Ninety per cent of a showjumping course consists of getting from one jump to -another – ironic then that many an avid jumper cringes when flatwork is mentioned. A -showjumper is stereotypically the more balls to the walls rider, looking for the thrill rather than the perfection and harmony sought by the classical dressage rider.

This might be the more generalised view, but ask any achieving jumper or anyone clearing fences at 1,20 m and higher, and they will tell you – flatwork forms the foundation of any good jumping horse. Even if you don't jump competitively and rather prefer to pop over the occasional log or ditch on one of your rides, it is important to work on your horse's strength and suppleness to ensure that the horse gets as much enjoyment leaping into the air as you do.

There are numerous flatwork exercises which can be used to help improve the showjumper. Past editions of SA Horseman (which can all be accessed on www.sahorseman.co.za) have covered many -different -exercises and examples in the training sections. For the purposes of this article we will be examining how to improve the strength and suppleness of a horse which is expected to jump – be it in the ring or out on the trail.

Remember before attempting these exercises that it is -important to have your horse moving forward in a soft round frame.

Transitions
Once you have your horse moving in the -correct frame, transitions are a great way to improve strength and suppleness. Work on walk to trot, trot to walk, trot to canter and canter to trot transitions. Once your horse gets this right, try canter to walk and walk to canter changes for greater responsiveness, strength and suppleness. Much focus is placed on the hands of the rider; try move away from this and remember to use your seat and legs for all upward and downward transitions.

There is a big misconception that no leg is needed for the downward transition – not true. In order to keep your horse forward, soft and engaged, you need to sit in with your seat thinking trot/walk/canter with a small feel on the reins, while still keeping your legs on to keep the horse round and his hindquarters -engaged. Soft hands are paramount to ensure that the horse does not throw his head and -hollow his back out during both the upward and downward transitions.

Collection also helps with suppleness and strength. Once transitions have been mastered work on collecting the horse at the trot, keep the frame round and soft with the quarters -engaged and then focus on "slowing" down the trot, while still keeping the horse round and forward. This will help the horse with engagement as well as strengthen the hind muscles.

As simple as it seems, many people do not transition between gaits accurately and if one can get a horse to do this accurately and keep the horse working forward in a round soft frame, no matter the transition, it will help strengthen the horse's hindquarters (his power house and vital in showjumping!).

Transitions also help teach a horse to -react to your seat and leg. It is vital for a good showjumper to be responsive to even the slightest leg aid – especially when it comes to doing tight turns in a jump-off. A fast, -unengaged horse could possibly knock a pole off in a jump while a round, collected horse responding to the leg, will turn on a tickey and win the class – with style and a faster time!

FUN TIP: Try transitions going up a hill or incline. Start at a canter, bring the horse back to trot, then walk, then trot down the hill coming back to walk. Not only will this help with responsiveness but it will also increase fitness (as it bears some -resemblance to resistance training).

Circles, serpentines, figures of 8
Basic dressage right? Wrong. So many people do not do a circle, serpentine or figure of eight correctly and it is easy to see when a horse is turned into a jump. Ever seen a horse turning into a jump when it seems to "drift" out or its hindquarter "swings" out, much like a car -hitting water and having the back end skid? That particular drift can throw the horse off balance, put it on the wrong stride and at worst lead to a refusal. A common problem and one easily fixed.

Practise your circles, your serpentines and figures of eight. Focus on each turn and work on keeping the horse in the forward and soft frame. These simple exercises teach the horse balance and allow the rider to feel what an -engaged and together horse feels like.

Once you have identified why the horse drifts (it could be for a number of reasons, -including not enough outside leg, the horse not working from behind correctly, etc). Focus on fixing the problem. Remember, remove the -focus from the hands, your seat and leg should do the bulk of the steering when riding these formations.

Once you have perfected big circles and big looped serpentines, work on making the circles and loops smaller and thus increasing accuracy and responsiveness to the leg. The changes of rein in the eights and serpentines will help with suppleness and the smaller circles will also increase the strength of the horse.

FUN TIP: Once you get your big circles and loops right, why not throw in some transition work on the straight parts of your serpentines and figures of eight. Thus combining to flatwork exercises and pushing your riding reaction time, with more to do in a shorter time: Good bend round without drifting, transition to trot from canter, transition to canter on new lead and bend on other leg without drifting. Great for strengthening and supplying up your horse and sharpening your riding senses – imperative in a course when the jumps come quick!

Lateral work
Lateral exercises are imperative when working with a jumping horse. Whether they jump the occasional 60 cm log on a hack or spend weekends competing in the open jumping classes – lateral work builds strength, -increases suppleness and also improves the horse's -response to leg aids.

For the young horse or inexperienced rider, start with a simple shoulder-in and then try a haunches-in. A shoulder-in is not just the horse bending his head and neck inward – the best way to learn the exercise is with an instructor on the ground helping and guiding you. Leg yields also help improve suppleness. Riders can then move on to a turn on the forehand, whereby the horse's hind moves around the front legs.

Leg yields, shoulder-in, haunches-in and turns on the forehand will increase your horse's strength, suppleness and teach him to move off your leg. Once you have these lateral movements in the bag, you can begin to move towards half-pass and pirouette moves. These advanced dressage moves will help teach you and your horse the finer arts of engagement and collection.

FUN TIP: Lateral work can be done on a hack. If hacking along roads, find a large grass verge and attempt shoulder-in along the verge, halfway change to haunches-in and then do the other rein on the next wide verge. For leg yields – if you can get access to a nice soft dirt road, why not try leg-yielding along the road from one end to the other and then attempting it on the other rein?

The final stride
There are a variety of exercises on the flat that one can use to improve suppleness and strength in any horse and even more exercises specifically aimed at the showjumper. Check your local tack shop or horse bookstore, as there are books specialising in flatwork for the jumping horse as well.

These are just a few simple moves which can be practised at home and out on a hack. Any rider or horse can benefit from them. However, if you are serious about showjumping, nothing helps more than lessons with a qualified professional who can help you move up the grades and clear the heights.