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Do it mostly in trot if possible, run on either side of the horse, changing when you can and remember to ‘HAVE FUN’

1) Hula Hoop over horses head
Take this slowly, make sure you can put a hoop of rope over first, this can be quite scary to some horses!

2) Trot through 2 poles on the ground, halt after poles, back up through poles and then trot through again

3) Horse to fig 8 around 2 barrels – handler to stand one side
Use any two obstacles, barrels are just bigger but cones, electric posts, tyres, cola bottles…whatever you have…this task is all about equality of draw/drive

4) Horse to trot through some form of arch, decorated if possible to represent tree branches
if you happen to have two trees close together with branches then fab, if not then try using some old water/drainage pipe with wood in the sides OR whatever you used for a curtain last month would be good but with maybe soft tree branches or plastic flowers around the edges! be creative but keep it safe

5) Horse to push a ball 10′
Horse can use front feet or nose, any size ball from a large tennis ball to a NH ball…your choice

6) Small jump and halt within 2 strides after jump
Try to just use your energy/breathing for this task, see if your horse and you are connected!

7) Horse to circle around you in walk or trot
This goes together with task 8….circle inside the cone circle then go to task 8 afterwards

8) Horse to weave around cones put out in a circle around you  – walk or trot
6 cones works well. Again this is about connection, draw and drive in equal doses

9) Walk through a labyrinth of poles
Takes 6 poles, keep them a good distance apart and work over the year on making those distances smaller

10) Horse trot to halt and then familiarisation with an umbrella
You may only be able to walk around horse with umbrella closed. You may be able to work on opening/closing umbrella by horses side. Ultimately you want to be able to open/close umbrella pretty close to horse whilst walking around him/her.

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

  

Try this challenge at trot as much as you can but remember to progress you need to gently push yourself and your horse out of your comfort zones. It’s up to you to go as slow as you think you both need but to progress to faster when you can.

1) Go through gateway – aim is to stop horse before gate, you open gate and go through without horse moving and then at your request ask horse to come through gateway then turn to face gate whilst you close it. (either use gate to arena or field if safe to do so, or make a gate out of two electric polyposts and a bit of white tape or rope).

2) Put back feet and front feet into hula hoops so that all four feet are in two hoops – aim is to have a relaxed horse moving into them without worrying. (Remember that it’s not about the task, it’s about keeping your relationship with your horse and so do what you can and progress in your own time…it doesn’t need to be done NOW, it’s a challenge that needs time and patience)

3) Horse to trot through a narrow corridor – aim is for horse to be calm, relaxed and happy. (Make corridor as long and as tall as your horse can deal with or that you can make. If horse not happy about it then make it shorter in length and lower so that you don’t worry horse…progress during year to help horse to find this challenge easier)

4) Trot over pole and halt with pole under belly – (ie. front feet over only), wait 5 seconds then back horse off pole any way you want – aim is to have clarity on the stop and wait and a clean back up without hitting pole. (Refined way of on/off with this task is for handler to stay beside the horses shoulder but you can work in front of horse and ask for a backup from there if you want, refine it so that you can eventually stay by horses side when backing up)

5) Horse trots through a scary corner – handler on outside,  making sure horse is calm and not rushing this. Make your corner only as scary as only your horse can take, flapping flags, bags, bunting, balloons, scary masks…what ever you have or you can make. (Remember again this is about getting this task better and better so start really small and do NOT frighten your horse)

6) Stand in front of horse and ask horse to sideways around you whilst you turn pivot –  (Aim is for horse to be as straight as possible whilst doing this, he will have to move his hq’s more than his forehand on this one. GO slowly with this, if it’s hard for your horse then only ask for a couple of steps, it doesn’t have to be a full circle, ONLY what you and your horse can do but challenge yourself during the year to make it better).

7) Elongated weave with you at horses side – put 4 poles down parallel to each other about 3-4′ apart and go up and around each one in turn (see picture. (Main aim of this is to show that horse can follow you when you do left turns and away from you when you do right turns without getting upset)

8) Small jump – size only for what your horse can jump. (Aim is that horse does not rush jump or runs away afterwards, that he stays calmly with you throughout jump)

9) Go through a curtain – do whatever you can for this, I know curtains aren’t something everyone has…if no curtain then tarp over horse whilst standing still is good. If you have a curtain and horse is worried, tie back the strands on both sides and work up to just one side down and then both sides down.

10) Park horse (stand still) – walk away from him/her for between 10-20′ and then walk back. (Aim is for horse to relax and stand still…Walk straight away from his/her face and back up or even try leaving the lead rope on the floor (ground tying) and walking around your horse. Progression can be made with you further away from horse or even skipping around horse.

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

See if you can challenge yourself and your horse to trot as much as possible through this course and see if you can stay on your horses right side.

1) Back horse between two obstacles like barrels. (Make obstacles wider apart and low for horses new to these challenges. For newbies also you could come forward and then back through two obstacles. For those that are good at liberty set your barrels upright and close together)

2) Trot over a bottle bank. (A bottle bank is a small or large area set upwith 4 poles made into a square. Put as many, or as few if new to this, flattened plastic bottles as you can into that area. As you progress you can fill it up a LOT…for newbies walk through this or if your horse is frightened then YOU walk through it and horse around it…remember it makes quite a noise to get used to! Build it up over the month to where you can walk or trot horse through bank)

3) Trot tight weave – handler to stay on one side of the cones, horse to weave. (Place cones or obstacles about 4-5 paces apart, 4-6 obstacles if possible. If new to this then walk you and your horse through the pattern. If good at liberty then trot through them and make it slightly harder than the normal wider apart obstacles but don’t make it impossible for your horse to achieve some success with this..again build up the level of weave during the month)

4) Trot horse between two flags – handler to walk outside obstacles. (For newbies just ask your horse to walk through the flags and make flags a big distance apart. For those who are good at liberty challenge you and your horse to trot through flags only 1 large pace apart)

5) Trot fig 8. (Horse to do the fig 8, handler to stand just outside the pattern. For newbies you may want to walk the fig 8 with your horse by your side first and build it up gradually)

6) Familiarisation with small tarp. (Horse to stand still whilst you play with small tarp around and on horse…start small and open up as you go. For newbies you may want to use just a small plastic bag)

7) Transitions: walk/trot/halt/backup/walk/trot/halt/backup (Looking for sharp connection in the up and downward trans, using breath in to go, breath out to halt. Newbies don’t have to do backup or trot but try it all month to see if you can get another transition in your repetoire)

8) Carry two pillowcases for 10′ in walk or trot. (Have two pillowcases or sacks or plastic bags if your horse is not frightened by them, fill them with something soft like scrunched up newespaper, hay, straw or even old teddy bears, tie them at the tops and tie them together so that there is a cord or rope between them so that they can go over the horses back safely. For newbies make sure your horse is happy with the unfamiliar item, play with it a LOT before trying it at walk, keep your hand on the bag nearest you so that you can take it off if necessary)

9) 2 or 4 feet on a pedestal. (If no pedestal just put something strange or unusual for the horse to put 2 or 4 feet on, not a tarp though, something like an old carpet, old towel, piece of flat wood, rubber mat etc?)

10) Off pedestal and ask horse to stand still whilst you skip around him/her. (You can keep one hand on horse whilst gently walking around him, you can trot around him or you can skip, whatever you and your horses level)

Always remember to have FUN with these challenges

• Shelley – Horsesavvy