Tag Archives: horsescout

Horse Jobs

Going Dutch? – Opportunity for Living and Learning with Ron Smeets in Holland

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Learning and living in Holland with Ron Smeets Dressage Horses There are many different programmes available at Ron Smeets dressage horses in Hulsberg , Limburg. Trainer Ron Smeets is a FEI Grand Prix rider for almost 20 years and is offering a fantastic opportunity to a working pupil to join his team in Hulsberg, Limburg. He says on his Horse Scout profile, “We offer a simple boarding/ livery with a lesson or training session included once a week. We also take horses at all levels for training; from breaking to Grand Prix. With a wide range of international clients and contacts, you can also place your horse with us to be sold” He says that their working student program focuses on teaching training techniques and philosophies of dressage and barn management. This program* helps the rider learn to “train” and not just to “ride” horses. We invest a lot of time every day in training and developing our working students as professional riders. Working students will be provided with full room and board along with meals. References are available from previous working students. Please note that this is not a program for a novice rider. ‘Ron Smeets Dressage’ provides quality top horses that are sold around the world. Ron Smeets started his riding career training with Sjef Janssen (trainer of Anky van Grunsven, and he is currently training the Dutch Dressage Team). He became extremely successful at a young age showing in many different national and international competitions. At 18 years old he joined Young Riders and competed with them till the age of 21, representing Holland in many different international competitions. Now Ron has been a Gold Medal rider for 20 years. Currently he is focused on his training, selling, and breeding programs at home. He travels several times a year to teach clinics in various places in the United States as well as England. Charlotte Osborne – is currently the yard manager and rider at the fantastic private dressage barn in the south of Holland where Ron Smeets is based.

Horse Advice

How often do you think about your horses nose?

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Horse Scout Blogger was thinking about the way a horse wriggles his nose in your hand. It’s a funny feeling and somehow very friendly. We all know a nose is for breathing and for smelling but horses use their noses for other things too!

1.Exploration

Horses use their lips the way people use their hands—to touch, explore, and sense the world around them. Horses engage in mutual grooming, and he might be putting his nose by yours to invite you to scratch his nose or groom his face. A horse who puts his nose in your face may be trying to use his mouth to gently touch you, the way he might greet another horse.

2. Affection

Another reason horses put their noses in your face is to show affection. Horses show affection for one another by gently blowing into each other’s nostrils, and your horse may be trying to show affection for you as if you were another horse. Mares nuzzle their foals, and reaching out to touch your face may be how your horse says “I love you” in a similar way.

3. Sight

Horses have different fields of vision from humans, and they often move their heads simply so they can see better. A horse has binocular vision to the front but a blind spot directly in front of his nose. He may be moving his head closer to yours so he can get a better look at you if you’re in his blind spot.

4. Learned Behavior

Horses may also duck their noses to your face if they’ve learned that people bring them treats. In their eagerness to get treats, they may move quickly into your space. They may also have learned along the way that such behavior is rewarded with affectionate pets or scratches. Unless this behavior bothers you or turns into nipping, it’s usually fine. To get a horse to stop doing this, tap him on the chest to get him to back up.

Be cautious about strange horses putting their noses to your face and never encourage this behavior. Horses do have big teeth. I know a lady who got her nose bitten off when she used to feed her horse carrots from her mouth.

First Horse

I wish horses could BURP! 10 tips to help stop ulcers spoiling your horses performance

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Understanding how the equine digestive system works is key to understanding a horse’s dietary needs, and it is valid to question why horse owners insist on feeding grains to herbivores. There are so many supplements, specialist feeds and different approaches to feeding your horse that it can be difficult to know if you are making the right choice.

Keeping things simple, as simple as you can, is the right approach for the everyday horse owner.

