Pole Work for Dressage Riders - by Katrin Ann Querbach (Paperback)

About the Book

"While working with ground poles is not new to most riders, incorporating them in training with creativity and regularity may require a little inspiration and guidance. Enter Ann Katrin Querbach and her positive and persuasive ideas for developing the horse's body and movement in healthy and correct ways over poles. With progressive exercises at all three gaits, on the longe line and under saddle, she provides a basis for building a strong foundation, step by step. Or, just as easily, the reader can cherry-pick the exercises best suited to resolving a particular issue or improving a certain quality."--

Book Synopsis

Over 50 fun and easy-to-follow exercises using ground
poles to improve the horse's musculature and way of going.

While working with ground poles is not new to most riders, incorporating
them in training with creativity and regularity may require a little
inspiration and guidance. Enter Ann Katrin Querbach and her positive and
persuasive ideas for developing the horse's body and movement in healthy and
correct ways over poles. With progressive exercises at all three gaits, on the
longe line and under saddle, she provides a basis for building a strong
foundation, step by step. Or, just as easily, the reader can cherry-pick the
exercises best suited to resolving a particular issue or improving a certain
quality.

Readers will find exercises that focus on:

- Rhythm and tempo

- Forwardness

- Straightness

- Transitions

- Collection and lengthening

- And building the horse's abs, legs, and hind end

Pole work develops coordination, balance, and concentration in
both horse and rider. It helps the rider develop a feel for a "correct" trot,
active hindquarters, and lifted back in the horse. The rider learns to maintain
"positive tension" ("engagement") in her body, while still remaining relaxed
enough to follow the horse's movement. The horse must lift his hind legs
significantly higher than usual in order to clear the poles, developing the
coordination of the dorsal and ventral muscle chains, lifting the horse's back
and engaging his neck. He is encouraged to build muscle in a manner that's both
systematic and correct. This collection of exercises seeks to provide all these
benefits and more, not only for the dressage rider seeking to correct or optimize
the elements judged in competition but also for the recreational rider wishing to
keep her horse fit and sound over a lifetime.

Review Quotes

"Highly recommend. This is a valuable resource that every dressage trainer should utilize."--Catskill Horse

"A great read for any rider looking to add new training tools to their personal kits."--Heels Down

"German Equestrian Federation-certified instructor Ann Katrin Querbach goes beyond the usual advice about using cavalletti to improve dressage horses' strength, rhythm, and cadence." --US Dressage Connection

About the Author

Ann Katrin Querbach is a certified riding instructor with
the German Riding Federation (FN) in both English and Western riding. She ran her own riding school from 2007 to 2017, showing her
students both worlds: Many Western riders were able to get their horse more
stable through dressage exercises and dressage riders benefited from the great
mobilizing exercises found in Western riding. She is the author
of several books, including 50 Best Arena Exercises and Patterns, and
the creator of a horse training app.