Get precise with Polework!

It's no surprise that great horsemen like Ingrid Klimke use poles and cavaletti as part of the training and development of all of their horses, from those destined for grand prix dressage to 5* eventers.

I incorporate polework into all of my horses' programmes regardless of their age, development stage or role. But before I even get near a pole, I want to know that my horse is mentally prepared and in a learning frame of mind. This blog will look at the psychology behind helping your horse get confident with poles as well as the 'how' to go about having fun using them.

There are many benefits to incorporating poles into your session from both a horse and rider perspective, whether that's on the ground or under saddle.

Polework develops rhythm, purpose, balance, straightness, and adjustability. It's a great strength and fitness builder for developing different areas of your horse's body as well as a useful tool when used correctly in rehabilitation after injury.

Working with poles helps develop focus, feel, balance, variety, and independence in your riding.

When you first introduce poles, take it slowly. I like to ask my horse the question: "Can you?"

"Can you walk over one pole on the ground?"

When the answer is 'yes,' we get to increase the difficulty. You might add more poles, adjust the layout of the poles, or change the gait you're asking from the horse. That could be as simple as "Can you trot over a single pole on the ground?" or "Can you walk over two poles on the ground?"

I use a step-by-step process for helping introduce my horses to poles. It's the same process I would use to introduce them to show jumps, cross country obstacles, any obstacle really—even things like a tarp, pedestal or trailer.

I first ask the horse to:

If your horse finds it hard to stay straight on the approach, stopping where they can be straight will help them figure out that direction is an important key in the process. I would rather have them take a long time to get straight than try and rush them over the pole.

Visually this would look like: Eyes, Nose, Ears, Feet.

This process is the same on the ground and under saddle.

If I'm working with a young, green or particularly unconfident horse, I would allow the horse to really stretch their neck down and out over the poles. I would really give my rein or line so that they don't feel at all trapped, to the point where they may even brush their whiskers along the poles as they go over them.

The horse's body language whilst tackling poles or obstacles gives you valuable feedback as to how they feel about the process.

Outwardly this can sometimes look like excitement, avoidance, or over-exuberance.

Some horses will appear to get 'excited' if they rush towards the obstacle. This change in rhythm often shows either greenness or lack of education that results in anxiety or anticipation. This will take time to undo and often affects connection and adjustability.

Some horses will jump poles. This can indicate exuberance and talent, but it can also be the outcome of anxiety or claustrophobia. In eventing, you don't want the horse to jump higher than necessary—this loses you time and can be dangerous over big, wide cross-country fences.

One of the things that can go wrong if the horse is rushed to jump without really engaging their brain in the question is that they end up a little bit claustrophobic when they're going over jumps and they tend to over-jump.

You can see a pretty good example of this with horses that over-jump ditches. They might jump the ditch, but they're not really looking where they're going, so they end up jumping really high and up in the air, and it feels like a really uncomfortable jump for both horse and rider.

All that happens is the horse never really thought over the ditch. They just reacted to pressure when they were pushed whilst looking down into the ditch. Pressure is an accelerant of thought—in this case the horse ends up going up in the air in a cat leap using more energy than needed rather than thinking forward and over.

It's not as simple as just getting the horse over the obstacle. One of the biggest challenges riders often face, especially when working with a young or green horse or when re-educating an older one, is seeing progress before the horse physically goes over the obstacle.

Sometimes it's hard to see when a refusal or run-out is getting better and recognise the positive things the horse can learn from each experience.

Think about training your horse's mind as well as body. Just because physically he has gone over doesn't mean that mentally he thought it was a good idea and would do it again.

I remember watching our friend Tik Maynard do a demo once, where he compared something as simple as crossing a water tray to a journey made up of 100 little steps. It really stuck with me. So often, when we take a horse cross-country schooling, we think of success in just three parts: approach the water, go in, and come out the other side. But when you break it down the way he did, you start to see all the moments in between that really matter—the horse stepping off the lorry calmly, settling into the new venue, warming up, circling near the water, making the first approach, walking in quietly at different gaits, even just breathing and relaxing by the edge.

When I look at it that way, success doesn't have to mean we get through the water that day. It might mean the horse managed 30 of those 100 steps with confidence. And that, to me, is far more valuable than forcing him through all three "big" steps while he's tense or afraid. Because the first horse will come back next time ready to try again, while the second will only remember the water as something frightening and pressured.

