Suppleness with Cavaletti Training

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I’m guessing that many of you are dressage divas to the marrow! I know we’ve got riders from all disciplines in this lovely community, but if you’re like me, it’s dressage all the live-long day, and every single day! 

So it’s really important to mix it up and keep things interesting for our super willing horses. 

Cavaletti were invented by the Italian Cavalry officer Frederico Caprilli, (who invented the modern jumping seat) and they are incredibly good tools for our horses and our riding. They help improve our horses’ back, gait, strength, suppleness and elasticity. So let’s get working with some poles already!


This week’s video takes you through a cavaletti exercise I love called The Cloverleaf, and you’ll see why it’s called that in the video because we’ve got the drone out to film from the air again.

 
So firstly, when you’re using ground poles or cavaletti, always start off slow and go through the exercise at a walk. 

 
Start with a single cavaletti, then build up to two in a row. 

For the Cloverleaf exercise, lay out 4 cavaletti in a box shape.  

To ride the exercise, you need to…

Come down straight over the box. 
Change direction and make a loop.  
Then come down straight over the box again but perpendicular to the previous line.
Change the direction again and repeat ad nauseam!
This is a great exercise for horses who rush cavaletti that are laid out on a straight line as asking them to bend after every traverse of the box takes their mind off any potential rushing!

Make sure to alternate your direction as many times as possible and keep your horse guessing.

Some important things to remember as you approach the cavaletti:

Keep your horse straight 
Come at the middle of the pole. 
Keep your eyes up, fix them on a point in the point in the distance that keeps your head tilted up
Maintain the same tempo all the way through. 
You can also use the poles for a canter exercise. 

Trot through the poles
Make a bend and ask for a canter. 
Canter a full loop and come back toward the poles the same way as before
Trot over the poles once more. 
Change direction and ask for canter the opposite way and repeat the exercise. 
If you don’t have raised cavaletti, ground poles will work too. 

Watch the video where Natasha and I go through the cavaletti in the trot and canter exercises, and let me know in the comments if you find it helpful! 

#cavaletti, #dressage, #polework