled over each pole.

How do you use the poles on a jump course?

You can use them as trot poles in a straight line. You can use them in a half circle pattern. Or you can even raise the ends to have raised poles. One of my favorite things to do is use the poles as a template for a jump course.

Is it easy to make your own ground poles?

And this project is one of the easiest to make, while also being one of the most useful pieces of equipment you can make for yourself. And making your own ground poles can also double as jump rails. So you can use these poles for many different activities. And did I mention they are simple to make?

How far apart do you place canter poles?

The canter poles should be set one horse stride apart from each other, and the jump should be one stride after the final pole. See the setup below: The spacing for canter poles will be around 6.4 metres, or 7 paces. If your horse is small or has a short stride, you can shorten it by one pace.

How do you set out trotting poles?

Distance for trotting poles for an average 15.2hh horse is 4ft6inches/1.4m, this can be measures by stepping heal to toe - 4 boots between each pole. You should always have a minimum of three poles in use as trotting pole as to avoid confusing the horse into jumping them.

How long are ground poles for horses?

If you are schooling a horse alone, you'll want the help of a ground person who can re-adjust rails when they're moved. Suitable trot poles can be as long as 12 feet or as short as 8 feet. Traditionally you would see trot poles used in grids for jumping.

How do you set up raised trot poles?

Raised poles Set out six poles in a line, spaced so that there is one footfall between each pole, and work through them in walk first, followed by trot once you've amended the distance.

Where should placing poles be placed?

A placing pole should be put nine feet in front of the fence, which is three paces of three feet each. Placing poles are useful if you or your horse are inexperienced at jumping, and need extra help to find the right take-off point.

How far apart are pole bending?

21 feet apartPole Bending The poles are placed in a straight line 21 feet apart, going away from the starting line. The first pole is to be 21 feet from the starting line. Poles are 6 feet high and set on top of the ground, with bases 10 inches to 14 inches in diameter.

How do you set up horse Poles?

How to Set Ground PolesWalk or Trot Poles Several Strides Apart. Start simple, especially if your horse hasn't been over ground poles before. ... Multiple Walk or Trot Poles in a Row. ... Lope or Canter Poles Several Strides Apart. ... Multiple Canter or Lope Poles in a Row.

What can I use for my horses ground poles?

0:489:17How To Make Ground Poles For Your Arena | Being A Better Rider ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipToday. Using these landscaping timbers we're going to make some ground poles with fun about theseMoreToday. Using these landscaping timbers we're going to make some ground poles with fun about these grounds holes is you can use them as ground poles Trot poles. Whatever you want to call them.

How do you raise a ground pole?

2 Start by warming the horse up at the walk and trot on a 20-meter circle, 5-10 minutes in each direction, near the poles but not over them. 3 After warming up, move the longe circle over and aim the horse toward the center of the ground poles, asking for an active and even walk, trot, or canter.

How far apart should raised trot poles be?

If you are setting up a sequential row of ground poles, which incidentally is a good place to start, place your poles approx. 2.5 feet apart for walking, 4 feet apart for trotting, and 9-11 feet apart of cantering. For most gaited horses, in lieu of trotting, space the poles 8 feet apart for your lateral gait.

How far apart should Cavalettis be?

It's important that the distance between cavalletti in all exercises has been correctly measured, so the horse has a chance of completing the task successfully. The distance between the poles should be approximately 3 feet for walk, approximately 4 feet for trot and about 10 feet for canter.

How far apart should you place ground poles for a horse?

If you are setting up a sequential row of ground poles, which incidentally is a good place to start, place your poles approx. 2.5 feet apart for walking, 4 feet apart for trotting, and 9-11 feet apart of cantering. For most gaited horses, in lieu of trotting, space the poles 8 feet apart for your lateral gait. For accuracy, measure your spacing from the center of each pole, not the outer ends. These guidelines for spacing are based on an average size horse, about 15.2 hands, so you will need to add or subtract and inch or more if your horse is a pony or nearer to 17 hands.

