The arrival of cool and crisp mornings, the kids being back at school, perhaps even the fact that Blair, Burghley and Blenheim are over for another year (sob!). There are lots of signs that autumn is here, the summer is over, and life will start to change for horse owners up and down the UK. If your passions lie in hunting and team chasing, you’ve probably been gearing up for the season ahead, getting your horses fit, schooled and ready to go. Other riders might be winding down or schooling their horse for a different discipline during the winter. Whatever your aims for the months ahead, we all face the same challenges – ever-darker mornings and evenings, cooler temperatures, rain, frost and, of course, the inevitable mud! Whilst it’s easy for summer to fly by thanks to competitions, long days, warm weather and pub rides, autumn training can require a little more inspiration, planning and motivation. Here are some of our top autumn training ideas which might just help you this season.
Solve a particular problem
Has your horse developed a new or naughty habit over the summer? Or perhaps they are struggling to perform a schooling movement or type of fence? With the shorter days impinging on the time available for many of us to ride in, a clear aim for schooling sessions will ensure you use that time well. We say use it to iron out issues so that you and your horse can work harmoniously towards your 2023 competition aims. If you need to work with an instructor, make sure you give them clear examples of the issues you’re having, how you need support and what you want to achieve.
Learn how to long rein
If the autumn and winter months mean you and your horse spend more time in the school, you will need to provide plenty of variety in what you do with them, so no one gets bored. Long reining is an excellent tool to help improve communication with your horse and see how they are working from the ground – plus it’s good exercise for you too! You can use the EquiAmi when long reining to ensure their topline muscles get a good workout and they are engaging their hindquarters property, all while you puff along after them.
Play with poles!
Another way to keep things interesting for your horse or pony and you is to plan in a gridwork session once a week and lunge over poles every now and then. Working horses over poles helps improve their accuracy, rhythm and balance, and lower their head carriage if they are tempted to turn into a giraffe when they see a pole or set of wings. Raising the poles has even more benefits, engaging the horse’s core and topline muscles as well as making accuracy and balance even more important. You can lunge or ride over poles – just remember if you’re lunging then to keep sessions to 20 minutes in total and use a training aid such as the EquiAmi to make sure the horse is collected and rounded throughout. If you ride over poles then there are also benefits for you, as pole work helps you develop feel in the saddle, an eye for distances and accuracy.
Get plenty of bang for your buck with gridwork
If your time in the school is limited or your hacking routes quickly become a boggy mess when the wetter weather arrives, here’s a great way to make the most of a schooling session. Grids aren’t just for showjumpers and the jumps don’t need to be big! Just like working over raised poles, grids are fun, help finesse your communication and help the horse develop balance and rhythm. There are so many ideas for grids online and there are even apps and online lessons you can watch to help you with setting them up.
Give your riding a full service and MOT
Lots of car owners (well, the diligent ones at least…) give their cars a full service before the winter weather arrives, checking tires, changing oil and generally checking it over. If your summer has been spent out and about enjoying yourself, why not give your riding a full service? Get someone else to video you riding and then pick over the footage to see where you might need some support. If you can have some slow-motion footage, particularly over fences and during transitions, you might be very surprised at what pops up. Share the footage with a coach and your fellow riders for their feedback and see what you can come up with to work on!
Of course, we do still have some hours of daylight after work, so for now, if a lovely hack or a play on a cross country course is what you fancy, then we say go for it. The ground is probably better than it’s been for a while and there are many months ahead of short days, frozen weather and rainy weekends coming our way!
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