This is where engaging the mind is the winning formula. Rewarding the thought process of going over the obstacle is almost more important in the learning stages than rewarding the physical act of the horse going over the obstacle.

The idea of this game is to ask the question "Can you?" and then if the horse says no, go back a step and make it easier.

There might be many ways your horse could lose confidence in the early stages. The foot might touch the pole, the light might change so there's more shadow, the environment might change, or the exercise might get too complicated.

When training on your own, be quick to make it easier again. One of the most effective ways of doing this from your horse's perspective is to go back to your question: "What can you do?"

If you stick to the game of "Can you?", this is really straightforward because if you're asking your horse to do something they can't do, you just work backwards until they can say YES to your question.

I love working with horses on the ground for so many different reasons, one of the big ones being it gives you a really clear visual for how much the horse understands what is being asked and therefore how mentally involved they are in the training. It's so much easier to see their eyes and ears and how connected and expressive they are in the body from the ground.

Jumping horses from the ground, especially when introducing cross-country obstacles, is one of my favourite things to do. It enables you to help the horse grow in confidence without the worry of the rider accidentally getting left behind or not slipping the reins enough if the horse over-jumps.

When introducing ditches, for example, you can really see when a horse is confident or not. First the horse might not even be able to look at the ditch, so the goal is for them to look at it, then in it, then over it. Once they are confidently looking over it, you know that they are more inclined to be thinking over it and therefore you can ask for that.

I would use the same sequence we talked about for riding when I'm playing with horses on the ground, so in this situation:

Then

Can you take your feet over the ditch with rhythm and suppleness in your mind and body and eventually with little input from me?

This article is more about how to tackle poles than specific exercises, however here are a few really useful ones to get you started.

Place single poles around the arena and travel over them at walk, trot or canter. This exercise is excellent for confidence building, relaxation, and rhythm.

Give lots of rein or line if working on the ground. Allow the neck to stretch down and forwards over the pole. Keep your eyes up and your body back. Use a neck strap to avoid getting left behind the movement.

Place four walk poles in a straight line. Start with the poles on the ground, then raise one side, working up to raising both sides. The goal is a steady, purposeful rhythm.

This exercise builds strength, straightness, and accuracy. It's excellent for warming up, stretching the hamstrings, and rehabilitating after injury.

Try incorporating straight lines, circles and transitions. Circle 20 metres with a square halt transition opposite the poles—this develops engagement, accuracy and responsiveness. Halt for a second then immediately walk off.

Create a fan using four poles, with a straight guide pole at each end to help the horses find the approach—six poles total.

Set the inner line for walk or collected trot in advanced horses, the centre line for trot, and the outer line at 5.3ft for medium trot.

Increase the challenge by raising the furthest end of every other pole, then all ends, then both ends.

This exercise develops rhythm, suppleness, and core strength.

Start on a circle, working through three phases:

- Walk the inner line, aiming for purposeful steps

- Trot the middle line, aiming for steady rhythm

- Trot the outer line, aiming for balanced forward trot

Aim for consistency on each track before adding variety or increasing difficulty.

Variations include leg yield away on the circle after the last pole, riding a change of direction, upward transition after the last pole, or downward transition before the first pole.

Developing the Canter

Place two poles 60ft apart and approach in working canter. Canter five strides between the poles. Once consistent, start adjusting the strides.

Try to go from five to six strides, then back to five again. This develops balance, adjustability, and accuracy.

Pick a specific point in the distance to focus on, and keep your upper body tall to develop feel and balance.

I leave each exercise set up in the arena for about a week or so. That way I can develop the difficulty and variety within the exercise over a period of days, depending on each horse's age and stage.

The great thing about many polework exercises is that the poles do most of the work for you. Your horse will learn where to place his feet directly from the poles, which helps with quick thinking and responsiveness.

Polework is simple, but done wrong it can place unnecessary strains on muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments and can be a source of lost confidence for many horses. Done correctly, it can be a supportive tool in developing strength and fitness as well as successful rehabilitation after injury.

Remember, it's not just about getting over the pole—it's about how your horse thinks and feels about the process. When you prioritise the mental side of training alongside the physical, you'll find that both you and your horse enjoy the journey so much more.