Foundations - Serpentine

Following on from my previous blog on circles, this time we are focusing on riding a serpentine. A Serpentine is a very useful exercise for all horses regardless of their level of training.

In young horses, a well ridden serpentine creates suppleness and responsiveness to the rider’s aids. By developing the positive reaction to the rider’s inside leg aid horses learn to release their ribs rather then brace them against the rider’s leg.

For more advanced horses a serpentine can be used to set up lateral movements and a few lateral steps can be inserted into the serpentine itself, developing more suppleness and engagement in your horse.

The simplest serpentine is a 3 looped serpentine. The key points to consider when riding serpentine:
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• Each loop should be rounded with correct inside bend. Ride the loop as you would a circle.
• As you cross the school, give your horse time to change the bend, e.g. go from left bend to straight, straight to a slight right flexion, then right bend. If you change the bend too quickly you will unbalance your horse. The change of bend will become quicker as your horse becomes more supple.
• If you run out of room, don’t try to squeeze in a small tight loop as this will unbalance your horse. Ride out of the movement and start again.
• Try to feel how your horse is managing and adjust the exercise accordingly.

There are several variations of serpentine that you can use. They all start at either A or C, in the middle of the short side of the school, and finish at the other end of the school, in the middle of that short side. 

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​1. A 4 looped serpentine increases the difficulty as the loops are smaller and can be ridden when your horse is moving easily round a 3 looped serpentine.

2. Riding a serpentine with 3 squared loops in walk increases the difficulty and helps to improve the engagement of the haunches. You can then start to add a few steps of shoulder fore as you ride along the track.

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3. ​A serpentine that loops back on itself, rather than going straight across the school, can be very useful as they give you more time to create a well-balanced circle at the top of each loop. To ride this shape, begin as for a normal serpentine, and continue the curve of the loop for a few steps more so that you come straight to change the bend heading back down the school. Each loop becomes a ¾ circle shape.
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4. For more advanced horses you can ride a 3 looped serpentine in shoulder-in. Either doing a few steps of shoulder-in through the top part of the loop or maintaining shoulder -in throughout the whole serpentine. Well ridden this will improve your horse’s engagement and suppleness.
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©Training Riders, Transforming Horses

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