How many hands does a horse need?

For accuracy, measure your spacing from the center of each pole, not the outer ends. These guidelines for spacing are based on an average size horse, about 15.2 hands, so you will need to add or subtract and inch or more if your horse is a pony or nearer to 17 hands.

How to use risers on horses?

First, you want to make sure your horse is maintaining a steady rhythm and body posture while crossing the poles, which can take several sessions for some horses. After that point, risers allow you to create different conditioning stimulus and proprioceptive gains.

Do ground poles help horses?

Once you experience the changes in your training that ground poles can make, you will find yourself using these simple tools more than you imagined. Whether you want to help your horse gain flexibility, strength, or coordination— or maybe all of these— ground pole routines should be a staple of your workouts.

Do you need to loosen your reins when riding a horse?

Riding over ground poles, even if they are on riser blocks, is a very different activity than jumping, so you do NOT need to loosen your reins or push your hands forward when you ride across. Instead, focus on maintaining a steady rein contact and enabling your horse to remain in a good posture. Obviously, you do not want to hold tightly on the reins or clench your fists, but do keep your hands in place and maintain a softly closed fist.

Can you walk a horse over a pole?

So, yes, there is great value in walking your horse over ground poles. Not only is this a large focus for many horses rehabbing from injury, but it serves as a wonderful daily tool to recruit spinal stabilizing muscles, release tension from the long back muscles, and stimulate sensory nerves surrounding joints.

Can you use side reins on a longe pole?

You can do loads of useful ground pole exercises on the longe line or even ground driving. I do not recommend using side reins if you intend to longe over ground poles.

How to exercise with poles?

The first and easiest exercise is to take all of the poles you have, and set them down the center of your arena, or riding area. This works best if you have a lot of poles. But even if you have 4 or 5 it can be a good exercise .

How many poles do you need for a plus sign?

You need 4 poles for this exercise. And you set them up to resemble a plus sign, or a giant ‘X’. Then you can do circles around the poles. Or you could do a cloverleaf like pattern around each of the poles. So basically 4 circles weaving around the poles.

How far apart should canter poles be?

If you were to set up canter poles, they need to be 9 to 12 feet apart. But I find this to be a fun and bouncy exercises at the trot, So I have spaced them 4 1/2 feet apart which I guesstimate by stepping about 5 foot steps between each pole placement. And you don’t just have to go down the line of poles.

How to do canter exercise?

You can start by crossing the rail, and then circle to the left, going over the ‘arms and legs’ and then come back over the center, and then go to the right repeating the exercise.

How to bounce through a box?

Just like the previous exercise, there are a lot of different things you can do with this. You can go down the center, and then circle to the left and bounce through the box. Then when you come out, circle to the right and go through the other box.

Can you trot straight lines while going down poles?

And you can also go down the center of the poles, or trot a straight line while going down the poles.

Can you make your own jump rails?

It’s also more affordable to make your own ground poles (aka jump rails) than building the entire jump. And you can get as creative as you want with the poles, as far as painting them, and then if you want you can use them as jump rails too.

How to train a horse to walk on a pole?

Work the poles into circles, serpentines and figure-eights. Try to keep your horse’s pace and rhythm the same as he approaches and travels over them. Keep your reins even, your contact steady and your legs touching his sides, ready to urge him forward if needed. Don’t fuss with your hands to try to help him get the right stride over the pole. Your main job is to ask your horse to quickly respond to your leg cues so he moves forward freely and with energy. If your horse is really lazy, you may need to carry a crop and use it once or twice behind your lower leg if he ignores your aids. Remember to always approach poles from both directions so your horse doesn’t become one-sided and bored.

How to get a horse to walk over a pole?

Take a deep breath, relax, soften your hands and continue walking over the same pole until your horse gets bored and steps over it properly instead of leaping into the air. Once your horse has mastered the first pole, move on to the other ones scattered around the arena.

How to flatwork a horse?

