To ride on the correct diagonal, a rider must rise when the horses outside shoulder is going forward and sit when the outside shoulder is back. When riding in a straight line or when hacking it doesn’t matter which diagonal you rise and sit to as long as you change frequently to avoid producing uneven muscle development and balance in the horse.

We use the horse’s shoulders as a guide to whether or not we are correct because they are easy to see if we glance down to check. If the shoulder is moving forward or back so must its foreleg, and so must the opposite hind leg. So if the rider rises when the outside shoulder and foreleg go forward, she is also up when the inside hind leg is forward, which means she is on the correct diagonal.

The present theory behind why we rise on this diagonal is that this leaves the inside hind leg (which does most of the pushing) free to come forward unencumbered by the riders weight so encouraging free, forward movement, provided that the rider isn’t restricting the horse with the reins.

It is possible to feel the correct diagonal, eliminating the need to look down and risking unbalancing yourself and your horse. As a horse’s hind foot comes forward, the same side of his back will dip and, because the trot is a diagonal gait, the opposite shoulder/foreleg will come forward simultaneously.

By riding with a relaxed seat in sitting trot, the rider should be able to feel this dip thus enabling them to go into rising trot on the correct diagonal without looking down to check.

Spend some time feeling your horse’s hind legs moving forwards underneath you in walk. Then progress to a slow, active, sitting trot. Loosen your seat and leg muscles. When you feel the outside hind come forward (and the inside shoulder), rise on the next beat and carry on from there and you will be on the correct diagonal.

If the problem is due to either of the first two reasons, you can solve it by going back to basics and teaching your horse how to respond to voice commands. If he is sore, then it is best to have a chiropractor look at him. Almost all horses could benefit from a visit from the chiropractor.

The last thing you should keep in mind is that perfecting your lungeing technique takes practice, but it is relatively easy to grasp. Don’t lunge your horse excessively with no particular goal in mind. You should always be focused and lungeing with a purpose. Horses get tired quickly on the lunge so limit the session to about 20 minutes.

Poles are made of wood or plastic. They are approximately ten to twelve feet long and 5 inches in diameter. You can use anything from one to ten poles at any one time it just depends on the exercise being done. Poles can be ridden over in walk, trot and canter and they help the horse to maintain balance, rhythm and energy throughout the exercise.

When first introducing your horse to poles, start off with a single pole approached in walk with a straight approach and get away, when the horse is walking over it correctly then you can proceed with trot and canter. Now it is time to ride over three poles in walk then in trot and canter remembering to increase the distance in between the poles as you change pace.

Poles For Flatwork
They are used in walk, trot and canter and help the horse to maintain a balanced, rhythmic pace with plenty of energy and flexion from the horses hindquarters. When placed close together they encourage the horse to shorten and collect the pace and if placed further apart they encourage the horse push from their hindquarters to open out and lengthen the frame of the horse.

Pole work also adds an element of interest to the horses training session and can help them to concentrate as well.

Exercises For Flatwork

• Have the poles set at a short distance to encourage shortening and collection of the stride.
• Have the poles set long to encourage lengthening of the stride.
• Have two sets of three poles set out on either side of the menage with one set asking for collection and the other for extension.
• Place seven poles on a curve so that when the center of the poles is ridden it will be at working trot, when the inside of the poles is ridden will encourage a shorter more collected stride and when the outer edge is ridden it will encourage lengthening. This is a great exercise for mixing collection and extension and because it is ridden on a curve it will also require a great deal of propulsion to be generated from the hindquarters.
• Place a single pole at each quarter point on a twenty meter circle to help you to ride twenty meters accurately and to give interest to the young horse learning to circle.
• You can also use poles when riding serpentine loops, you do this by placing them on the center line to mark out exactly where the loop needs to cross the center line. You will find yourself really looking up and ahead as well as giving your horse some extra interest when riding this exercise.
• Use a single pole when riding a turn on the forehand. By riding either up to it or along side it you can use it to help to keep the horse from moving off.
• Use a single pole positioned over x to ask for flying changes, if you raise the end of the pole of the direction you are trying to ask for it will help to encourage the horses inside hind leg to come up and change.

Pole work For Jumping
Poles are used to help the horse approach the fence with balance and control, they can also be used to encourage the horse to place the exact number of strides between fences and to encourage the horse to land on the correct canter lead. If a placing pole is slightly raised a few inches it will also aid in the energy and activity of the pace, therefore helping the horse to really activate their hindquarters.

