When you don’t have the time or motivation to ride, but still want to give your horse a constructive session, incorporating polework exercises as part of your groundwork training is one solution.
This in-hand groundwork exercise is ideal for establishing good communication with your horse from the ground, engaging them physically and mentally, as well as building their core strength and proprioception (body awareness). With one groundwork setup, you can practise a variety of lines and work on different areas of the body.
Aims
Encourage accuracy and precision on the straight lines
Develop flexion, core strength and engagement over the poles and round tight corners
Mental stimulation and increased proprioception
The setup
Setup: four poles arranged in a square shape with each one touching end to end
You will need: a training halter, lunging cavesson, or your horse’s usual bridle
This one simple pole layout gives you several options
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
How to do the exercise
First lead your horse around a few laps of the arena on each rein, checking he is listening to you by making frequent transitions to halt. You can also ask him to rein-back or do some basic lateral work. Your horse should be walking actively forwards and straight, as you would expect under saddle.
Approach one side of the square in the centre of the poles and walk directly through, keeping on the same straight line as if you were riding a centre line in a dressage test (see green line above). Repeat this on the opposite axis and on both reins. You can incorporate halts in the middle of the square.
Next, try diagonal lines through the square (see orange line above), walking in and out over the corners. This requires a bigger step from the horse to clear the right angle. Always focus on staying straight – it’s easier for the horse to veer away from the point. Also incorporate transitions to halt in the middle.
To introduce bend, set up a curved line which asks the horse to step over each pole on an angle (see black line on the left above). You can adjust the curve to make the bend easier or harder to improve your horse’s flexibility and work on both reins.
Another pattern to try is loops in and out of the square, changing bend through the centre – it’s a small space, so your horse will have to be clever with his footwork
Work up to walking a complete circle over one corner of the square (black line top right), which requires your horse to bend through their ribs and be aware of their foot placement to clear the poles. Adjust the size of the circle to suit your horse.
Finally you can ask your horse to work on his suppleness by turning a small circle around the inside of the square (black line inside the poles). This will require him to engage the inside hindleg and develop his flexibility (see note below).
Tips and troubleshooting
1. Larger circles
If walking a tight circle around the inside of the square is too taxing, try initially circling around the outside, which gives your horse more space. However, he should be able to work up to manoeuvring around the inside with practice.
2. Progress
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To increase the difficulty level, raise the poles (using risers like these) to place a greater demand on the core strength and hindleg engagement.
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
