When did you last trot to a fence? Canter is usually the preferred choice for finding the perfect take-off spot, but according to Burghley 2022 winner Piggy March, it is useful to regularly try jumping out of trot too and be prepared for it to feel untidy.This is a training exercise that Piggy regularly uses at home with her own horses. It tests rider balance and helps achieve an agile, rideable horse.Piggy demonstrated the training exercise at Your Horse Live. It requires five poles, five sets of jump wings and your imagination, because there are dozens of lines to ride as you work on honing you and your horses skills and youll benefit hugely from doing it in trot.Jumping out of trotThis is a brilliant exercise that I use at home. I do it with horses of all levels, says Piggy.Some days Ill be brave with how high the fences are that I trot at. I do it to push me; trying to keep in balance over that extra bit of height. Ive done this exercise for years and its one I keep doing in order to work on myself.Every time I do it on a new horse I feel all over the place because theyre not used to it. So dont panic if something goes wrong or its not quite feeling how its meant to just keep going, adds Piggy.With all disciplines being so technical these days, basic training all rolls into one, whether youre on the flat, jumping or riding across country. I want a nicely trained and happy horse who is rideable.This exercise works on the riders balance and the horses, as well as mobility and trainability all the things you need to have for a confident, rideable horse.Exercise 1: snaking in and outDiagram shows exercises 1 and 2Set up five uprights without ground lines down the middle of your training field or arena with each fence on a one-stride distance.After warming up, start trotting your horse between the obstacles, varying the direction that you ride in, changing the rein and alternating which fences you ride between.Turn one way and then the other, so that you start to feel like the horse is working with you and like youre getting bend around their ribcage, explains Piggy, who says that you shouldnt worry about your horse working in a perfect outline while doing this.You wont be looking like youre about to go into a dressage test, because youre doing lots of bending and youve got longer reins.This is just an exercise to get the horse really loosened up, on the aids and working with you, explains Piggy, but you can also make it what you want it to be. When your horse feels ready, you can get your reins together a bit more and vary the outline theyre working in.Exercise 2: transitions between fencesNext start asking for transitions between the fences. Start with trot-walk and walk-trot.Imagine there is a centre line up the middle of the fences and do a trot-walk transition every time you cross over the centre line, says Piggy.Think about your balance and preparation. Around the corner you should already be thinking about slightly bringing your upper body back and looking for your straight line.Even though its a downward transition, it still needs to be forward. Youre preparing it early and through body-seat language.If you can get your horse to respond to you rather than going to the bridle [that is, pulling on the reins] it will be a forward transition, which is what you want, continues Piggy.A bad transition stops the forward momentum. It happens when its left to the last minute rather than being prepared for and is an afterthought of walk.Introduce canter transitionsMove on to riding trot-canter and canter-trot transitions every time you cross the centre line.Depending on the level you and your horse are working at, you could do walk-canter and canter-walk transitions too. Advanced horses can do flying changes instead.Some horses anticipate. If Im on one like that I just quietly keep doing the exercise until he relaxes and stays on an aid for me, says Piggy.Make sure your horse is straight in their body and has enough room for the transition too. A few extra steps of the pace youve changed into is better than doing only two or three and rushing the transition, for example.Also dont let the horse get in front of you they must wait for the aid.Youre doing this because you want the horse to become sensitive to your body language [so that they start to slow down and wait when they feel your upper body sit up], explains Piggy.Exercise 3: trot to a fenceDiagram shows exercise 3Approach one of the fences in your line of five in trot and jump it at an angle.I dont particularly like jumping out of trot because its not as comfortable [as canter] and it can get ugly, confesses Piggy.Thats why I make myself do it; it works on the riders own balance and builds trust between you and your horse that they can stay on a line at this pace. Its slow but the horse is in front of your leg; youre trusting that your horse will stay on a line and youre learning to stay with it.Trotting to a fence can be ugly if they get in too close; its not an obvious stride like you get with canter. They can pick up [to jump] early and so you have to slip the reins and try not to fall off the back, or sometimes you get in front of them and then they dont go.Even on a horse who has done this before, it doesnt mean theyre going to do it very well the next time you try, continues Piggy.I dont mind if they knock it down; its about learning patience, having balance and staying in a rhythm.If your horse lands in canter, quietly ask them to trot again before approaching the next fence. Piggy says the aim is for you as the rider to stay in neutral, putting your horse on a line in the best rhythm and then trusting them to jump the fence.Next stepsMove on to jumping more than one fence but continuing to jump at an angle. Fence two to fence four for example.The fences can be as small as you like but try to stay in trot. It doesnt matter which way you do which fence vary the lines, advises Piggy.Exercise 4: try it in canterDiagram shows exercise 4When youre ready, repeat the previous exercise in canter and try three fences in a row, for example fences one to three and then five.If your horse can make a flying change each time you change direction, great. If not, give yourself time to make a change through trot.You can also indicate which leg you want to land with leading by pushing your weight down into that stirrup over the previous fence.With a horse who has a weak canter I sometimes jump the first fence and then circle, so that I get a bit of bend through their body, and then do the same before the last fence.It encourages them to try and find their balance. After a couple of times, they start picking up whats happening.The final stage is to jump down the grid in a straight line.You can go as big or small as you like with the fences, but dont put them all at the same height. Vary them, even if its only a little difference, so the horse has to look and gauge what height is where.Jump it in the other direction too and approach off both reins.Theres no rules for this exercise, make it up as you go, as long as youre in your comfort zone, adds Piggy.It really is such a good exercise to set up at home because theres so much you can do with it. You can work on yourself and your horse in so many ways.How high are Piggys fences?The key to this exercise is that you can adapt it to suit you and your horse. Lacking confidence or on a green or young horse? Then ride wider lines to each fence and dont try to link together too many that are close together.Choose a height that is best for you both: whether its poles on the floor or 23, its better to start small and build up the height and technicality as you become more confident.Start small even if the exercise isnt new to you too, and remember that horses learn through repetition, so making this exercise a regular part of your routine will benefit you both hugely.Trainings not about how high you can jump or how fast you can go, its knowing whats right for you, reasons Piggy. Even smaller ones out of trot can feel quite big.This is why doesnt Piggy use a ground polePiggy chooses to set this exercise up without ground lines on any of the fences.I dont really know why I dont have them; it doesnt feel as inviting and is a little upright but cross-country fences these days are more upright so this is good practice. And you know what? Horses generally jump very well without a ground rail being there.Yogi Breisner did this exercise with me probably 10 years ago and he didnt use ground rails; I found it interesting and I havent used them myself.However, if she were riding a particularly young or inexperienced horse, Piggy would consider adding in ground lines.If its a real baby and I want them to get used to the exercise then I probably will put a ground rail in to start because I want to keep them confident. Otherwise its really personal preference of ground rail or no ground rail.Find out more about Piggy March hereMain image & diagrams Your Horse Library/Sally Newcomb/Geoff Johnson Design. NB: Piggy March is not pictured riding.Related contentPiggy Marchs routine for a confident and clear showjumping roundOliver Townends training tactics for a horse who is very tense or freshJoe Stockdales tips for success when competing a horse indoorsPoor topline: what it is, plus how to build and develop the correct muscles in your horseThe post Jump out of trot to test rider balance and build trust with this exercise from Piggy March appeared first on Your Horse.