Caroline Moore, former five-star eventer and British Eventing national under-18 coach and junior team coach, explains how you can use this exercise to begin to teach your horse how to turn to and over a fence
The aims of the exercise are to:
Warm up the horse’s muscles before jumping
Improve hoof/brain co-ordination
Aid correct muscle build-up and develop the horse’s core
To teach the horse a rider’s directional aids
To improve the horse’s eye
Encourage the horse to be physically and mentally careful
I have three variations on this exercise — I have raised poles, dressage boards and blocks of square poles. All of these obstacles cannot be easily moved, so they encourage the horse to draw back, use its shoulder and develop its core.
To begin with, go in a straight line and use a focal point to help you keep straight. This also helps the horse use its own balance and to develop its rhythm.
You can then add a turn into this exercise which helps the horse learn about their rider’s directional aids. Ask your horse to think about the beginning of their turn at the start of the first set of poles — the horse will then know where they’re going by the time the actual turn comes around. This is the first building block for teaching a horse about turning over a fence. Your turning aids are:
Eyes
Weight into inside heel
Left rein closing towards right rein
Inside shoulder staying forward
With this exercise, it’s really important to set up early, else you risk your horse falling out through their outside shoulder.
Points to be aware of:
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Would you like to read Horse & Hound’s independent journalism without any adverts? Join Horse & Hound Plus today and you can read all articles on HorseandHound.co.uk completely ad-free
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
