WORKING
STEP-OVERS
By SUSAN
DUDASIK
By now
you should be comfortable walking and trotting your horse, in
hand, over a variety of ground poles and should be ready to
move on to raised poles. To start this exercise, place three
poles on the ground about ten feet apart. Walk your horse through
them. If he has trouble walking smoothly through them you may
have to change the spacing slightly to accommodate his stride.
When he can walk smoothly through them, it's time to move on.
To start,
place the first two poles on the ground and raise the last one
about six inches, no more. You can do this by resting the pole
on a wood block, dirt-filled coffee can or tire. Remember your
poles should be at least ten feet long. On a loose lead, walk
your horse toward the poles. As you approach the raised one,
use a verbal cue like "Step-up." Remember to keep
slack in the leadrope so your horse can drop his head. Without
breaking your stride confidently step over the pole and walk
forward. Don't hesitate or look down at the pole or at your
horse's hooves. This will put you out of position as your head
and shoulders will be bent down and most likely you will be
unconsciously tipped toward your horse. Your body language will
be telling him to either stop or move away from you. Besides
it’s your horse's job to be watching where he puts his
hooves, not yours and you must learn to trust his judgment.
On the trail or in the showring, it should be his job to take
care of you.
Ask your
horse to go through the poles three or four times. When he is
confident in doing so, remove the first two ground poles. Raise
the single pole to about a foot high. Then take one of the extra
ground poles and put it right in front of the raised pole. When
your horse succeeds at that place the third pole about six inches
above the second so you now have three poles each above the
other. But don't go any higher than 18 inches otherwise your
horse will want to hop or jump over the obstacle. When showing
in Trail there is a definite difference between a step-over
and a jump and you will be penalized for doing either the wrong
way. So for now you just want to concentrate on having your
horse step over the poles. Jumping comes later.
After your
horse has mastered stepping over the single raised pole, go
back to using all three poles spaced about ten feet apart. This
time, leave the first pole on the ground and raise only the
middle pole about six inches. Work that several times then raise
the third pole so you have one on the ground and two raised.
The next step is to raise the third pole about a foot so you
have a ground pole, one at six inches and the third at a foot.
Don't be in a big hurry to reach this stage. If your horse is
having any problems, go back to where he was comfortable. Remember,
when leading your horse through a series of poles, your body
language plays a big part on how he reacts. If a problem occurs,
don't assume it is his fault. Take a look at what you are doing,
too. If you have been following this series from the start,
chances are your horse is more in tune to your actions then
you may realize.
For the
next step, leave the third pole at about a foot high and raise
the second pole to that height. Work that several times then
raise the first pole to a foot high so all three poles are the
same. Don't forget, when leading your horse through a series
of poles, whether on the ground or raised, you must maintain
a steady pace. Don't slow down or hesitate or your horse will
break his stride and hit a pole.
After several
sessions, when your horse is proceeding well, you can add more
variety to your pole work. Just remember to go slow and give
your horse a chance to see what he is doing. As you advance,
begin moving the poles closer together. This will introduce
your horse to show-type walk-overs which are generally spaced
at 18", 22" or 24" inches apart and up to 18"
high. Next, set four or five poles in a row and vary the height
of each pole. This will encourage your horse to watch where
he is stepping and not rush through them.
When your
horse is proficient at walking through a variety of pole patterns,
go back to the beginning and do the same thing at the trot.
Start with three poles on the ground and slowly raise them.
For showing, trot-overs are spaced about 2 1/2 feet apart for
a slow jog and 31/2 feet for an extended jog.
For another
exercise, go back to a single pole about a foot high. Lead your
horse toward the pole and stop about three feet away. Tell your
horse to "Whoa" and step over the pole. Once you are
safely on the other side, call your horse. He should quietly
walk over the pole and stop near you. This is an excellent exercise
for all horses. If you need to cross a stream or fallen log,
your horse will stand until you are clear and not just take
a flying leap and land on you.
Another
exercise that is often seen in Trail classes is to lead your
horse over the pole and as his front hooves hit the ground,
tell him to "Whoa." He should stop and stand quietly
without fussing. As you prepare to walk forward, remind him
to "Step-up." Often this type of obstacle is used
in combination with a side-pass. The horse steps over then straddles
a pole and side-passes off.
By spending
time on the ground, you can teach your horse to work a variety
of step-over obstacles and improve your trust in each other.
Susan Dudasik
Shadow Rider Equine News
srider@salmoninternet.com
Member: Idaho Press Club
North American Saddle Mule Association