  1. The horse is a grazing animal designed to graze for 16-18 hours per day, consuming low-grade forage,
  2. It has an in-built urge to eat and will not stop until it feels satisfied. Its natural position for eating is with its head down.
  3. Food passes from the horse’s mouth into the oesophagus aided by saliva for lubrication. The saliva is produced in response to chewing and is high in bicarbonate. (A natural antacid)
  4. A horse produces 32-46 litres of saliva per day. The less chewing a horse does, the less saliva it will produce. Eating forage slowly encourages it to produce more saliva.
  5. A horses stomach is small because the horse is a defenceless animal whose natural instinct is to flee from danger andthe stomach impacts on the chest and diaphragm, so if it was too large and too full of food it would inhibit the speed at which the horse could flee.
  6. A horse produces 35-40 litres of gastric juices independently of it eating, so stomach needs to stay at about a third full of fibre and forageto act as a mat in the base of the stomach and hold the acid.
  7. Ceareal based diets mean that the stomach can be emptied too fast and as the horse moves, acid splashes up onto the top of the stomach wall. This, combined with the associated imbalance of alkaline saliva and acid gastric juices, further reduces the pH in the stomach and causes ulcers.
  8. Around 95 per cent of racehorses and 35 per cent of leisure horses have ulcers, but because, as a prey animal, they are not designed to exhibit signs of pain, owners may not be aware of them. However, they can be detected by scoping and they are likely to manifest themselves as behavioural problems.
  9. A horse’s pancreas only produces a finite amount of insulin and if this is used up early in a horse’s life, by having to process an excessive amount of sugar and starch, it will create health issues such as metabolic syndrome. It is so easy to upset the natural balance of your horses digestion tract.
  10. A horse will function best, what ever its job, when fed as closely to its natural diet as is possible, given the restrictions of stabling and restricted grazing.

If you are keeping your horse with a professional trainer on schooling livery or for your own pleasure at a livery yard you will be able to work closely with the professionals in charge of your horses welfare. However, if you are looking after your own horse there are so many products and supplements on the market that it can become tempting to complicate the whole thing and end up causing your horses digestive system to become overloaded or stressed.

Horse Scout Blogger was watching the racing this weekend (along with a few other people I suspect!) One particular trainer recounted that despite a victorious last race of the season before but that something had been nagging at him (the trainer) He knew there was something “not quite right” and tests did show that the horse was suffering from acute ulceration of the stomach. With a change in regime and fodder types the horse had bounced back and was in the best form ever, and indeed was lengths ahead of the rest of the field.

Stallions At Stud

Well Spotted – New Stallion at Country Farm Stud with an historic story

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Horse Scout Blogger noticed a new stallion standing at Country Farm Stud in Lancashire who is a Leopard Blanket Spot Sports Horse called Moorhey Tomahawk.

Horse Scout Bloggers’ mission today: Find out about the spotted horses, which are very popular on todays circuits. The European spotted horse has developed independently of the American spotted horse. Recent research has suggested that Eurasian prehistoric cave paintings depicting leopard-spotted horses may have accurately reflected a phenotype of ancient wild horse. Domesticated horses with leopard complex spotting patterns have been depicted in art dating as far back as Ancient Greece, Ancient Persia, and the Han Dynasty in China; later depictions appeared in 11th-century France and 12th-century England. French paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries show horses with spotted coats being used as riding horses, and other records indicate they were also used as coach horses at the court of Louis XIV of France.[ In mid-18th-century Europe, there was a great demand for horses with the leopard complex spotting pattern among the nobility and royalty. These horses were used in the schools of horsemanship, for parade use, and other forms of display. Modern horse breeds in Europe today that have leopard complex spotting include the Knabstrupper, first established in 1812 in Denmark. This breed is generally based on the warmblood and also the Baroque horses such as the Andalusian, Lipizzan and Lusitano breeds.

