Woohoo! It’s a new month and a new challenge!

February’s Monthly Motivation: Clever Fox

Each week, work on your Haflinger’s nimbleness with a new ground pole exercise. On the ground or under saddle, how sly are they on their feet?
Feb 1-7: The Moving Fan – set up your poles in a fan shape (raised poles 1-2 feet apart at the center of the fan, and on the ground about 5 feet apart at the open end). Now ask your horse to bend around a tight circle to cross over the raised ends of poles. TAKE YOUR TIME and ask him to very carefully take one tiny step between each of these poles (when horses are tight or stiff, they will try to step over two poles at once rather than shortening and lifting their stride to step in to each gap between the raised poles). After this pass, ask your horse to drift outward to now cross the poles at their widest spacing. Ask him to extend his stride and take TWO steps between each pole. Then tighten your circle back up and repeat!

Feb 8-14: Switchbacks! Set your poles up end to end, forming a giant zig zag. Ride straight over each pole, circle back to cross the next pole, circle the other direction to cross the third pole, and repeat. From subtle changes in bend to advanced flying changes, this exercise requires clever footwork and clever handling or riding! When you’re ready to make it harder, connect your circles to change your bend over the poles instead of between them.

Feb 15-21: Stay tuned…

Share your adventures with all four exercises and earn your clever fox charm!