Your cob can: motivated riding

Fat and lazy doesn't have to be a cob's default setting.

"There's no reason why a cob shouldn't be light and flexible, working in self-carriage. It's all in the training," explains leading British showing producer Katie Jerram-Hunnable. 

"Just like any horse, if he's slow off the leg, then there are exercises you can do to help with this. Don't accept your horse being lazy, no matter what his breed."

 

Light and supple

Exercise 1 THINKING FORWARDS

"I think of training like a staircase - gradually progressing," explains Katie. "The first rung is forwardness. If your horse is constantly behind your leg, not only will the judge notice, but it will make his work and your life much harder. Also, you can't ask your horse to work in a correct shape without forwardness."

The key to exercises targeted at forwardness is to be consistent in your approach. Your horse should move smartly off your leg and not slow down until you say he can.

"Many riders start with good intentions but struggle to maintain this. The result is constantly nagging with the leg, which your horse will soon learn to ignore."

Transitions, and lots of them, are what Katie recommends here.

How to ride it:

1. Go large around your arena in walk, ensuring the pace is purposeful.
2. Choose a spot where you want your horse to transition to trot, at the gate for instance.
3. As you get there, give the aids for trot, being perfectly clear and not restricting the forward movement with your hands or seat. 
4. If your horse doesn't go into trot, keep asking, making the aid stronger if needed. 
5. As soon as he trots, stop asking and let him go large. Only use your leg again if he slows down.
6. Choose a spot where you want him to walk, and only let him walk once he's there. Aim for a progressive, not an abrupt, transition.
7. Repeat the exercise until he will trot at the lightest of aids and keep trotting until you indicate otherwise. 
8. Try the same exercise on a 20m circle. Your inside rein and outside leg will come into play here.

HRH Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya

Exercise 2 LIGHT AND EVEN IN THE REIN

Cobs, like any riding horse, need to be light in the hand and even in the rein contact. They can, though, get a little heavy in the hands and before you know it, your horse is on the forehand. Here is how to use a schooling whip to help with this.

How to ride it:

1. Ride your warm up as usual, in walk, trot and canter. This is the time to assess how your horse feels through your hands. Are you being pulled forwards or does the weight in the reins feel uneven?
2. If the answer is yes, pick up a schooling whip.
3. Hold the whip horizontally beneath each of your thumbs.
4. The whip will put your hands in a great position, keeping the thumbs on top, where they should be.
5. Work for 10 minutes in all gaits with the schooling whip. It keeps your hands level and consistent, without being fixed, which in turn stops your horse from either becoming uneven or leaning. 
6. Keep glancing at your hands every few metres, as this will provide visual evidence of what's happening through the rein. 

Exercise 3 CIRCLE TO SHOULDER IN

Throughout early training, your horse may be quite rigid through his body due to tension. It's not unusual for cobs to carry some stiffness when being ridden and this is something that needs tackling in each session to ensure your horse is able to do the work you ask of him. Shoulder-in is an excellent suppling exercise. It's also a useful thing for any rider to have in their toolkit because there's always lots happening around the show ring and competition arena, with spectators close to the action. Being able to ride a shoulder-in - which leaves the hindquarters on the track while the shoulders are taken off the track, to the inside - could make the difference between getting past spooky objects in a calm fashion, or not. Especially important, of course, in a show cob who is supposed to show that he's mannerly and rock solid. 

HRH Princess Haya show jumping

 How to ride it:

1. Go large around your arena in working trot.
2. As you get to the end of the short side, ride a 10m circle in the corner. This sets up your horse for the shoulder-in and you can test if he's accepting the inside flexion.
3. As you come back to the track, instead of carrying on around the circle, start the shoulder-in down the track using the flexion that you've already got to give you the right angle.
4. Check that your horse isn't tilting his head - if he is, hold the inside rein closer to the neck with your outside leg on.
5. Always straighten up before you reach the end of the track.
6. Try this exercise in sitting trot, as it will help your connection throughout the movement.