Moorhey Tomahawk. Is an extremely well know & versatile Appaloosa Sports Horse Stallion who joins Country Farm Stud this year. Horse Scout Professional Karen Raine describes him as a true all round Sports Horse Stallion this compact stallion has it all. He has the most fantastic temperament, drop dead gorgeous looks & perfect conformation. To add to all that he has successes in Showing, Sports horse Classes, young Event Horse Classes, BSJA Show jumping & BD Dressage. He is the proven sire of a HOYS winner, numerous Showing & Sports Horse Champions, as well as Show jumpers & Dressage horses.Show Jumping He has substantial BSJA winnings showing a superb technique over a fence which he passes onto all his offspring. he is both bold & careful with plenty of scope. Dressage He has almost 200 Bd points winning at Elementary level. last year he was 4th at the National & won the Individual Elementary Section at the British Dressage Home Internationals at Rowellan. Sports Horse As both a 4 & 5year old he won numerous Ridden Sports Horse Classes & qualified for the Burghley young Event Horse Final at Burhgley. Showing Numerous Ridden & In Hand Championships,to his name. Stud Fee £400 plus VAT

Horse Breeds

Horse Scouts’ Irish Connection – Top Professionals and horses with an Irish Conncetion listed on Horse Scout

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Horse Scout Blogger was been inspecting our lists for Irish Horses today.  Wow, there are some top Irish horses listed, at stud and for sale on Horse Scout.

The Irish sports horse is evaluated on its genetic performance. This is used as a measure of the ability of all of a horse’s known relatives including parents, full‐and half‐siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts etc. Breeding values based on pedigree alone will be identical for all full siblings, however, when these horses start to compete, their own performances will be used to determine a set of genes and therefore breeding values will change accordingly.

Horse Scout also has Olivers Green an Irish Sports Horse Eventer who upgraded to Intermediate in 2014. Lucca Stubbington, who has a Professional Profile on Horse Scout along with profiles of her string of competition horses, says that Olivers’ best placing was 2nd at Scarva Horse Trials as and that he has had good placings at novice level, which included winning at Finvoy Horse Trials. He will be upgraded to CCI** in 2015, whioch must be a very exciting prospect for her. She lists his breeding as Florida Son x Brockley Green.  At the moment this horse has no connections to others on our site other than his Irish Breeding.

However, Horse Scout, the horse worlds’ answer to LinkedIn offers all our professionals the opportunity follow other professionals and their horses. It is a useful measure of pedigree to see how well horses with similar breeding are performing and by building connections, as with any social media hub, the more connections you building the stronger your profile is in the Horse Scout.

Of course a horses performance can be greatly influenced by its training, its rider and its circumstances. A multitude of things. However horse scout bloger has noticed that the Irish Horse is a popular one in the competitive field.  They are a versatile breed with great performance records in all spheres of horsemanship. The even temperament, durability and power of the Irish Draught, mixed with the speed and athleticism of the Thoroughbred, creates a potent mix which is well up to the demands of modern day competition. World famous for jumping and cross-country ability, this Irish Draught/Thoroughbred cross is not only a top caliber international athlete, but can serve as a perfect novice mount, adeptly boosting the confidence of a lower level rider.

Horse Scout has Honour Cruise – listed as a 16.2hh Irish Sports Horse stallion standing in Malpas, Cheshire with proven Cloverhill bloodlines this lovely dapple grey horse combines an exceptional jumping technique with superb correct movement and conformation. He was selected by Oliver Townend and Nina Barbour from the 2009 Elite 3 yr old sale at Cavan. He combines the very best of Irish bloodlines and has the blood and quality needed to be a top-class athlete. Honour Cruise has a fantastic, trainable temperament. Jumped a double clear in his first event, a BE100, at the end of the 2012 season with Oliver Townend, finishing on his dressage score of 25. In 2013 Honour Cruise completed his first full season, finishing the season with a consistent record at Novice level. Finishing in the top ten on five occasions.

