The Plus Sign Exercise

Use of ground poles and the cavalletti, part 4

by Alice Trindle

February is often not a favorite month for aspiring horsemen and women, as it is hard to become motivated when the snow has drifted into the trailer and through the arena door and it takes five layers of clothing to just make it out to catch your horse. Often, my winter mind has drifted as well, and it takes real dedication to get through the layers to truly think about what I am asking of my horse and where we are headed. Below, I am suggesting one more cavalletti or ground pole exercise that will give us a focus for our winter ground work and riding.

Walking, Trotting and Cantering the Plus Sign

Purpose

Sending or riding your horse over poles set out in the "plus sign" will help promote:

• Attentiveness from the horse to the placement of his feet

• Focus for both horse and rider

• Effective use of your aids without intimidation

• Stretching over the topline as the horse looks where he is going

• Eventual gathered softness, the beginnings of engagement, and rhythmic picking up of the feet.

Equipment Needed

• Eight ground poles, about 6 to 8 feet in length

• Horseman’s halter and lead; when riding, use a snaffle or bosal to begin (note: I am not referring to a mechanical hackamore, as I do not recommend their use)

• Patience, focus and a clear picture of the correct movement

Preparation

Lay out the poles in the design and dimensions as diagramed, in an area with good footing. Insert diagram from PDF

Progression of the Maneuver

Start by sending your horse over the poles on the end of your lunge line, using a horseman’s halter or caveson. Position yourself in the middle of the plus sign and work to develop a flowing rhythm at the walk, trot and canter. The goal is to have no pulling on the lunge line, and the hips and shoulders tracking up straight on the circle. (At the walk, you may need to adjust the width between the poles a bit closer together to accommodate a flowing rhythm.)

After an appropriate gymnastic warm-up, begin riding the exercise at the walk. First, as you track right, ride three-quarters of the school or a large square, then focus your eyes, torso, shoulders and hips in to the center of the first set of poles; cross them and return to the track. Next time around the school, focus on crossing the first two sets of poles, then return to the track. Keep adding pole sets until you are traveling on a circle around the entire plus sign. You are looking for rhythm, balance, flow and the horse picking his feet up over every pole while cluing off your body position and focus.

Try to use very little inside rein to guide the horse, but rather use your focus, keeping your inside leg on at the girth and your outside leg slightly back to ask for forward motion and to keep the hips from swinging out. Shoulders should remain up and balanced, and hips should be driving under and forward.

After completing the exercise at the walk traveling in both directions, move on to the trot and eventually the canter. This progression may be accomplished over the course of several days or even weeks. Don’t rush it! The biomechanics required take some time to develop in both the suppleness and the strengthening of the horse.

Warnings

• Use of the ground poles can be dangerous. Make sure you are using correct distances between poles to facilitate the rhythmic gait for which you are working. It is helpful to have a "worker bee" on the ground to help reposition poles. Using cavelletti stands where the pole is attached is safer to keep the pole from rolling under the horse’s foot.

• Take your time on this exercise. Time is not the factor; finding rhythm, balance, focus and timing are the goals.