PoleDressage Online

🐴 POLEDRESSAGE …. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER! 🐴

We rode this PoleDressage exercise at a clinic a couple of weeks ago … it was awesome 🤩
This exercise brings together a great mix of paces, accuracy, lateral work and body control … encouraging both horse and rider to stay focused and organised throughout the pattern 🤠

Starting in trot, the exercise progresses through a sequence incorporating:

✨ Walk – allowing time to rebalance and prepare
✨ Forehand turns – encouraging control of the shoulders and movement of the hindquarters
✨ Straightness – riding accurately through and away from the poles
✨ Canter – developing balance, rhythm and suppleness
✨ Leg Yield – encouraging lateral movement while maintaining forward energy
✨ Extended Trot – asking the horse to lengthen the stride while remaining straight, balanced and responsive

The changes of pace and direction encourage the horse to listen to the rider, wait for the aids and stay mentally engaged, while the poles give clear visual markers for accuracy

PoleDressage isn’t just about riding over poles - it’s about using them to improve communication, balance, straightness, suppleness and control
❤️🐴

A fantastic exercise to ride in sections first, before putting Part One and Part Two together into one flowing pattern

Ride with purpose. Ride with accuracy. Have fun!

This is a terrific exercise I coached on the weekend for Working Equitation 🤠
The exercise aims to sharpen up your leg yield and more importantly - to understand how the outside rein works and when/how/why to use it
🤔
The pole chute in the first part of the exercise encourages the rider to control the degree of bend and also to judge the depth of the leg yield whilst in the second part of the exercise the rider must come from leg yield to sidepass in one fluid movement …
🫣
And one last tip:
Inside leg to outside rein.
It really is that simple
🤯
Here is the exercise to be ridden on both reins .. try it, have fun and let me know how you go🙌🤩

🐴 PoleDressage – Hindquarter Turn with a Purpose 🐴

This simple pole setup provides both horse and rider with a clear visual reference while refining the quality of the hindquarter turn.

By asking the horse to perform a hindquarter turn while stepping the front legs over a ground pole, we encourage greater awareness of foot placement, improved balance and more deliberate movement … instead of dragging the feet through the turn, the horse is encouraged to lift and place each foot thoughtfully, developing coordination and body control.

✨ What to watch for:

✔️ If the horse steps over the pole with the hind legs, apply a little more outside rein to better control the movement and maintain the correct turn.

✔️ If the horse steps backwards and both the front and hind feet end up on the same side of the pole, use less outside rein and add more forward intention from your seat and legs.

✔️ Always ensure the legs cross in FRONT of each other. If the horse is stepping behind rather than crossing over, they need more encouragement to move forward into a soft, supportive contact and lift through the shoulders.

This exercise helps improve:
• Coordination and proprioception
• Shoulder mobility and lift
• Understanding of the outside rein
• Straightness and balance
• Quality of the hindquarter turn

As always, focus on relaxation, rhythm and correctness rather than the number of steps … a few quality steps are worth far more than many rushed ones 💫

🐎✨

😱😮🤭

Something BIG is coming to NTR.

After years of plaiting, re-plaiting, stepping back, squinting, and questioning our life choices over one section that somehow looks different to the rest, we're very excited to introduce the new NTR Plait Perfect Pro.

This clever little tool helps measure plait spacing, section size and, thanks to our new HairCount Technology, even COUNTS the individual hairs in each section for ultra-consistent plaits from poll to wither.

No more “that one looks a bit chunkier”.
No more guessing.
No more emotional damage caused by plait number seven.

Features include:

Precision spacing guide - so each plait sits exactly where it should

Digital HairCount scanner - so you have exactly the same number of hairs in each plait

Symmetry sensor - so one side of the neck doesn’t look like it was done by a different person

Neck curve compensator - so your plaits still look even on weird neck shapes

Panic-resistant grip - so you can keep functioning when you’re already late and mildly feral...

Because 'close enough' is not a strategy.

Coming soon in Black, Turquoise, and Mildly Unhinged 😜.

Be one of the first to get one > https://www.nagstoriches.com.au/ntrplaitperfectpro/

✨ PoleDressage – Straightness into Halt ✨

This PoleDressage setup can be used for soooo many different exercises and movements and is a fantastic exercise for developing true straightness, balance and control, especially in those final strides into halt

Using the pole box as a visual reference, you can really fine-tune your horse’s alignment and ensure they stay straight through the body - not falling in or out as you prepare to stop

Ride the pattern:
• Begin with a 20m circle at C, establishing rhythm, bend and connection
• Continue down the long side, turn at B and ride straight through the centreline

• From K, ride a leg yield towards L encouraging suppleness and responsiveness to the aids
• At L continue straight towards the pole box

✨ Once at the box, this is where the magic happens ✨

• Aim to halt before, over, or after the poles
• Check that your horse remains straight, balanced and attentive into the halt

Want to progress it?
• Ride 10m or 20m circles before entering the box
• Add transitions — trot, walk or even canter
• Try cantering into the box and halting for a real test of straightness and adjustability
• Approach the box from the centreline or long side to vary the difficulty

This exercise is brilliant for improving focus, responsiveness and rider accuracy, while giving your horse a clear framework to understand straightness

Simple setup… powerful results 🤩
Check out my website for lots of FREE patterns, tips and info:
www.poledressageonline.com


🐎

✨ POLES for PRECISION … from Leg Yield to Straightness & Power ✨

I’m always going on at my clinics about Leg Yield and how to improve it … I see lots of horses just drift out through the shoulder and lots of wiggly lines following the Leg Yield as riders try to get straightness 😬

This is one of my favourite schooling exercises for improving direction, balance and true straightness after leg yield …

➡️ From K and M, leg yield off the track toward the quarter or centre line ..
The horse must move forward and sideways, not just drift.
The poles give you a clear destination, prevents over-bending through the neck and give you a straight line to ride forwards into ..

Then comes the important part…

🔴 The two poles at X.

After the leg yield, ride straight between the poles in trot or canter or ride EB/BE at extended trot … you can canter these poles also 🤔

Those poles:
• Immediately test your straightness
• Highlight any drifting shoulders or quarters
• Encourage even push from both hind legs
• Help the rider ride forward into both reins

If the horse isn’t truly straight after the lateral work — the poles will tell you

This exercise creates:
✔️ Better focus
✔️ Clearer rider intention
✔️ Improved connection
✔️ Straightness before power

Straightness is the bridge between lateral work and extension - when you control the line, you control the balance … and that’s when the magic happens ☺️
Simple setup. Big results.

PS: the poles in the diagram are for placement only and are not to scale .. you may want to use more poles end-to-end to help with closing your Leg Yield and improving your straightness 😎