Horse Scout also has a few Irish horses for sale on its lists namely:

Clonkyle Pilgrim in Norfolk at £5,500 Richard Pilgrim describes him as a lovely boy by Rantis Diamond who has hunted in Ireland. In six BS outings has had double clears in his Novice classes. Riochard thinks he would make lovely eventer or show jumper and that he is a horse with potential and would make a great project for someone to bring on. He is very careful over jumps and is competing now He won BN and was second in discovery at Easton colledge in two outings at BS classes on 21 02 2015 British Novice and Discovery 8 .03.15.

and Cappoquin Steel in Dorchester, Dorset, who is extremely eye catching **SERIOUSLY SMART** is how describes Aaron Millar, the international Event rider. He says his lovely 16.2hh, 6y.o. steel grey Irish gelding, with 3 tidy paces and a great attitude, is fast learner, who wants to please. Cappoquin Steel will do a super test and has a bold jump but is still snaffle mouthed and polite to a fence. Schooling well at home he hasn’t put a foot wrong. Very well mannered, a pleasure to have on the yard. Will excel in any discipline, ready to go on and realise full potential.

Professional Rider

Professional Profile – Louis Principe – International rider with an impressive track record!

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Are you looking for a top trainer in Gloucestershire? then International Grand Prix Dressage Rider – Luis Principe may be the man for you. Currently training with Carl Hester Luis is enjoying passing on the considerable knowledge & passion gained over the years to his clients. Based in Cheltenham (Gloucestershire). Luis enjoys training riders and horses from Novice through to Grand prix at his base or Freelancing.

Horse Scout blogger was looking at a video of him training Washington this morning and considering the musculature of this wonderful horse. The pure strength guilt into the base of his neck and the beautiful smooth top line all the say to his tail was so obvious as he piaffed and passaged for Louis. “Training from Novice to Grand Prix level” Louis’ approach to training the horse and/or rider (from Novice to Grand Prix) is a sympathetic calm approach with the welfare of the horse being paramount, and I think you can see this is his horses way of going.

One of the consistent things about a top class dressage horse is the evidence of “Durchlassig” When translated literally this actually means “permeable” Which I love, Germans have a way of using words which make such sense if you think in half pass or shoulder in! The Germans use the word Durchlässigkeit to mean that the horse’s energy and the rider’s aids travel in a continuous circuit without resistance in any part of the body. In English this is referred to as “throughness”; ideal state in which the rider can influence the horse with ease. When the horse is Durchlässig, or through, the half halts can form him into a “beach-ball” shape in which he can be very flexible and elastic. His topline becomes very round and he lifts up under his belly, raises his withers and softens the under-neck muscles without resistance.

Louis moved to the UK in 1999 and commented a few years later on his admiration for the pace at which the British rider trained a horse, allowing the horse to mature into its body and build training incrementally “really focusing on the basics and on getting the horse through the levels in a sympathetic and friendly manner, independently of how long it might take,” he said. He preferred this over the Portuguese’s sometimes hurried approach, in the early 90’s, where there was a temptation to just get the horses to do all the “tricks” as soon as possible… “as it just wasn’t for me to bully horses around,” he stated.

Louis Principe represented Portugal in several CDI’s and BE competitions – Highlights: World Cup Qualifiers, 2 European Dressage Championships, World Cup Finals, Reserve for the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 WEG. Whilst busy competing mainly Internationally Luis has also been establishing his own teaching clientele.. The 2015 European Dressage Championships and the 2016 Olympics are Luis’s main aims for the future.  On his Horse Scout Porfessional Profile he has “ Too many placings at International competitions to mention them all but here are a few”: 2011 – European Dressage Championships Rotterdam – Several placings in CDI’s and the World Cup Series – Several placings in BE events to include a 1st place at Pontispool Intermediate on a score of 24.6 penalties 2012 – Several placings in the World Cup Series – World Cup Finals – Reserve for London Olympics 2013 – European Dressage Championships Herning – Several placings in CDI’s and BE events 2014 – Qatar CDI 5* (placed) – Reserve for the WEG Caen.  That is an impressive record!

Louis goes on to say ‘In the new season I’m looking to bring out “Bueno” a 8 years old Lusitano Stallion (not your typical one) in Grand Prix with the aim being either the European Championships (if he is ready at the time) or the 2015/2016 World Cup Season. We have also a superb 3 years old Stallion that I’ll be aiming at the World Breeding Championships in Verden in the upcoming season 2015”

Louise is based at the BHS approved Studdington Court Farm and can offer tuition at the stud or can travel.  Please contact him here is you would like to talk to him about training or orgainising a clinic with him.

