3 Patterns to Improve Your Riding

For more patterns and exercises to improve you and your horse, organized by beginner, intermediate, and advanced, check out my book Stay in the Saddle - 67 Exercises for Horse and Rider: www.horseclass...

[@dreamzofhorses]

Tip to drawing a circle. Draw it backwards. From the starting point go counter clockwise. I don't know why but it makes drawing a circle much more easier to make an accurate circle. Something I learned when I taught workshops.

[@annemstevens]

I like to also put a cone in the center of my circles. Helps to give a visual of keeping yourself the same distance away from the cone all the way around. 🙂

[@taylora7397]

ive only worked on patterns 3 times in a lesson the first two i couldn't do a serpentine and the second i fell off, i really needed this. thank you

[@-shmoopie-]

so happy to support you, you have really helped me with your videos! looking forward to using the book. I'm coming back from a broken leg and my horse has had over 3 months off, so it will be especially useful 😊 I'd have to say figure 8s are my fave pattern to work with!

[@Nimeariel]

I like figure 8s too, and squished figure 8s as well- where instead of crossing across the short side, you cross down the center line. Figure 8s that are more "digital" looking or hourglass-shaped (as in, riding the corners and rails to make the 8 more square) and 8s that are more rounded like 2 circles combined both are go-to exercises for me.

[@electrasong9954]

On a headstrong horse, the 20 metre circle, with a stop between poles, somewhere on the circle.

[@homitech4435]

Hello how are you! Can I talk to you personally?

[@abdullahilawal9830]

thanks, i will definitely get a copy

[@zohahamad5103]

Hi! Kally I need some advice.....when ever I try to give my horse an aid I can't seem to be able to reach the proper area of his stomach and he doesn't understand what I want him to do because of my poor aid giving technique

[@Nimeariel]

Is it because you have differently-proportioned legs to your horse (too short or too long) or is it the stirrups or other equipment that is preventing you from reaching the "proper area"? I promise you as long as you can reach the horse generally in the middle of their body, your horse can feel you! You will just need something else to back up your leg aid at first, such as a crop/whip, verbal cue, or other means. I know this because I had a little 3yo at our barn riding a big horse and her feet barely even reached below the skirt of the saddle (it was a western saddle) and so she couldn't properly "kick" the horse to go. Well, we gave her a crop and told her to only tap the horse behind the saddle with it when he WASN'T doing what she wanted, but at the same time, to kick him as hard as she could (which was not very hard at all). We hung the crop from the saddle horn so she didn't have to hold it the whole time. Well, that horse learned very very quickly that when she "kicked" him, it meant go because first she would kick him, then pick up her crop, then reach behind her, then kick him and tap him with the crop at the same time, which in turn would make him go. Each time she did it, he learned one step less- kick, pick up crop, reach behind, tap, go; kick, pick up crop, reach behind, go; kick, pick up crop, go; kick, go. So, I promise that if you do something similar to this, your horse WILL learn to go off of YOUR leg aids, no matter where it is placed on him in proportion to where it is supposed to be.

[@zohahamad5103]

@@Nimeariel thank you for clearing this up for me😊