A single loop serpentine is a great way to teach your horse to bend in both ways and to prepare your horse for lateral work.
You can execute this exercise in all the gaits. But if you do it in canter, it means you are going to do some counter canter so be aware if you are not that familiar with counter canter yet.
Here are my three tips to ride a single loop serpentine (F-X-M):
- Use the corner before F to prepare. Bend your horse around your inside leg towards your outside rein, look towards K and take your horse from the track with your outside rein and outside leg.
- Before passing the B-E line, change the bend of your horse.
- Before the M, change the bend again and don’t forget to ride into the corner after M.
Common problems and possible solutions:
1. The horse doesn’t want to come off the track ➡️ You are probably using to much inside rein. Use more outside rein to keep your horse from drifting his shoulders and place your own shoulders also into the direction you are going.
2. It is difficult to ride a 10m loop, the horse falls on the inside shoulder ➡️ Start with a 5m loop and focus on the balance of your horse. Maybe you have to slow down a bit to have more control. When you can ride a balanced 5m loop, you can enlarge the loop bit by bit. First 8m and at last 10m.
3. It is difficult to turn at X, the horse wants to continue the diagonal ➡️ You can try the same solution as above. Preparation is key, you have to prepare the right bend at least 5m before X, look and turn your shoulders towards M and turn with your outside rein (in this turn at X your left rein).
Golden tip:
If you are not that experienced yet, you can start with a shallow loop of 5 meter and if you are more experienced you can ride a 10m loop.
Enjoy your training! 🍀
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