You wouldn’t sprint a race without stretching first, and neither should your pony. A good warm-up gets his muscles loose, his brain focused, and his body ready, which means he’ll go better and is far less likely to get hurt.
The golden rule: start slow and build up. Don’t march into the warm-up arena and immediately start cantering circles.
A simple warm-up looks like this:
- Begin with a few minutes of walk on a long rein, letting your pony stretch his neck down and look around. This lets his muscles wake up gently.
- Move into a working trot, on both reins (both directions), with big, gentle circles and changes of direction to get him listening.
- Add some canter once he feels loose and forward, again on both reins.
- Pop in a few transitions (walk to trot, trot to halt) to sharpen up his focus.
- If you’re jumping, finish over a small warm-up fence or two, building up gradually. Never start on the biggest jump.
How long? Most ponies are ready after ten to fifteen minutes. Watch out for doing too much, a tired pony in the warm-up is a tired pony in the ring.
A couple of warm-up arena manners: pass left hand to left hand when meeting other riders, give jumping riders space, and stay aware of everyone around you, because it can get busy. Finish with a short walk break so your pony goes into his class relaxed, not puffed out. A calm, loose, switched-on pony is ready to do his best, and so are you.
