PONY Magazine – May 2021

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Scales of Training

Cool, calm and

collected I

Find out all about collection

les of training n the final instalment of our sca on own series, we’re giving you the lowd s once pen hap t tha collection. It’s something the all d tere mas e hav you and your pony t advanced. other scales, as this one’s the mos until you You won’t need to ace collection e, but it’s still sag reach the higher levels of dres ut! abo super-useful to know

Collection Straightness Impulsion Contact Suppleness Rhythm

Collection’s something the dressage pros have down to a T! But, you’ll need to get to grips with the other five scales before you try it. You can read the previous features in the series in past issues of PONY mag, which you can order online. Visit ponymag.com/shop

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PONY magazine

Perfect harmony

Collection is when your pony brings more of his weight onto his hindquarters. It takes a lot of strength and balance to do, but you can develop his ability to collect gradually over time. It means his front end becomes lighter, so he can move with more expression and lift in his paces.

When a pony’s properly collected, it’ll look like he’s moving uphill. It helps him carry your weight better, so it’ll be more comfy for him, too!

best Best of thething that happens

Not collected This pony is Collected With time and Collection isn’t some stru ng out and falling on the to correct schooling, a pony can overnight. It takes years to teach a pony forehand. His hind legs will trai achieve l learn to shift his centre of master all the scales needed before you beh ind him because they aren’t you kind the grav like – ity and take more weight form t trues its in collection engaged properly. doing! ro, Valeg onto as his hindquarters. such s, horse age dress pro see You won’t be asked for collection until that Elementary level dressage. Some moves are... ction colle of level ate ultim show the • piaffe This is when the horse trots on the spot • canter pirouettes In canter, the horse pivots his front legs around his hind legs has some Mary King n When watching a horse perform collected trot, you • passage A very collected and for riding o e at advic re . g e c a might think it just looks slower with shorter strides. p a in h elevated trot it w k nd bac a t: a of o Actually, it’s the opposite! When you ask your pony ons e versi le id simp v You can try the Checkout _ G to collect, he needs to have enough impulsion that IN K _ Y these moves at home, such as bit.ly/MAR K he can lift his legs higher. It’s almost like you’re C A B _ D walk pirouettes, half-halts in trot, R FORWA coiling up all his energy so he bounces up higher and lengthening and shortening rather than moving forward faster! To ask your . pace a n withi his strides pony to collect his trot you need to...

1. Sit up extra tall in the saddle and look straight ahead.

2. Half-halt with the reins by keeping your elbows bent and sponging a little with your fingers.

3. Wrap your legs around his sides to keep the Looking up and ahead energy so he doesn’t drop to a walk. while you’re riding will encourage your pony to have less weight on his front end.

If you look Mini exercise down, he’s m ore Ride along one of the short diagonals in likely to tip onto his working trot and count how many strides it forehand. takes to do it. Then, ride it again in a more collected trot and try to fit in two or three extra strides!

Top tip

Slow and steady

Top tip

To some degree

This combination shows what collection should look like.

When you’re schooling your pony, collection will happen bit by bit. You can introduce him to the idea through easy exercises that encourage him to take more weight onto his hindquarters. This’ll help him start to build the muscle he needs to hold it for longer. Then you can start to ask him to collect for a little longer each session so you don’t ask him too much in one go.

Turn over for a fun exercise PONY magazine

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Nice to meet you Get handy tips from This Esme on how to introduce a new pony into the herd

W

hen I got my newest horse, Joey, I was super-nervous about how he’d get on with Mickey and Casper. Luckily they’re all best friends now, but there are some steps you should always take when introducing ponies to each other to keep them as safe and calm as possible!

On the fence The safest way to introduce new ponies to each other is by doing it gradually. Start by turning the new pony out near to the others so they can see each other. After a week or so, when things seem settled, try turning him out into a neighbouring paddock so they’re separated by just a fence. This means they can sniff and get to know each other while still having their own space.

did you know?

Ponies are herd animals, which means they’re happiest in the company of others. So it’s ideal if they can be turned out in a field with friends they get along with rather than by themselves.

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PONY magazine

Top tip

If you’re bringing a new pony onto the yard, he’ll need to be quarantined for three weeks to make sure he doesn’t have any infectious diseases that could be passed on to the other ponies.

in a pinch Before you put the new pony in with the others, it’s super-important you check the field’s set up in a way that he can’t get stuck anywhere if he were to be chased. Remove any pinch points where he could get trapped by rounding off the corners of the paddock fence using posts and electric tape.

Make sure there are a few different sources of water for the new pony to drink from, too, in case he’s not allowed near the main trough at first. Put a bucket in an open part of the field where he could get away quickly if he needed to.

The safest way to introduce new ponies to each other is by doing it gradually PONY magazine

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