Equest Connect In-hand – A fantastic way to exercise your horse in this weather

Hasn’t it been wet lately!

When it finally stops raining, so many people’s arenas are recovering from the downpours and far from ideal to train properly. The shorter day lengths can make it tricky to work horses before/after school/work if you don’t have lights on your arena. Also if your horse is not clipped perhaps you don’t want to work him/her very long anyway so he/she doesn't get too hot and sweaty.
 
A few days off here and there is never a problem for any horse and in some cases can be quite beneficial. However, after a while they can mount up and before you know it your horse is not looking quite like the superstar he/she normally does and certainly to ride does not feel as coordinated or supple.
 
A few short sessions of in-hand work can prevent this from happening and is a fantastic way to ensure your horse maintains his core strength, suppleness and mentally in-tune.
 
There are many different versions of in-hand and they all serve different purposes. You need to find one that doesn’t conflict in any way with what your riding goals are. By this I mean both in the aids that you give your horse as well as the movements that you are asking your horse to do and the way you expect them executed. Maybe this sounds logical but it is very common for people who come through the Equest Connect in-hand course to be surprised about how they could ask and perform movements in a different manner so that they were more easily transferrable to under saddle from the horse’s point of view and also of greater benefit biomechanically.
 
In-hand is easy, fun and incredibly addictive when you truly understand what you are doing and have a logical path to follow. You will be amazed at how much happier your horse will be in all aspects of his/her life, from basic handling to any type of riding.