A placing pole is a pole that is positioned before a jump at a set distance that will encourage the horse to take off in the correct place. Placing poles, when positioned in a row before the fence will help to prevent the horse from rushing towards the fence and can help to make them concentrate after the fence as well.

When poles are made into jumps they must always be resting in jump cups which attach to the jump wings. Jump cups can be either a deep semi circle or a shallow one, the more shallow they are the easier they are to knock down.

A ground pole is one that lies directly under the jump on the side it is being jumped from and gives the horse a base line in which to judge the bottom of the fence from.

Exercises For Jumping

• A line of trot poles are placed to lead the horse up to the fence.
• A line of canter poles are placed to lead the horse up to the fence.
• A cross pole is positioned on a twenty meter circle with a placing pole before and after it at the correct canter distance and on a slight curve to match that of the circle, this will help to encourage the horse to land on the correct canter lead.
• Position a placing pole in between a one stride double remembering to allow for take off and landing. The same can also be done for related distances. Using poles for related distances is a very useful way of teaching the horse to shorten or lengthen their stride and in so doing you will be able to put five or even six strides into a related four stride distance.
• Position a single fence with a slightly raised placing pole in front of it to help to get a much rounder and elevated canter.

Pole Distances
On average a horse will canter 3.65 meters with every canter stride and you need to allow approximately 1.9 for take off and 1.9 for landing when jumping from canter.

The distance in between poles on average is:

• Walk poles – 0.90cm apart.
• Trot poles – 1.25 m apart.
• Canter – 3 m apart.
• One stride double – 5.5 to 6m when approached from trot and 5.5 to 7.5 when approached from canter.
• A two stride double – 11 to 14 m when approached in canter.
• Related four/five stride double – 18 to 25 m.
• Bounce from trot – 2.75 to 3.65 m
• Bounce from canter -3.65 to 4 m.

Before you begin, get the right equipment, which should include:

• Adjustable cavesson – leather or nylon with metal rings.
• Strong linen or cotton webbing lunge line, with a buckle or spring-hook fastening.
• Lunge whip – About 2.5m long, with a 2m lash.
• Leather or webbing roller –with D-rings for side reins.
• Leather or nylon side reins, preferably with an elastic insert that ‘gives’ as the horse reaches for the contact.
• Brushing boots.

In addition the handler should always lunge wearing a riding hat, gloves and non-slip boots.

How to lunge
Stand in the centre of a 15-20m circle, with the lunge rein, whip and horse forming a triangle shape. Hold the lunge rein in one hand, looping it neatly with the other so you can release and gather up lengths as necessary. Don’t allow the rein to drag dangerously on the ground.

The whip should encourage, not scare the horse. Hold it out and down, towards his quarters, moving it in closer when the horse needs encouragement and turning it away from the horse when it is not needed.
Your voice is a useful aid, but don’t chatter constantly. Be consistent with commands, adopting a higher voice for upward transitions and deeper for downward ones, breaking the syllables ie waa-alk, or terr-ott.

Warm up
Start without side reins and lead the horse in a small circle before gradually walking away from it. Lunge some large, free circles in walk, trot and canter in both directions, encouraging the horse to stretch forwards and down.
Ask for a square halt, pat the horse and attach side the reins, which should be equal in length and loose. Tighten them gradually until the horse can accept the contact.

Don’t just keep the horse going around in circles; use the entire arena. Try lungeing circles at the short ends and then driving him down the long sides. Initially do this at walk and trot but as you become more confident (and fit!) try it in trot and canter.

Transitions and spirals
Work on upward and downward transitions on both reins. Go from walk to halt, walk to canter, canter to trot, trot to canter, etc. Aim for a balanced, unhurried canter and if the horse becomes strong return to trot and start again.

Spirals can be done at walk and trot. Begin by slightly decreasing and increasing the size of your circles. Aim for two to three metres per round, until the horse is on a 10m circle, maintaining balance and rhythm. As the horse spirals out, ideally the inside hind should cross over in front of the outside hind, similar to leg yielding.

Polework
You can also lunge over poles, but remove the side reins first. Begin with one pole, and then two to three trotting poles, 1.3-1.35m apart. Be generous with praise when your horse does well.

Lungeing is hard work, and 15-20 minutes is plenty. Before finishing remove the side reins and encourage the horse to cool down by walking freely, stretching out and down in large circles in both directions.