Interesting Horse Facts

Is grooming a haze of hair for you? Four Pointers For De Fuzzing Your Horse

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Spring may be sprung – but sometimes its quite hard to un stick your horses hair!

Alas, when it comes to helping a horse lose his winter coat there are no magical short cuts, and the only thing Horse Scout Blogger can offer – that is guaranteed to work is:

Daily grooming and an application of good old-fashioned elbow grease!

To make things a little less scary but no less hairy:

  1. Grooming after exercise when the horse is warm and the pores of the skin are more open is much easier and the coat will shed more quickly.
  2. Use a rubber curry comb, a dandy brush and/or a grooming mitt to remove dead hair then go over the coat with a body brush to help massage the skin and stimulate the oil glands.
  3. To help protect your clothing try wearing overalls and if you have an allergy it is advisable to wear a disposable paper mask (readily available in supermarkets and chemists).
  4. On a good note, there is nothing more satisfying or calorie busting than a vigorous grooming session that ends with the emergence of a sleek, smart horse. Welcome to spring!

After such a long, cold winter riders have been looking forward to the spring and summer so that we can get out and enjoy our horses more. However, with the onset of longer daylight hours and warmer weather comes the inevitable shedding of winter coats and many of us disappearing in a haze of loose hair and dandruff every time we groom! It’s funny how the horse ends up looking smart but we end up coughing and spluttering and covered in hair.

Like many animals, horses grow a thick winter coat to help protect them against cold weather. The long, fluffy winter coat stands up and traps pockets of air to create an insulating layer and retain the heat. It is common for a horse, particularly bays to appear to change coat colour in the spring and summer. Some bay horses have an undercoat that is almost black and others appear to have a lighter summer coat.

Several elements trigger hair growth and shedding and these include environmental, nutritional and hormonal factors. The longer, warmer days of spring help to stimulate the loss of the winter coat.

Failure to lose the winter coat can be related to several different factors including a hormone imbalance. Older horses can often develop a condition known as Cushing’s disease, or Cushing’s syndrome, which affects the adrenal glands and requires veterinary diagnosis and medication. Horses that do not shed their coats may need to in order to keep them comfortable in warm weather.

Parasites can deplete a horse of necessary nutrients and affect the coat, and so implementing a regular and up-to-date worming routine is vital. Adding a daily dose of vegetable or linseed oil to the horse’s feed may help to promote a shinier coat and speed up the shedding process.

You may notice that your horse rolls more or rubs against trees or fences to help work the old hair loose. A sweating horse becomes very itchy and uncomfortable and so grooming is very important, but excessive dandruff or greasy skin, can indicate other problems so check the skin and hair for signs of lice or skin disease.

Horses For Sale

Rein-Back – In The End It’s Not About Reversing Its About Going Forwards! How Do I Teach My Horse To Rein-Back?

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Is Horse Scout Blogger all back to front today? No, I promise I am not.  Every movement you ever do on a horse that you are training whether it’s a racehorse, an eventer or a star show pony needs to be moving with forwards in mind…..even in reverse!

Teaching a horse to rein-back starts with good stable manners, and rein-back begins as something learned from the ground.  In the wild a horse would very rarely rein-back, however in a trained horse it has huge benefits. n.b. this is not, necessarily, a movement I would try from the back of a horse that I am buying, but it is always quite useful to watch a horse reversing from the ground before making any decisions.

Here I have six of one and half a dozen of the other – so you don’t half bake your rein back.

What is rein back for?

  1. On a practical level being able to rein-back is very useful when you are riding a horse: opening gates becomes much easier if your horse assists you rather than stands against the gate! Removing yourself from a crowd out hunting or in a warm up arena makes it easy to extricate yourself from potentially explosive situations, and so on.
  2. For the horse it can have several benefits.
  3. It is one of the movements you can use to check you have his full attention.
  4. It also has a benefit in stretching the horse over his back.
  5. In advanced training it shows obedience to the aids
  6. Also when collection is established and combined with transitions it can lend elevation and spring to the onward pace

How do I do it?

