Ground pole exercise

Michel teaches Sélène who rides Surf de la Cense. The exercise starts with slower gaits to introduce the path to the rider and horse. The idea is to get the rider accustomed to the track and the flow of the movement at a walk and a trot. The set-up with ground poles marks the path with precision.
To follow Michel’s instructions, Selene doesn’t have a choice but to plan mentally and physically each part of the track ahead of time. She needs to stay mentally active while planning for the next move.
After practising a couple of times at a slower gait, Selene practises at a trot and a canter. Michel adjusts the set-up to favour the correct cadence at each gait.
To Michel, Selene’s work is excellent and should be a reference for any rider. The slow motion sequences of the video are very useful to the viewers to get the correct feel for it.

For this session, Michel teaches Charlotte and her mare Rasbury. She starts the exercise at a trot. For less experienced horses and riders, it would be better to start at a walk two or three times. It will allow them to get a feel for the pattern and the requirements of the exercises in a quiet way.
Charlotte will have to resolve some difficulties such as keeping her mare straight between the poles and changing the lead in a spot more suitable for the rest of the course. Little by little she gets better at it, thanks to Michel’s advice.

Don’t hesitate to practise this exercise. It is an excellent way to test the connection with your horse and the quality of your work before going to jump.

Michel makes Pierre and Quatmandou work on some ground poles placed in a circle.  As already discussed, working over ground poles is an excellent way to verify if the parameters of speed, track, and balance can be maintained.

 

At first, Michel explains Pierre how to get his horse to stretch down his neck with a minimum of influence. Little by little Quatmandou starts to trust the rider’s hand, and is seeking for the connection. This movement of stretching the whole horse’s muscle mass and his joints is an essential step toward the collection.
 

During the exercise, we noticed that Quatmandou wanders off the circle. Michel offers a very efficient solution by only working on Pierre’s position.

 
The session continues by going over a ground pole at a canter. The priority is to maintain a given speed and a precise path. Nonetheless, Pierre has to work on his position in order to follow the jump whatever the stride and spot.

Michel explains Pierre how to set his mind to better anticipate his actions and to follow the priorities given for the exercise.

Alice’s horse has kind of a short back and he’s always rushing. Michel sets-up some trotting poles then some cantering ground poles. The goal is to increase Pharaon’s length of strides by modifying the set-up as the exercise progresses. As for Alice, she needs to adjust to her horse’s behaviour and never interfere with her horse’s stride while channeling his excess of energy. Michel teaches her how to improve her control over the horse using her aids in a better way. In the meantime, the rider has to stay perfectly serene in her mind and body in order to let her horse’s movements go through without fueling his excitement.  The exercise has to be performed with a minimum of physical constraints for the horse so they’re basing the work on Pharaon strong abilities and easing in his weakness.