Schooling While you hack

[Catg]

Help guys I'm stuck in a rut!

The main places I have to go that aren't in 2ft of mud are long straight trails that used to be the old mining railways. It's great to be able to get off the roads but the novelty soon wears off when you're walking in a straight line and having to just turn around and walk back the same way to come home. :lol:

What do you do schooling wise while you're out hacking?

At the moment I'm doing the following:

Free walks
Collected walks
Working trot
Medium trot
Leg yielding in walk and rising trot
Halts
Rein backs

Is there anything else I could be doing? I'm so booooored :sleep:

Thanks

Cat x

[Bek B]

I'll be watching this thread closely because I suffer with a similar issue.

Have you tried some shoulder in/shoulder fore?

I've been working on transitions on my hacks.

[Catg]

Hi Bek,

Good plan thanks I definitely need to work on transitions. I've not got as far as learning shoulder in shoulder fore yet. What are the benefits of doing these? I will ask to do through it in my next lesson.

I'm also going to work on turn on the fore and haunches. Turn on the fore we can do no problem, turn on the haunches is a bit trickier!

Also I meant to say that the trails are too hard for canter work so that's out the window, there is a little bit of land here and there I can use for canter work but it's all too boggy and slippery now.

And no jumps of any sort at all either, how depressing! :lol:

[CityLights]

lots of transition work and shoulder in, shoulder fore travers etc, i would kill for a lovely long strech to really work on Ollies Traver and shoulder in, i have a 35m strech, whihc when your nearly 17h is like six/seven strides then a corner and no where suitable to hack out with long straight bits

[Smoke on the Water]

Other than what you're already doing hun I was going to suggest some shoulder in too. Hmmm, will keep thinking. Must be very frustrating.


Oooooo!! Idea, how about some long reining? Would be nice change for you both and give Zeb the chance to do some long low work.

[Catg]

Other than what you're already doing hun I was going to suggest some shoulder in too. Hmmm, will keep thinking. Must be very frustrating.


Oooooo!! Idea, how about some long reining? Would be nice change for you both and give Zeb the chance to do some long low work.

Funny you should say that, I tried long reining him for the first time last Sunday! He was a star I was so pleased with him x

[Catg]

lots of transition work and shoulder in, shoulder fore travers etc, i would kill for a lovely long strech to really work on Ollies Traver and shoulder in, i have a 35m strech, whihc when your nearly 17h is like six/seven strides then a corner and no where suitable to hack out with long straight bits


The trails round here go on for miles and miles, the longest I did this summer was 14 miles. They're great but I miss the woods!

[Partner]

You could try lateral work into transitions too. All lateral work increases the engagement of the inside hind leg so working from eg leg yield into the transition helps the horse work the change from behind rather than the shoulder. The transitions can be up, down or within the gait.

You could also work on the horse's suppleness and flexibility by introducing shoulder In, travers and renvers then when established in those movements work transitions between them too - renvers to shoulder in and back to renvers is a good one as you are asking bend from the loin, then bend from the shoulder, then the loin again so are placing the back then the front.

[Catg]

Thank you Partner x

[fairyfeet]

You can practise square halts, rein-backs, if wide enough, figure of eights, zig-zags, circles aswell, I do! Have to do all my schooling out hacking as Max refuses to school in an enclosed area but is no problem out hacking!
Have cantered him halfway across a field, halted, and made him stand without fidgeting for 5/10 mins before continuing. Excellent practise for standing still in a showring or even driving!