  1. Start from the ground.
  2. Start by standing beside your horse just at the front of his shoulder facing backwards. Take hold of his bridle but do not pull back. You are merely stopping him moving forwards.
  3. Make a closed cup with you free hand and place it either side of the point of his shoulder and press with the thumb on the inside of the point, as you feel him react and move away say “back” in a firm but light way.
  4. Do not be tempted to push him back, wait for him to move away from the pressure of your hand and immediately take the pressure off and praise him when he does. Soon you will find he responds to the merest touch to this point. He will also learn to respond to the word or hand as he anticipates the contact.
  5. Continue to use the word back until you are ready to ride the movement.
  6. Be clear in your intention and always use the same voice tone, the same hold on the bridle or headcollar and point and style of contact; otherwise you may find he wrongly cues and starts backing up on incorrect cues.

Move on to riding the movement

  1. As soon It’s a good idea to have someone on the ground to help you when teaching this movement. Hal squarely: establish the halt but do not wait for the energy to dissipate. Make use of the side of the arena fence or wall and have your helper stand beside and just slightly in front of your horse’s outside shoulder.
  2. Next, apply the aids for rein-back: incline your body slightly forward to lighten your seat, take both your legs back behind the girth and squeeze gently while resisting any forward movement with the reins. Do not pull on the reins as this will make your horse stiffen.
  3. While you apply the aids, ask your helper to put a hand on the horse’s chest in the way he has leaned and push him back gently, saying the word “back”. This mirrors the commands taught for handling a horse from the ground and if he has been taught this correctly he will go backwards for your helper. In time he will learn also to associate your ridden aids with stepping calmly back and you can gradually remove the ground actions. Ask your helper to repeat the same command, but without actually touching your horse, then to stand further away, dropping the voice aid and eventually moving away altogether. By this stage you should be able to rein-back solo.
  4. It is important to monitor the quality of your rein-back.  Do not perform them too often or the horse may begin to use this option as a form of evasion.  Always make sure that the movement is measured and has a calm purposeful cadence to it with a definite one two beat and movement behind the saddle.
  5. If your horse begins to scoot or stiffen begin again from the ground but also check that there are no physical problems which may be causing this evasion.
  6. As I said it is best to have a helper on hand.  If you are looking for a trainer near you then check out the Horse Scout Professional Trainers list and find someone to help with your rein back progress.
Buying A Horse

Improving your horses core strength from the ground

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Horse Scout blogger in meditation mode: Whether you are training a top class show jumper or Eventer as an athlete or working with young horses or perhaps trying to balance a big horse under you as per my recent blog. Then working from the ground is a useful and effective way to begin working on core strength with your horse.

Core strengthening exercises strengthen and stabilise the spine and pelvic muscles as the horse responds to pressure over specific areas. If you have strong hands, you can apply pressure manually; if not, use a metal thimble over your thumb or finger. Perform three to five repetitions, allowing the muscles to relax for a few seconds after each exercise.

Some horses, especially those that are girthy or cold-backed, may resent certain procedures. If resentment persists, omit the exercise until you’ve consulted with your veterinarian.

The following exercise stimulates lifting of the base of the neck, sternum, and withers through pressure on the ventral midline between the forelimbs. These movements are essential for self carriage.

Sternal, withers, and thoracic lifting exercise:

1. Stand facing the horse’s side, just behind the elbow.

2. Apply upward pressure to the sternum (breastbone) in the middle of your horse’s chest, between the pectoral muscles. Gradually slide your hand back between the forelimbs and behind the girth line while maintaining a steady upward pressure.

3. The horse responds by initially lifting through the sternum and withers. Then as the pressure moves further back, he responds by lifting in the thoracic area immediately behind the withers, and finally in the thoracic area under the saddle.

Note: the amount of pressure needed to stimulate a response will vary between horses, so start gently and increase pressure gradually, or use a slow stroking action until the horse responds.

