Pasture riding activites?

[ThatGirlTina]

Due to circumstance, I must (for the most part) ride my 12 year old QH gelding in the 30 acre pasture in which he resides. We haul to barrel races a couple times a year when opportunity presents itself, (we competed quite a bit when I was a teenager)but there are no public arenas in my area. Nor shows at the private arenas… I can ride down the road but its two lane with a fast speed limit and I dont feel safe doing so too often.

I have one barrel I play with him with, he really loves it! if he is feeling barn sourish or something of the sort I can put that barrel in the middle of the pasture and he will go right for it! But again one can only do so much with one barrel I feel…

He really enjoys mental stimulation of any kind. Trot poles on the ground, a barrel to go around, anything that gives him a job to do or a mission to accomplish while riding. Im running out of ideas to ‘play’ with him with. I feel like im letting him down when we just ride around with no general point. Like he gets bored with it, starts playing with his bit, fidgeting, etc.

Any ideas? Things I could set up with general around the house/barn items? Games under saddle? No one else to ride with, no cows either. we are out in the middle of no where.

Sometimes I take him for a jog with me instead of my dogs :winkgrin:

[BayRoan]

It sounds like you’re missing some purpose to your riding, so you both get bored. Almost anything that can be done in an arena can be done in a field, ground conditions permitting. You can do bending, flexing exercises like tightening up a circle down into a spiral, then counterflexing out of the center of it into a new circle going the other way. You can work on precise transitions by deciding to walk/jog/lope a certain number of strides before stopping, or doing the next gait. If you’re focused on counting or keeping track of your intended pattern, he’ll be more interested in what you’re doing.

I often ride with a gps unit in my pocket. One day when I was bored in a big field I decided to use our exercises to write my name across the field, so lots of random lines, then stops, turns, some backing, some circles. When I got back to the house I pulled it up on my computer to see how it came out. My focus on getting it right gave my horse something to think about other than just wandering around the field.

[Bluey]

You could drag a tire or post, forwards and backwards, work with a tarp, use logs to walk over in all kinds of patterns, across, in a fan shape, box shape, L shape, backwards thru those, sideways over the poles, at different gaits.

[GotMyPony]

I saw Craig Cameron describe an exercise once that involved only orange traffic cones - pretty cheap. I think there were about 6 that he set up in a large circle with a good bit of space between the cones and then he would do various exercises. Start in the center of circle, go out and around one cone, come back to center, go out and loop around another cone, back to the center, etc., etc. Also rode around the outside of the circle and picked one opening between cones as a gate to go inside the circle, cut across or turn around inside, etc.

I’m sorry I can’t remember all the details but you get the idea and there were really a lot of things you could do that kept your horse focusing on you and your aids - also showed where your needed to improve your aids. Plus pretty inexpensive as far as equipment goes.

You could also make up some simple pattern exercises using the cones in other configurations. Start at cone 1, walk to cone 2, back X steps, jog to cone 3 and trot a circle to the right. Walk to cone 4 and lope a circle to the left. Etc. I always think it’s more fun and more productive if there’s an element of “game” in it.

[ThatGirlTina]

Yes you can do the same riding in arena that you can a pasture. Its his attention thats different. We went to shows and competed in his younger years, and when we step into the arena its like a job in itself to him. Even just riding in circles in an arena he is more focused and attentive.

In his pasture its like he has to work where he sleeps and eats. He has always stayed in a boarding barn before, so he had a seperate stall and riding and turnout area. Now its like its all in one! Its an adjustment for us. He acts up around his favorite sleeping places or where his hay normally is or by the opening to his run in etc. Where as in an arena he isnt gate sour or differential to any place. I may do some further exploring of backroads near by we could ride down that people dont go 65mph down in addition to making up games and courses.

The idea of walk to point A ans back up x steps before trotting to point B etc is a great idea!! Not sure why I didnt think of it! We used to do things like that at our shows and he enjoyed it!

[Foxtrot_s]

I’ve always found the same - they do not concentrate the same in their own pastures. Pastures are for relaxing in…

The trick is to always make sure that when you ride you ride with total intent -
no slacking off. Shorter, with intent, better than longer just ambling around.

I ride out entirely these days, but always with the express reason to teach something, make her lighter, more responsive to weight or seat, smallest use of reins, etc. Wind through any trees with just upper body movements, eyes, etc. It is actually what I prefer.