Tag Archives: horses

Jumping

Training the young event horse

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Much like a healthy relationship between two people, the relationship between an perspective event horse and rider should aim for interdependence not codependence!

Eventing places demand for fast thinking, quick, and clever response. Horses in production and training mustn’t always rely upon the rider. When galloping down hill in mud, you must know the horse can assess and respect the fence at all levels.

Horses who always look to support will eventually come unstuck, owed to factors such as poor ground, loosing shoes, crowed distraction etc. A well trained jumper can be sharp, athletic, and brave even without a perfect distance. Regular grids, pole work, and help from knowledgeable trainers will assist this development. Every now and then they have to help you!

Horse Scout thought for the day – “train for interdependence the balance between horse and rider, not the horses codependence on you entirely!”

Eventing

Promoting the event rider

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The average event rider struggles to stop for Christmas let alone weekends! Working all day everyday and making them inherently one of the worst relationship candidates there is.

Weekends are dark mornings, caffeine and lorry loading. At best home before dinner if not made the prize giving…

Weekdays are juggling liveries, teaching, sales horses, and dinners with clients. Week evenings often late, often unattractive , and tiered.

Putting such facts to one side- surely for all the input a little helping hand would be appreciated? Well fret no more ! Horse Scout has identified the dedication, and offers free advertising and promotion to riding professionals, and also their yards. The site helps them to be discovered, and expand business.

Have a look and let us know what you think. Here to help !

The Horse Scout Team

Professional Rider

Livery yards and facilities

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As the rain comes down and winter is finally here, early dark nights, and long wet days the livery yards in the UK struggle on. Horse Scout recommends when you endeavour to select a yard with good facilities. Horse walkers are super for assisting fitness, maintaining movement , and supporting rehabilitation. An indoor school can have huge advantages for training through the winter, enabling both early and late schooling, and a dry environment to train within.

Having professionals live onsite can help ease your mind, knowing the knowledge is there when the vet may not be. Long standing experienced horsemen often know when it is or is not appropriate to call for assistance.

If you are new to being a livery client, always make the yard aware that you may require additional help, to prevent accidents, or breach of yard policy.

Check out our fantastic yards listed with horse scout, view your friends, and there horses connections.

First Horse

Selling your horse or pony with Horse Scout, preparation for potential buyers

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It’s important that once you’ve made the decision to sell your horse, you advertise in a manner to help potential buyers understand their suitability. At Horse Scout sales questionnaires draw the correct information to help you reach your target audience.

Our top tips
Insist those trying always wear a hat, and ideally a body protector if they bring one, prevention always better than cure!

Preparing for sale
So the advert is live and you’re waiting for the phone to ring with potential buyers. If you haven’t already done so, below are our top tips on preparing your horse for sale.
correct information

Passport, Vaccinations, Breeding, Competition Record. Ensure you have all the required information to hand. The advert process with Horse Scout will ensure all areas are already covered!
Facilities

Have the right facilities to show your horse off. If you are selling a jumping horse and do not have any jumps then you may need to arrange to go rent a ménage, and jumps. make sure the horse is happy with where he is going and has seen the fences or surroundings before.

Handling
Try to get your horse used to being handled by others, especially if he is just used to you. Buyers will want to run their hands down his legs, pick feet up, prod and poke! Get him used to being taken out of his stable and stood up, and trotted up.

Riding
If possible, try and get your horse used to being ridden by other people who are suitable, and competent. This will increase the chance of the animal being settled when being tried by someone new and different. First impressions count, relaxed horses sell!

Clean and Tidy
Take time to prepare your horse to ensure he looks his best. Give him a bath, pull mane and tail be sure they look clean, tidy and smart. No one wants to be bucked off! Ensure bathing is done with ample time to dry, and be warm.
Clipping, Loading and Hacking
If you have said your horse is good to load, clip and hack then a buyer may want to see this evidenced. Make sure you are prepared, and can support your advertising statements. Any vices should always be declared in advance, after all there is a home for every horse!
All the best!

