Winter is the perfect season to return to basics and sharpen both your horse's technique and your own 💪 To support you in this work, we're sharing 5 exercises from international rider Maxime Livio, designed to improve precision, balance, symmetry and engagement.

Easy to set up but incredibly formative, these exercises will help you keep momentum through the colder months, whilst strengthening your horse-and-rider partnership 🤩

 

Exercise 1: Working canter on a circle with a cavaletti

 

For this first exercise, all you need is a cavaletti. The aim is to ride a regular circle, passing over it on every lap.

🎯 Goals

• Keep a consistent canter from start to finish

• Maintain a clean and precise circle

• Work on the symmetry of landings

• Lighten the shoulders and improve the horse's balance

Like riders, horses have a preferred side. They therefore tend to land more often on one lead. This work helps them rebalance their locomotion, improving their symmetry and muscle development 💪

To help you, don't hesitate to place cones around the circle: a simple but highly effective aid for staying accurate 🔥

Want to watch the video for this exercise? It's right here 👈

 

Exercise 2: Asking for the landing lead

 

Building on the first exercise, the idea here is to approach an upright straight and ask for the landing on the chosen lead at the fence 😉

🎯 Goals

• Maintain straightness before and after the jump

• Maintain a balanced and regular canter

• Ask for the flying change through your weight and position

• Improve the horse's responsiveness

 

⚠️ Warning: Never sacrifice canter quality or straightness in order to ask for the change. The aid must remain subtle, almost invisible.

To avoid anticipation, alternate between:

• moments where you change the lead,

• and others where you stay on the same one.

 

Want to watch the video for this exercise? It's right here 👈

 

Exercise 3: Bounce + curved line + directional fence

 

Time for a more technical exercise — ideal for working on the horse's coordination and speed of reaction 🔥

The setup consists of:

• a gymnastics combination including a bounce,

• followed by a curved line,

• finishing on a directional fence.

 

🎯 Goals

• Improve the quality of the strike-off

• Develop speed of execution

• Strengthen rhythm and fluidity on the curved line

• Maintain the horse's connection

 

To make your line easier to ride, you can replace the uprights in the bounce with crosses and set up cone gates on the curve to avoid cutting the line 😉 Ideal for working on precision and focus as a partnership.

 

Want to watch the video for this exercise? It's right here 👈

Exercise 4: Double of uprights on a two-stride distance + single fence

 

This exercise combines exercises 2 and 3 with a slightly more complex setup 🙈

It includes:

• a double of uprights on a two-stride distance,

• ground poles placed within the combination,

• a curve leading to an upright with a gate pole,

• then a return to the double.

 

🎯 Goals

• Work on regularity and the quality of energy

• Build the horse's strength through controlled repetition

• Improve connection and responsiveness coming out of a gymnastic

• Refine the aids for flying changes

A great exercise for refining transitions and improving the horse's responsiveness 🤩

 

Want to watch the video for this exercise? It's right here 👈

In the example shown by Maxime Livio:

• the double is ridden on the left rein,

• the flying change is asked at the upright with a gate pole,

• then the double is ridden on the right rein.

 

Exercise 5: Placing pole + bounce + one-stride double

 

The final exercise combines three elements for a complete and structured session:

• on the approach: a placing pole,

• followed by a bounce,

• then a double on a one-stride distance.

 

🎯 Goals

• Maintaining a perfect rhythm from start to finish

• Develop the horse's technique through the bounce

• Prepare balance and technique ahead of the double

• Strengthen canter engagement and rider stability

 

To ride this exercise well, keep a consistent canter, stay with your horse and don't rush.

 

Want to watch the video for this exercise? It's right here 👈

Conclusion: 5 accessible, progressive exercises perfect for winter 💪

These winter exercises from Maxime Livio are designed to help you develop:

• precision,

• symmetry,

• balance,

• and your horse's technique.

 

Easy to set up but incredibly formative, they will allow you to use the winter period as a genuine time for building 🤩

And if you try these exercises, tag us on social media so we can follow your progress 🥰🔥