‘I find polework for horses very useful for many things and advocate its use during training and rehabilitation from a wide range of injuries,’ she says. ‘It is a versatile training method, which can be used at walk, trot or canter, in-hand or ridden and can help increase the range of motion in the limbs and spine, while providing low-impact exercise particularly when used at the walk and in-hand.
‘Poles can improve a horses’ proprioception (awareness of the placement of the limbs), balance, rhythm, suppleness and straightness. In young horses I find walking over poles in-hand can noticeably improve their proprioception, which benefits their balance when ridden, particularly when jumping or crossing uneven ground, for example, during cross country.’
For horses returning from injury, there has often been a period of rest and possible confinement, which can lead to stiffness and muscle-mass loss from inactivity. Juliette will often recommend walking over poles during the ground-work period between box rest and returning to ridden exercise.
‘This can help to encourage improved joint flexibility and start to build topline and hindquarter muscle with controlled in-hand exercise,’ she explains. ‘There is also the benefit of increasing a horse’s interest levels in slower ridden work or ground work – by keeping the work varied, they are more likely to stay engaged and interested, and hopefully enjoy the work more.’
Trot poles can be used to help train a horse to shorten or extend the trot stride, and the exercise can be made more strenuous by raising the poles to increase the activity required and add elevation to the pace.
‘Canter poles are particularly useful prior to jump training to establish the correct canter rhythm and pace required so that the stride pattern is correct when the poles become fences on related distances,’ Juliette says. ‘I use poles on a curve to add engagement of the inside hindleg. Used in both directions, this will improve hindlimb engagement evenly and therefore encourage the horse to move and jump straight.’
Fancy having a go? We’ve put together a selection of polework exercises to help inspire you:
Click the icons below to reveal some great pole, jump and grid exercises for you and your horse to try.
