Flatwork is incredibly important for equestrians as it allows you to build trust with your horse and work on your communication even when you’re short on time. Regularly incorporating flatwork into your training routine can build your confidence as a rider and can do wonders for your overall skill level. In this guide, we’ve shared the importance of a flatwork routine as well as five simple yet fantastic exercises from world-class riders that even beginners can use to bond with their horses and improve their skills.

What Are Flatwork Exercises?

Flatwork is a series of dressage exercises and routines conducted on flat ground. Riders take their horses through a series of turns, transitions, and circles to familiarize their horses with a wide variety of commands and movements. Though flatwork exercises are frequently employed by dressage riders, show jumpers and hunters can benefit from running through a regular flatwork routine with their horses.

Benefits Of Flatwork Exercises For Horses & Riders

Flatwork is incredibly helpful for new and experienced horses alike. These exercises help riders build trust and bond with their horses and, in turn, help their horses become familiar with specific commands and other aids. Flatwork can help fresh horses focus and switch mindsets into work mode, helping to prevent accidents and making training sessions more effective. Newer horses benefit from the structure of flatwork and can improve their balance and suppleness. For any horse, flatwork is a great way to improve fitness without putting additional strain on their legs. 

5 Best Flatwork Exercises For Horses (Beginner’s Guide)

We asked several of our riders what their favorite flatwork exercises were, and they did not disappoint. Remember to warm up and cool down your horse, and keep your flatwork routines short, no more than 45 minutes, so you don’t exhaust your horse (or yourself). Try these exercises out, and let us know what you think!

Exercise #1 – Lengthen & Shorten

Courtesy of Canadian Show Jumper Lexi Ray

The goal of this exercise is to improve adjustability in both your horse’s stride and your eye. This is a low-impact exercise for your horse’s legs while still working on their fitness and cardio.

1. Set a series of 3 poles or cavalettis 72 feet apart.
2. Practice cantering through the poles or cavalettis and doing 5 strides in between each.
3. Then, practice cantering through the poles or cavalettis and shortening your horse’s stride to fit 6 strides in between each.
4. For an added challenge, practice cantering through the poles or cavalettis and doing 5 strides between the first two, and 6 strides between the second and third, or vice-versa.

Note: If your arena does not allow for two 5-stride lines in a row, you can scale this exercise for 4 strides (60ft) between each pole or cavaletti.

Exercise #2 – “Circle of Death”

Courtesy of Canadian Show Jumper Lexi Ray

The goal of this exercise is to improve your ability to find a distance for takeoff to a fence while on a turn. This is also a low-impact exercise for your horse’s legs while still working on their fitness and cardio.

1. Set a series of 4 poles or cavalettis on a circle, each 48ft apart from the center of one to the center of the next.
2. Practice cantering through the poles or cavalettis one after another in a circle with 4 strides between each.
3. Focus on using the circle to your advantage, moving more towards the inside of the poles if your distance is long, or fading to the outside of the poles if your distance is deep.
4. For an added challenge, practice cantering through the poles or cavalettis and adding or subtracting one stride, using the inside or outside track of the poles to your advantage.

Exercise #3 – Improving the Upward

Courtesy of Grand Prix Dressage Ride Philesha Chandler

The goal of this exercise is to prepare your horse for an upward transition from the trot to the canter using your specific aids. This exercise helps shift your horse’s weight off of the inside, allowing them the balance to lift the inside leg for the upward canter transition.

1. While trotting through the corners or on the straightaway of the arena, use your inside leg to push your horse towards the rail, and half halt with the outside rein to ensure your horse remains straight and balanced. Be sure to maintain the forward trotting motion while your horse yields (moves away from the pressure) from your inside leg.
2. Repeat this leg-yielding exercise until you feel your horse is properly responding to your leg and hand aid each time you ask.
3. Once you have the response you would like from your horse at the trot, repeat the leg yield for 2-3 strides (I like to do this in the corners), then use an additional half halt on the outside rein to maintain straightness and balance while you ask for your transition to the canter. 

This exercise can be done both in the corners and on the straightaways. It is helpful to practice the leg yield in both, but especially in whichever you plan to ask for your transition.

Exercise #4 – Trotting Spiral

Courtesy of Georgie Hammond, R.J. Classics’ resident avid amateur hunter/jumper rider (oh, and R.J.’s Marketing & Public Relations Manager of course!)

The goal of this exercise is to increase suppleness and attentiveness in your horse while you complete the spiral. It is important to make sure your horse is not leaning into the turns or is unbalanced throughout this exercise. Use your aids to balance your horse underneath you while they use their mind to try to figure out where they are going next. 

1. Begin by picking up the trot at the center of one of the short ends of the arena. Where you pick up the trot will be your starting point. 
2. Trot one lap around the arena against the rail.
3. Once you pass your starting point, trot nearly down to the opposite end of the arena, but turn about 2 meters before you reach your previous track along the rail.
4. Repeat this process by shaving off 2 meters from your previous lap each time you pass your starting point.
5. Once you have reached the point of trotting a 10-meter circle, begin to expand your circle by 2 meters toward the opposite end of the arena.
6. Repeat this process by adding 2 meters from your previous lap each time you pass your starting point until you are back to working on the rail of the arena.

Exercise #5 – Rhythm Poles

Courtesy of International Hunter Derby rider Katie Taylor

The goal of this exercise is to improve your feeling for timing and rhythm while working on your horse’s engagement and coordination. Practice these exercises on both strides and turning from different directions going both ways.

1. Set 4-5 ground poles approximately 24 feet away from one another. This will create enough space for one stride between each pole.
2. Canter through the poles, doing one stride between each. 
3. Focusing on your rhythm as you canter over each, work on making the stride between each pole as consistent as possible so that each pole feels the same as the last.
4. Once you feel you and your horse have mastered one stride between each pole, bring each pole a bit closer together so that they are approximately 12 feet apart each. This will create enough space for a bounce between each pole. 
5. Canter through the poles while maintaining support with your leg to help your horse fully engage its body and remain straight throughout each bounce.

Keep Practicing

Whether you’re a beginner equestrian or not, these flatwork exercises can drastically improve your skills and the bond you have with your horse. Be sure to let your horse get adequate rest between flatwork sessions, and be patient with yourself if you encounter any difficult spots with these exercises. Becoming a proficient equestrian takes time and dedication, but you’ve got this! Keep practicing, and you’ll be a champion in no time.

You might also like:

• How to Get Into Professional Horseback Riding
• 10 Types of English Riding Explained
• Horseback Riding Outfit Ideas by Discipline
• 10 Best Equestrian Centers in the US
• 15 Exercises for Equestrians to Build Strength and Tone