Polo horsemanship: a discussion with Christian Moon about reining, weight distribution, and leg action.
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Schooling a Green Horse for Polo – Video 1
Christian Moon has posted the first in a series of videos on schooling a green horse for polo. In this first video, Moon shows us how to acclimate the green horse to its first mallet and its first saddle. Moon talks about introducing the “whoa” command, keeping the intensity of the training session low to keep the horse relaxed, and punishment vs. positive reinforcement.
The best instructional polo book I’ve found
Hugh Dawnay’s book, Playmaker Polo, is the single best resource for the novice or intermediate player I have yet found. Dawnay is an internationally recognized polo coach and has been intimately involved with the sport for many years. In Playmaker Polo he explores basics such as striking, beginner horsemanship, muscle memory, preperation on and off the field, and playmaking as well as more advanced concepts such as team strategy and formations, set-piece positions, learning to emphasize the strengths of your team (and the weaknesses of your opponents) on-the-fly, and many more.
Riding off an opponent
When riding off, change your horse’s lead to the opposite one to the side your opponent is on. As you draw up alongside your opponent and when you are at the same speed and shoulder to shoulder give the aid to change leads to the side your opponent is on. The momentum of the horse changing from one diagonal to the other will usually win the ride off.
What’s PoloGringo all about?
I’ve started this blog because, quite frankly, I don’t feel thate there currently exists a resource for novice and intermediate polo players to turn to for advice and new ideas. When I first began playing, I looked everywhere for information on malletwork, polo equitation, outdoor vs. arena strategy, tack recommendations, even something as simple as how to properly wrap a pony’s leg. I couldn’t find anything beyond the most superficial of information online.