14/02/2026
Absolutely this!
I really don't like seeing the array of poles set up at pole clinics, and with the variety of horse breeds and size that take part one size fits all isn't appropriate.
It's far better to use a few poles and develop correct movement and posture. Then you can gradually increase the complexity when your horse is ready.
🤔Can you navigate the exercise easily from the ground? 🤔
Before we even get on, it’s worth asking a really simple and often missed question:
Can I walk this exercise easily myself?
When setting pole work, many exercises look tidy and impressive from the fence line. But when you step into the arena and physically walk the lines, the truth shows up quickly.
Notice what your body has to do:
Are you shortening or stretching your stride unnaturally?
Are you twisting, bracing, or pulling yourself out of alignment?
Are your joints staying within a comfortable, natural range of motion — or do you feel a tug in a hip, knee, ankle, or lower back?
If walking the exercise already causes strain, that’s valuable information. It tells you the pattern may be more demanding than it appears.
And this is where I see a bigger issue far too often.
Too many sessions are built around complex grids or long, hour-plus pole sessions with little regard for the horse’s current fitness, soundness, or overall health.
Complexity gets mistaken for quality. Duration gets mistaken for effectiveness.
A grid can look clever and still be inappropriate.
A session can look productive and still be excessive.
When poles are tightly set, lines are crowded, or exercises are repeated for long periods, fatigue creeps in — mentally and physically. As fatigue increases, biomechanics deteriorate. The horse starts compensating. Joints move beyond their ideal range. Small pulls become strain. Strain becomes injury.
If the human body struggles to walk the exercise smoothly, imagine the demand on a horse who is:
Carrying a rider
Balancing through turns and transitions
Managing impact, coordination, and alignment
A few grounding questions help keep us honest:
Can I walk this exercise easily and fluidly?
Does it respect natural movement patterns?
Is this appropriate for my horse’s fitness today — not in theory?
Good training doesn’t need to be complicated, exhausting, or visually impressive. Often the most effective work is simple, well-spaced, and short enough to leave the horse feeling stronger — not drained.
Sometimes the kindest, most correct adjustment isn’t adding another pole or extending the session.
It’s doing less — with more thought for the body underneath the movement.
