๐๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค......
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How much do you think about your warm up?
Warm up is the chance to set the tone for the work thatโs coming, itโs a chance to work out where you and your horse is maybe feeling weakest and of course where youโre both feeling good.
If youโre a โwing itโ rider when it comes to what youโre actually going to do with that ride, then the warm up is a great place to see what actually needs working on.
If youโre a rider with a plan, the warm up is a place where you can set your horse up to win, where you can prepare them for what you have planned.
๐ฉ๐๐, the warm up is also a place to create an atmosphere of fun and ease for our horses.
When I warm my horses up Iโm looking to get them into โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ, to look at the work as fun and for them to trust me in ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐.
So how I organise their warm up is according to what they find easy.
If they are most comfortable in canter for example I ๐๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ, if they love taking it easy, then I do ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ and movements in their walk.
What I try ๐ง๐จ๐ญ to do is start in their ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ pace, as to me this just gets them thinking โ๐๐๐ โ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ข๐โ ๐๐๐๐โ and thatโs not the thought I want my horse to have of whatโs to come.
We also need to remember ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, itโs so easy to have a great ride the day before and expect that to happen immediately, that feeling to return and then start to panic and get frustrated when it isnโt there.
We need to remember that our horses arenโt machines and like us they need time to get their bodies feeling good again, as do we. For those of you that do any sort of body work on yourselves you will know that at the beginning of your class you will feel a lot less mobile than midway though or by the end. And this is true every time you practice. ๐ฐ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. No matter how good they felt the ride before they will never feel that good from the moment you sit on them the next time, they ๐ง๐๐๐ time to loosen up.
The other thing we need to think about is what has our horse been doing before this ride? Have they been stables for a few hours? Have they been put in their field? Have they been on the horse box? This will tell us how stiff they feel and how much warm up they will need. A horse that has been stabled will need alot more walking than a horse who has been out in the field all day.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฉ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.
Some questions to ask:
โข What has my horse been doing before this ride?
โข Whatโs your horses favorite pace?
โข What is your ultimate aim for your ride?
โข How do you feel in the saddle today?
โข How does your horses energy feel?
โข How do they respond to the aids?
โข How do they feel on each rein?
These questions can really help you to develope a warm up that helps your horse and you.
Do you have any other warm up ideas? Or questions? Comment below ๐๐ผ