January -"What can we do in the winter to beat boredom in the arena for riders and horses? Question answered by Sam from  Kingoak Stables  in Oakville, Ont.

In the winter time we do not jump much, but use pole work to develop our eye in finding distances, and to work our horses in collected, working, and extended gaits. All of this work can be done in all gaits and on your own time. You do not need your coach around to practise these exercises because your horse will tell you whether or not your are riding it correctly, you just need to know the language.

The following exercise is great because it will work at walk, trot and canter, in any size arena and it is safe to do without your coach present.

You will need to set some poles, at random around the arena, that you can approach from any direction and across the diagonals. It is a good warm up for you and your horse if you lead your horse around with you while you set your "pole course".

While you are warming up at the walk, notice if your horse puts in a small step before the pole or if the pole is taken in stride. Any time the small step is present this indicates that the horse is not in front of your leg. If the horse takes a long step, or increases pace before the pole take this as an indication that you may need to increase your rein contact to organize your frame on the approach to the pole. Remember to ride from your leg into your hand. Once you can meet all the poles in stride at the walk move on to the trot (posting) and use the same signals from your horse to correct your ride. A short stride before the pole means the horse is behind your leg, a longer stride or increased pace at the pole means you may need to increase the rein contact. At the trot try to establish a rhythm around the arena and this will help you meet the poles in stride.

Successful at the trot? Move on the the canter, again trying to establish a rhythm, and taking the same cues from your horse that you did at the walk and trot at the poles to tell if your ride was correct or not.

If you have a very well schooled horse and you wish to make the exercise more challenging all you need to do is change the pace within the gait. For example, try to meet the poles in stride at a collected trot and canter as well as in the working trot and canter. Another variation on the exercise is to make one circuit of your "pole course" at the trot then immediately into the canter for one circuit and then return to the trot and see if your horse is still in rhythm and between your leg and hand.

Another variation on the exercise is to try it on a different horse. Ask a friend to switch horses (check with your coach) and try the exercise from the beginning at the walk and progress slowly until you get the feel of the new mount.

If you practise these exercises you will find that you have developed a greater "feel" for your horse, refined your aids, developed a good eye for distance and had lots of fun. Remember that most of your time on a course of jumps is spent riding straight lines and corners. If you are successful at riding the "pole course" you will find when the time comes to start jumping again you are a much more refined rider and that your horse is more responsive.