Riding out in Tuscany: a good exercise also for the training of the horse

Riding out is very important for the mind and the good athletic developement of a horse.

It increases the willing to go "straight and forward". It is much easier to fulfill this important goal than what it is sometimes in the arena. In the arena in fact the horse can have the tendance to lay towards the fence or the wall and become crooked which is something absolutely to be avoided from the first steps in training. Crookedeness will affect all the rest of the training and it is easier to have this problem in a confined space than when we ride out in the countryside.

Furthermore if you have the chance to be surrounded by hills as we are here in the Chianti area it is a great benefit for the horse in terms of engagement going up and down the hills. It is also very useful to make him learn to use better his body and the uneven ground improves the coordination of the legs.

Little jumps in the countryside will awake his spirit and will be, again, a good exercise to improve the jumping exercises we generally make working in the arena.

This is one of the reasons why in our classical riding horse centre in Tuscany, Il Paretaio, we work our horses not only in the arena but also in the beautiful countryside finding that such a beautiful environement can be also felt by the horse as something extremely enjoiable and relaxing.