Stallions

Finding a good stallion

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When choosing a stallion to breed from there are many considerations, from confirmation, character, to performance and grading. The stallions competition results also play a large part in today’s climate, with an abundance of progeny from all disciplines helping to support how well the stud can stamp his stock. Locating quality stallions  can be hard unless you have knowledge and a clear understanding of exactly what you need. Assessing height, and bone you may need and expert or professional to support your decisions . The foreign breed is slowly taking more and more of a role even in eventing. Gone ate the days of the full thoroughbred , now enough blood has been selected and introduced that both gallop and movement is coming through . Contact an experienced individual with an understanding of your requirements, and an eye to see the weaknesses in your mare, or potentially asses the suitability to breed from her at all; with an abundance of outstanding young horses on the market it can often reduce the lottery of breeding by simply buying a correct youngster.

Horse Riding Tips

Rider balance when training the horse

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There is an increasing awareness that horse and rider should not be asymmetric. The ever expanding research in balance, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal impact upon the horse and rider combination is vast. Training horses to move freely without the riders influencing movement & freedom is a hard task. Professional trainers and coaches http://www.horsescout.co.uk/professionalswill be able to help you identify which rein your restricted on, this is very important in the both the horses and your own development with flatwork and jumping respectively . Horses with one sided development often present with an ‘unstraightness’ during jumping exercises. Until straightness can be achieved the horse and rider should be careful not to focus on height , but quality of the canter , replicability of the jump & straightness.

Eventing

HISTORY IS MADE AT BURGHLEY

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HISTORY IS MADE AT BURGHLEY AS ANDREW NICHOLSON CLAIMS HAT-TRICK OF LAND ROVER BURGHLEY HORSE TRIALS Avebury is the first horse in the history of the competition to win three times in succession

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/equestrianism/11080592/Andrew-Nicholson-makes-history-with-success-at-Burghley-Horse-Trials.html

Andrew Nicholson riding Avebury made history and produced a thrilling and faultless ride to win the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials for the third consecutive year. Antipodeans’ dominated the top slots with fellow Kiwi Jonathan Paget riding Clifton Promise was in 2nd place and Australian Sam Griffiths riding Happy Times dropped to 3rd place after an expensive show jumping round.

The cross-country course, designed by Captain Mark Philips, proved tricky owing to the slightly softer going and more humid conditions than riders were expecting. 24 horses were either eliminated or retired on the four mile course. Despite the good ground conditions the water elements in particular proved tough for many of the horse and rider partnerships, resulting in the 11 minute 19 second optimum time proving elusive. Sam Griffiths took an early lead, despite being held twice on the course, but was pipped at the end of the day by Andrew Nicholson who’s horse Avebury must know better than any horse.

With just 12 clear rounds from the 39 riders that started the final show jumping phase, Nicholson entered the arena knowing he needed a good performance in order to be crowned the victor. Whilst Sam took the pressure off by having two fences down, Jock Paget’s round was faultless The atmosphere was tense with silence falling amongst the crowd for Nicholson’s round. The sell-out grandstands went wild when they cleared the final double.

He concluded: “I didn’t feel that cool during that I can tell you. He’s a good jumper, he’s been there and done it all, I don’t have to worry about him getting nervous with all the people I just have to keep calm and ride him like I normally ride him. It’s a big team effort when you have a horse like this who has now won this three times in a row, they’re as passionate as I am that he does well. For me, I’ve had a very bad year this year, I threw away Badminton on Nereo, and I shouldn’t have fallen off when I did. The World Equestrian Games, I was ninth when I wanted to get a medal so I’ve been putting quite a lot of pressure on him to win here. Hopefully I will be able to go to Kentucky and go for the Rolex Grand Slam but I am a little light on horses at the moment, so we will assess in February and see how we are going.”

 

For those who didn’t watch the Burghley coverage on BBC 2, Clare Balding rounded up Burghley with an equestrian review of the season which took place on the Lion Bridge. She was joined by Ben Maher and Harry Meade both of whom reflected on their own personal highs and lows this season. Harry who’s horse Wild Lone collapsed and died at The World Equestrian Games described his experience out there as being the exciting but at the same time the most heart-breaking of his life. And as those of us who have ridden and kept horses can vouch, that just about epitomises horses and equestrianism- excitement and heart-break!