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By Karine Vandenborre

10 fun exercises with a tarpaulin on the ground

1. Leading your horse over it in the lead position, the partner position, and the drive position in walk and trot.

2. Circling your horse over the tarpaulin in walk, trot, and canter.

3. Asking your horse to halt and then back up on the tarpaulin.

4. Put a tarpaulin at the entrance of the field/paddock/box.  Your horse has to walk over it to be able to go into the field/paddock/box. 

5. Put 2 or more tarpaulins next to each other and practice with this “huge” tarpaulin (this is fun!!!).

6. Practice The Corridor, The Domino, pole work, The Fan & The Labyrinth,  on a tarpaulin (so put your cones/poles on the tarpaulin).

7. Spray a bit of water on the tarpaulin. When that goes well, you can put more water.

8. Teach your horse to “wait” on the tarpaulin while you walk away and come back.

9. Put the tarpaulin in the arena/field when you are doing

10. Liberty Training and try to invite your horse to walk with you over the tarpaulin in liberty.


If your horse trusts the tarpaulin on the ground for 100%, then you can start practicing putting a tarpaulin on his body.  Then try some exercises with a tarpaulin on the ground while the horse also has a tarpaulin on his body.

All these exercises (and other obstacle training exercises) are very valuable to stimulate your horse mentally, to overcome his fears, to help him to stay calm in difficult situations, to practice to guide your horse in challenging situations, and much more.


Have fun!

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