  1. Balancing Exercises

Balancing exercises improve balance and stability by inducing the horse to use active muscular contractions to shift the centre of gravity toward his haunches and/or to resist displacement of his centre of gravity. A horse uses his muscles in some of the balancing exercises to shift his centre of gravity, while in others, he uses his muscles to resist a shift.

The next exercise stimulates activation of the pelvic stabiliser muscles to maintain the horse’s balance.

Tail pull:

1. Stand to one side of the hindquarters.

2. Take hold of the horse’s tail, pull it toward you by flexing your elbow. (The goal is not to pull the horse off balance, but to stimulate resistance in the pelvic stabiliser muscles.) You’ll see the muscles around the stifle contracting as the horse resists the pulling force.

3. You can gradually increase the amount of force applied to the tail or the number of repetitions as the muscles get stronger.

Remember to check with your veterinarian before including such exercises into your horse’s training regimen; this is especially important if the horse is recovering from an injury.

Core training exercises can be done without a warm-up–for example, in horses that are recovering from injury–because the horse controls the amount of motion, and loading of the joints is less than during locomotion.

This advice has come from Dr. Hilary Clayton —equestrian, veterinarian, author, researcher, and clinician — is known internationally for her ongoing contribution to the understanding of equine biomechanics particularly relating to performance and conditioning.   Dr. Clayton’s targeted studies in bitting, saddle fit biometrics, kinematics and kinetics, and locomotion have provided valuable insight into the mechanics of equine sports, the interaction between rider and horse, and the effects of various rehabilitation techniques.  You can read about her here of buy her book The Dynamic Horse.

Dressage

Simulated riding sessions – Stay Sober and Smile. Try Leggless at Quob Stables in Hampshire

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Horse Scout Blogger is bouncing today: Well, I wish I was!  Have you ever thought about perfecting your aids or checking how straight you sit?

I was looking at Daisy Jacksons’ Profile on Horse Scout’s Professional Trainers lists and saw that her pyhsio therapists ‘The Balanced Rider’ had Access to a Horse Simulator.

The simulator The Balanced Rider practice use stands at Quob Stables, a smart Equestrian Centre in Hampshire and they offer sessions on “Legless” (brilliant name) for around £35.00. They say that their Dressage Simulator is fun and comfortable to ride. It is ideal to teach riders of all levels, ages and abilities.

The Interactive Dressage Simulator is the most valuable and realistic instructional aid in dressage. It teaches the rider position and control, it develops technique, skill, muscle memory and confidence. It is possible to complete the test and then play it back on the screen

The Advantages listed for riding a simulator are:

1. For the instructor

  • Close proximity to students when teaching

2. For the rider

  • Safe practice for nervous riders
  • Safe and controlled environment
  • Learn the correct posture in minutes
  • Recover from injury with safe measured steps
  • General fitness

3. For everyone!

  • All weather training

The simulator is the same size as a real horse and its action is very close to the natural feel of a real horse. When riding in the simulated arena, the rider is drawn in to the sensation of actually riding in a real ring.

As a teaching aid to help pin point exactly how to give the aids for new movements or to check that you are applying aids correctly, sitting straight, etc this seems like a gift.  Perhaps it could be a gift for someone you think would benefit from a session with their trainer or one from Quob…I wonder if Daisy Jackson has ever tried it!

Daisy is a professional dressage rider, based in Dorset/Hampshire training her current horse to PSG, competing at Advanced Medium. She was on the GB Junior Squad 2012-2013 with International Grand Prix horse Saint Swithens. She has trained with some impressive professionals herself; squad training with Stephen Clarke and Sandy Phillips, and also top trainers such as Dan Greenwood and Nicola Buchanan. Sshe was selected for the High Performance programme and received training with Olympic riders and international judges including Jennie Loriston-Clarke, Anna Ross Davies and Judy Harvey. Daisy is currently training with Nicola Buchanan, Gareth Hughes and Nicky Barrett. Holds Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence. Training towards UKCC. Available by appointment for training. If you are looking for a trainer in Hampshire contact Nicky here.

for The Balanced Riders practice click here