Place several single poles randomly around the arena and incorporate them into your flatwork sessions. Start by walking over the poles. If your horse is young or green and hasn’t seen a “scary” pole before, be prepared for him to jump 10 feet over it.

How to get a horse to see you on the ground?

Here are a few easy-to-set-up ground pole exercises you can do with your horse. Place several single poles randomly around the arena and incorporate them into your flatwork sessions. Start by walking over the poles.

How to make flatwork fun for horses?

Liven up your flatwork with these ground pole exercises. Setting up some ground pole exercises in your arena or schooling field is a great way to make flatwork more interesting to the older horse, and it’s a stress-free method of introducing a green bean to jumping. Walking, trotting and cantering over ground poles teaches a horse ...

How to trot a horse?

Walk through the poles once or twice and then try them at the trot. Ask your horse to trot around the arena at a steady, active pace before you approach the line of poles. He should have a spring in his step. Keep your upper body tall and centered on your horse’s back, and concentrate on keeping your arms and wrists supple so you can follow his head movement. You don’t want to have a death grip on his mouth as you head toward the trotting poles, as this will affect his approach. Allow your horse to stretch his neck and head down if he wants to on his first approach or two as he figures out the exercise.

How far apart should you set up a horse for bounce?

Next, set up three poles 9 to 10 feet apart for a bounce exercise. The one-stride exercise will be easier for your horse, so try that first. It’s essential that you pick up a collected canter before you head toward the poles to help your horse get over the first pole in stride.

What can you do with ground poles?

There are a lot of different exercises you can do with your ground poles. You can use them as trot poles in a straight line. You can use them in a half circle pattern. Or you can even raise the ends to have raised poles. One of my favorite things to do is use the poles as a template for a jump course.

How to seal cracks in wood?

The easiest way to deal with these cracks and splits is to fill them is with latex caulk. The painter’s caulk is the absolute best in my opinion. It is inexpensive and goes a long way. Depending on how many splits there are, I can usually use 1 tube of caulk to about 3 to 5 rails. And the caulk also helps to seal the wood. Which is an added bonus, especially if your jumps will be living outside.

How to start pole work for horses?

If you’re starting out on horse pole work exercises , or looking for new ideas, the best tip we can give is to work with your horse – see what pole work exercises he enjoys, and build on that! Think about what you want the pair of you to achieve, and be realistic about your starting point. It is always better to start basic and work upwards, rather than knock your horse’s confidence with an over-complicated exercise. And don’t forget to use a horse training journal to track your progress.

How to raise a horse over a pole?

Start by walking your horse over the poles, and then go over them in trot – you may need to amend the distance between them for this. Once he is trotting through them smoothly, it is time to build things up a bit! If this is the first time you’ve done this exercise, we’d suggest raising just one pole at a time.

How to set up pole work?

The aim is for your horse to step over the poles with a normal stride, rather than jump them. Pole work exercises can be ridden in walk, trot, or canter, and the complexity of the exercise can be adjusted to suit the training level of you and your horse.

What is the best way to practice triangle pole work?

The triangle pole work exercise is brilliant if you want to practice and improve straightness – aim to hit the center of each pole and the tip of the triangle points as you enter and leave the triangle.

How to build topline?

This is one of those exercises which will improve impulsion, collection, balance, and rhythm – all essential elements if we want to build topline. Set up 3 or 4 poles in a fan along the line of a 20-meter circle. The distance between them depends on whether you are doing the exercise in trot or canter.

How to set up a fan for trot?

Set up 3 or 4 poles in a fan along the line of a 20-meter circle. The distance between them depends on whether you are doing the exercise in trot or canter. Measure the distance between the middle of each pole – this should be one stride. The distance between the outside of the poles should be bigger, and the inside smaller.

How to build up a horse's suppleness?

Adding just four poles to a circle is a simple but effective way to build up your horse’s suppleness and bend. Set up four poles across the track of a 20-meter circle, placed an equal distance apart. Viewed from above this looks like the points of a compass!

