Should You Ride Patterns At Home?

How much thought do you put into planning out your rides?

For years, I can honestly say I was a very reactive rider. I’d come out, brush my horse, braid their mane, and ride around. 

I’d hop on, do some walking, trotting, and loping. But how much was I actively planning out my rides? How much progress did I sacrifice by not putting any thought into my rides ahead of time? 

As a mental coach, I have a different perspective on riding patterns than your trainer. I’m a huge advocate of riding patterns. 

Let me take a trip down memory lane. As a kid, I was a part of 4-H. It was amazing! We had non-mounted meetings, learned about public speaking, presentations, horse care, nutrition, as well as mounted riding meetings. And you know what we did every single practice? 

We rode patterns. 

They were often very simple. Could be something like riding a figure 8 at the trot, then the lope. Stop. Do a 360 degree turn. Back. 

But we rode patterns all the time. 

Ok. Let's update the time frame. Most of the clients I work with are shocked to say the least when I suggest riding patterns. I hear over and over, “my trainer says not to ride patterns. My horse will start to anticipate.” 

So why would I recommend you ride patterns if current wisdom says it’ll ruin your horse?

If you’ve been following along for any amount of time, you know that one of my big pillars is consistency. Just don’t quit. Have some dog headed discipline to just keep at it. 

So to connect the dots… when you ride a pattern, you are executing a plan. Instead of riding randomly like a chicken with its head cut off. Making decisions at the last second, making it harder for you and your horse. 

Instead, you’ve planned ahead when you’ll ask for the turn, when you’ll cue for the lead departure. How you’ll space out the maneuvers in the arena. And then you practice all those skills you drill in isolation. And, it’ll super highlight your lack of skill for you and your horse if all you do is ride around the ring without any focused practice. 

When I was a kid, I noticed the more I rode a pattern on the fly, the worse we did. My horse would toss their head, get stiffer in the mouth, and it was generally not a smooth performance. But the more I planned ahead, the better the pattern went. It wasn’t as simple as how well trained the horse was, either. 

Is there anything magical or special about riding a pattern? Boring old patterns force you to honestly assess where you and your horse are at any given moment. Your barrel pattern time is what it is. Your score - even self assessed at home - on your ranch riding pattern is what it is. 

Perhaps it reveals your extended trot is great. Or your lope overs are great. Actually, to summarize what I observe, and from talking with clients, the biggest thing riding patterns tends to reveal is that maneuvers are fine in isolation, but riders and their horses fall apart in transitions. 

Riding a pattern is challenging because it forces you to plan ahead. You have to make transitions very quickly. It’ll highlight things in your riding and training that you can hide when you babysit a ride or avoid pattern work. 

For example, if your horse likes to cut the corner on a circle, riding a pattern will reveal that in a way that everyday training may not. Or your back through and jog over poles are both great. But put them together in a pattern and throw in a gate and somehow all those maneuvers are now suffering. 

Annnnnddd, let’s not forget another important aspect of riding patterns. It absolutely will increase your confidence. A lot of folks say practice makes perfect. I say, practice makes confident. 

The first time you rode your bike - were you confident?

The first time you drove a car - were you confident? 

The first time you rode a horse - were you confident?

Of course not!

The first time you rode a pattern - were you confident? No!

And there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s totally normal. When I started riding patterns, they were terrible. Then they got better. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be in your skills. So practice what you’ll need! Ride patterns. Don’t be afraid of them! To those that say your horse will start to anticipate, I say, the benefit to the rider of practicing riding patterns and managing yourself and your emotions and all the rapid fire transitions that’ll come up on you far outweighs that. And, horses are smarter than you give them credit for. They’re gonna figure out patterns anyway if you ever show. They’re not that stupid. You’re better off working on your overall training, and working on patterns so your horse knows to wait for your cues. 

Overall, riding patterns forces you to plan your ride. It forces you to think ahead about what you’re training (or not). To deal with quick transitions, and to be consistent in order to master the pattern and its components. And the more consistent you are. Well, the more consistent your horse will be. 

So ride a pattern the next time you hop on your horse. What do you notice about what your horse does? What do you notice about yourself? I bet you learn something. Take note and share it with me!

Happy Trails!

Nicole

PS- If you want support being consistent to level up as a rider, join us in RRA for a step by step training manual on how to build your confidence as a rider, and monthly calls for extra support. I put all the risk on me with my no BS money back guarantee —  Resilient Reiner Academy

PPS- Prefer to listen instead of read the Newsletter? I got you! The Resilient Reiner Newsletter also comes as a podcast! 🎙️ Tune in to the latest episodes now!