Why bother with polework?

I'm sure we've all been there, you've tacked up and you think ' I could do some poles tonight!' and then you look over at them all stacked in the corner of the arena and think ' actually....that's quite a lot of effort, maybe I won't bother' 😂. Or, if you're like me you spend so long trying to decide what to set out you then run out of time to ride at all!

But really poles are definitely worth the effort, they can be configured into all sorts of interesting patterns and combinations to keep your schooling interesting, with plenty of inspiration to be found online. Keep reading for some of my sources/recommendations.

For polework to be most beneficial it has to be done regularly, and it is always best to have some help on the ground if you plan on riding over the poles rather than doing them in hand, this way you can adjust distances as needed. Work over poles should be done on a long rein so the horse has freedom to move his head and neck around and down. When done correctly the poles will encourage him to lift through his core and engage his abdominal muscles, which will naturally bring him into a frame with lower head carriage, as his back comes up.

Polework in any gait produces benefits such as stimulating the muscles and nervous system, mobilising joints and improving straightness and symmetry, as well as greater proprioception of limbs. But each gait also has it's own benefits;

Walk Poles- in walk the horse must recruit his muscles to lift each limb over the obstacle, rather than using the momentum from trot or canter.

This also helps improve the regularity of the stride and can help with a horse that rushes or has a lateral walk

Trot poles- To successfully negotiate trot poles requires a larger 'spring' in the stride, so greater flexion of joints and lift up through the core muscles. Trot poles are very good for improving straightness and symmetry.

Canter poles- Canter poles are especially good for mobilising the back and the lumbosacral junction, the horse has to maintain a good rhythm in the canter and push from behind. Canter poles in a forward seat is especially good to encourage that back up and round underneath you.

Of course we can also make it even more challenging by raising the poles at one or both ends. This is great for improving co-ordination and proprioception of limbs, encouraging the horse to really focus on the exercise. If your horse is not well practiced at raised poles i think it is always better to start work with them in hand or on the lunge, it is quite likely he will stumble over a few but he will learn! Practice makes perfect!

In the case of raised canter poles the diagonal pair of legs in the canter dissociates and you end up with the same kind of rocking back and forth movement as in bounce fences. This is great for horses that need to mobilise the back and that may have a weaker hind leg as they have to push off with both together. However, this does cause more stress on the limbs so should be avoided in horses with previous tendon/ligament injury.

The best pole workouts feature a variety of different paths to follow, working through the different gaits. This keeps the horse interested, focussed and stops him getting ahead of himself or your direction. Some of my favourite exercises can be found at;

Equestrian Pole Club ( facebook)

Happie ( app store)

Equipole ( app store)

Equispire (facebook)

Petplan Equine Poles ( google images)

Sources;

Posture and performance by Gillian Higgins