How to get a horse to work over ground poles?

If your horse has never worked over ground poles before, start slowly, with one pole on the ground at a time, adding additional poles slowly. Once your horse has that down pat, you can add more poles and work on additional exercises. Give him time to look at each exercise and work on straightness and a steady tempo over whatever ground pole ...

How to train a horse to trot over a pole?

One of the easiest exercises to do is to place once pole in the middle of a figure-eight pattern, and work on keeping your horse straight before and after the pole.

What do trot poles do for horses?

Trot poles encourage your horse to stretch his stride length and drive with his hind end, while not placing stress on joints and tendons like jumping would. No matter what exercise you’re working on, or at what gait, be sure to sit tall and square in your saddle, and give him fair warning of what’s coming if you’re coming to an exercise out of a corner.

How to train a horse to walk?

To complete this exercise, place four poles down in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions of a 20-meter circle. Begin at the walk, making sure your horse is bent evenly from poll to tail and that he takes the same number of steps between each pole. Progress to the trot and then the canter, but be prepared—it really is harder than it sounds! Once you’ve gotten this down pat, try raising one side of the poles for added difficulty.

How to keep a horse on the same step?

To complete this exercise, place four poles down in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock positions of a 20-meter circle.

How to keep horses' balance?

developing your eye; improving timing; promoting proper balance (it goes without saying that you should never hang on your horse’s mouth to keep your balance over any ground pole exercise); focusing your attention on steering and straightness .

What are the benefits of riding over ground poles?

Riding over ground poles isn’t just for riders who jump; working a horse over poles has benefits no matter what discipline you ride! Some of these benefits include: strengthening his hind end (especially helpful for horses coming off a layup); improving his rhythm; keeping boredom at bay.

How to set up a horse canter?

How to set up: Set up six ground poles in a line spaced 9ft apart in the center of the ring. Adjust according to your horse’s stride. May need to adjust for the canter. Either ride as a bounce or can separate for one stride between each pole.

How to set up a trot grid?

How to set up: Place 3-4 ground poles spaced at about 4’6” or for your horse’s stride length. Then place a cross rail with a ground line double the distance after the last ground pole of the trot grid. Make sure the cross rails are not touching each other and have about a 4-6” gap. The center of the cross rail should be about 9”-12” high.

How to set poles for jogging?

Poles can be set a little bit closer together for the shorter stride of sitting trot or jog. Setting the poles farther apart than the normal stride will provide the opportunity for horses and riders to lengthen stride. If you want to require the horse to shorten its stride try setting the poles closer than his normal stride. Setting the grid with uneven spacing between poles is not fair to the horse. Our goal is not to trick the lesson horse but to help him help us teach the lesson.

How many poles do you need for trot poles?

A search on Youtube will produce videos of riders using elaborate arrangements of many trot poles, but you only need 5 poles to introduce them in your lessons. Traditionally trot poles are used in a grid. 5 poles makes the grid just long enough to be challenging to both horse and rider but not so long as to seriously endanger balance.

Why do I use trot poles in riding lessons?

I hope you found this explanation useful to your teaching. I use trot poles in lessons because they increase a rider’s progress and develop stronger skills. In another lesson post I’ll talk about how to use the basic set up in a variety of ways for riding lessons.

Why do I put trot poles on the center line?

After one or two lessons, when the students show that they have control over themselves and the horses, I put the trot poles on the center line so that horses and riders can change direction. Cones give students markers so they don’t cut their turns.

What does it mean when a horse passes the middle?

A horse who consistently passes the middle with his front hoof is indicating the distance is too short for his stride. This horse may try to trot 2 poles in one stride.

How long is a trot pole?

Suitable trot poles can be as long as 12 feet or as short as 8 feet.

What is a trot pole?

Trot poles (or ground rails) are one of the most versatile tools for a riding instructor. They can be used for all types of horses and riding, and by changing their configuration they can be used at all three gaits. Their use is only limited by the instructor’s imagination.