The summer is finally here !

I promised to write a post about how i train my younger/older horses. At the moment i have two five year olds, four six year olds, one seven year old and one ten year old horse. With all of my horses i do a lot of dressage work to make the horses stronger in their body and the rideability better. I think it is really important that i have a good control when i jump the course in the shows, and you cant expect that the horses will work at the show if i does not work at home. One of my ground rules is repeating, when you train something a lot, it will start to come from it self step by step. 

With my younger horses i normally jump once a week a course to give them some experience. I also do few times a week some work with poles and cavalettis.

My older horses i do mostly exercises at home, since they are more experienced to jump a course. The exercises what i do is like in-and-outs or lines with different distances.

One thing i also like to train my horses with is to lunge them with a pessoa system. It is good for them to work also sometimes with out a rider on their back. Especially for stiff horses it's a really good aid, it makes them more elastic and loose in their body. 

The younger (5-6yo) horses work normally five times a week, and the rest two days they go on the field and hand walking. The older ones work six times a week. 

All of them come twice a day out from the box so either its riding/lunging in the morning and in the afternoon field/walker or the other way around. 

There was also a question about how i take care of the legs after i have been riding or jumping.

Some horses i use bandages for the night or just cool the legs after riding. My favorite stable boots are from "back on track" and I like to use them after jumping with the older horses if needed. I never really used any cooling gels, i rather cool the legs with clay or ice boots. I don't use these things with horses who don't need it, especially with younger horses. my main idea is that a good young horse doesn't need these things too early. 

xx Rebecca