Circles, Too
Not all gymnastics exercises involve a straight-line series of jumps. In Exercise No. 8, the jumps are on a circle.
Set up two simple, low fences-two cavaletti set at 2 feet, brush boxes, panels or basic rail fences-on opposite sides of a 20-meter circle and jump then at a canter. Sounds easy? It's more difficult than you might think to keep the same rhythm and balance throughout the circle.
Do it by placing the same number of strides between each fence while you retrace your circle between the fences. You can add or subtract strides, but you place the same number of strides between two consecutive fences.
A warning: This really is a more demanding exercise than you might think, and your horse (and perhaps you too) will probably not be able to comfortably jump more than six or seven fences consecutively.
Exercise No. 9 builds upon No. 8-riding a serpentine while jumping low fences. Depending on the length of your ring, place three low fences (like those described in No. 
on the centerline, with 15 to 20 meters from the end of one jump to the end of the next. Then canter a serpentine from one fence to the next. If your horse lands on the wrong lead, trot and change the lead before heading to the next fence.
These two exercises develop balance, work on landing on the correct lead (a function of balance and suppleness), and force riders to look for the next fence while making accurate and balanced turns. They also teach the horse to look for the next fence and to turn in the direction their rider is looking.
Once again, this exercise is more physically demanding than it seems-and developing fitness for jumping (for both horse and rider) is another reason to do both of them.
Exercise No. 10 is also deceptively simple. Set a jump (preferably two verticals and two square oxers) at each end of a rectangular ring. Each jump should be three or four strides from the rail and facing the same direction. Place the two jumps on each side of the ring a set distance apart-the number of strides doesn't really matter, just as long as the 12-foot distances are the same-let's say six strides apart. The fences should be 2'6" to 3'6" high, depending on the horses' and riders' experience.
Now, jump the four fences at the canter, with the same number of strides between the fences on each side of the ring. If the distance was six strides, do it again in seven strides, on both the right and left reins. Once you've done that, do both lines in five strides, both ways. Once you've done that, do one line in five strides and the second line in seven strides. Reverse, do the first line in seven strides and the second line in five strides.
Now make it harder-jump the fences in a figure-eight pattern. Jump the two jumps at one end, just as in the circle exercise, then go down one side and do the circle exercise at the other end.
Then set up a jump on the centerline, perpendicular to the other four fences. Jump them all in a figure-eight again, making sure you not only land on the correct lead, but you also approach each jump with at least one straight stride, not jumping any fences on an angle.
To practice jumping angles, you could also adapt the exercise to jump every one of these fences on an angle.
This exercise will promote control, suppleness, concentration and, as a result, confidence.
