Hi friends! As some of you may know from experience, arena work can get boring pretty quick for both the horse and rider. So instead of trotting the same circle or figure 8 until there's ruts in the ground, we make things more interesting. We use multiple patterns in our arena work, with the intent to liven things up a bit. In our training, these not only give you something to do, but they allow you to work your horse and train while engaging the brain. The same monotonous training teaches the horse to anticipate the day's work entailment and can often lead to obstinate behavior when riding. We usually have 3-4 different patterns planned out for each day, always keeping the horse's brain engaged and focused on the next cue.
We also like to incorporate obstacles in our training. These obstacles are not only fun, but they provide a visual for the horse to see and understand. For instance, we have 4 ground poles setup in an "L" formation of a lane that we use for control when backing. The barrier of the poles teaches the horse to remain straight when in motion, while only pivoting to make the turn as not to hit the pole. Horses are very visual learners, and appreciate having clear communication to do precisely what is asked of them. More obstacles that we use can be seen in the "Gallery" tab on our website.
Feel free to leave a comment regarding how patterns and obstacles in the arena affect your horse!
See you next time! ~Jess