Sometimes it seems like a real dilemma to fit everything into one training session. The following is from an email I got recently. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Q. How do you fit all the “things” you need to into your training sessions? I’m a First level rider with a confirmed First level horse. My problem is that there are so many things that need work.

1. Everything needs fine-tuning.
2. I want to build more strength, and I also want to do some small jumps.
3. I want to work on lengthenings.
4. I want to work on counter canter.
5. I want to improve lateral work.
6. I want to work on bringing the poll up while staying supple.
7. I want to work on my 10m trot and canter circles.
8. I have a freestyle that is almost complete. I want to practice it and riding to the music.
9. I want to give him time out of the arena (hacking or a hunter pace)

…And I want to give him time off.

I’m finding that I’m running out of time with each schooling session. I warm up walk, trot, and canter and then do a little lateral work. I then work on suppleness, straightness and contact. When I’m done with that, there’s not much rider or horse left for anything else. It just seems like there is so much that needs work, I don’t know where to start.

A. I know how you feel! Just imagine what it’s like to “fit everything in” when you’re schooling at FEI levels!

Here’s the key. You don’t need to do everything every day. You also don’t need to do a lot of anything to improve. I often do an exercise just twice before I move onto the next thing.

You can also combine working on suppleness, contact, and straightness while you’re doing your exercises. For example, give connecting aids to improve contact and connection as you do a transition into a lengthening. And then on the transition back to working trot, supple three times either to the inside (+7/+1) or outside (-7/0).

Another thing I do after my initial warm-up is to concentrate one day on either just the trot work or just the canter work. Use your hack days, play days, jumping days, and days off in between work days. Those are the days when your horse actually gets stronger. That is, you stress muscles, and then you give them a chance to recover.

I generally do a “training scale check” (rhythm, suppleness, connection, impulsion, straightness) during my warm-up in walk, trot, and canter.

Then I spend the bulk of my ride (maybe 20 minutes) confirming and polishing old work.

If I’m having a good ride, I might spend 5 minutes introducing a new exercise.

Then I cool down by stretching long and low and sometimes hacking on the hills.

Stay calm… You’ll be fine-tuning and improving things forever. It’s just part of the training process. You can always add more impulsion, more engagement, more bend to lateral work. So, if you expect training to be an on-going work in progress, you won’t feel so overwhelmed by having to do everything everyday.

Jane Savoie
1174 Hill St ext.
Berlin, VT
05602