The snowman is seriously one of the best exercises you can use to improve your canter transition and work on your horses’ suppleness, throughness, and impulsion!!
This exercise is great for tense horses, lazy horses, stiff horses, and hot horses – it works on just about every type of horse there is!!
Whether your horse is just learning Dressage or doing the FEI levels, give this exercise a try!
I first learned this exercise from Conrad Shumacher – a renowned German master with my horse Gatsby. Gatsby was particularly tense and distracted at the clinic and this exercises did wonders to get him on the aids and focused!
Since then, I have implemented this exercises with many students and horses at all different levels! I have yet to find a horse or rider that does not absolutely LOVE this exercise!
For the snowman, you will ride a lop sided figure eight making a small circle in one direction in the trot, and a big circle in the opposite direction in canter. You will do trot-canter-trot transitions each time before changing direction.
If you are confused, watch the YouTube video!
In this video I also go over some variations on the snowman exercise if you need to make it easier or if you want to make it harder!
Give this a try and let me know in the comments how it goes for you!! I LOVE this exercise and I know you will too!! You will be amazed how much this exercise improves your canter transitions.
Happy Riding!
Amelia
