What’s in Your Arena? is an EN series sponsored by Attwood Equestrian Surfaces in which riders share their favorite jumping exercises. It’s easy to get stuck in a training rut, and we hope this will inspire you with fresh ideas that you can take home and incorporate into your own programs.
If you progress far enough in the sport you’ll eventually come across a fence on the skinnier side, but not to fear! Evention TV is here with some exercises to introduce you and your horse to narrow fences.
In this edition of What’s in your Arena? Dom and Jimmie Schramm walk us through five levels of skinny fences. This progression starts with the basics with a pole on the ground all the way up to jumping a single barrel.
Start small. Dom starts the progression over a small box. A ground line cut smaller can also be used for this stage. If starting at the trot is a little too much, you can also always start at the walk.
Build gradually. Before you progress in size or technicality, Dom explains that it’s important to only continue to progress in size and technicality if your horse is confidently taking you to the fence. Ignoring these issues at the beginning can lead to holes in your training later on.
Guide poles are a great tool. They help enforce straightness as you begin to jump skinny fences. Taking away guide rails is also a good tool to test your straightness as you get more confident.
Do you have an exercise to share or is there an eventer you would like to nominate for the “What’s in Your Arena?” series? Email [email protected].
