WELLS RELIANCE Champion Shetland and Winner of the Sanderson Trophy
The Royal Highland Show 2019
Photograph by Grossick Racing Photography 0771 046 1723
Here are 12 hairy superstars we wanted to steal and take back to our own yards this show season…
1. Pillheath Prince Charming
Brook Kehoe and her own Welsh section B stallion secured their first ticket to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at the Royal Highland Show in July.
2. Ballagh En Vogue
The Hall family’s Welsh section D yearling was crowned M&M in-hand supreme and overall NPS silver medal champion at Lincolnshire County show.
3. Thistledown Snowstorm
As well as standing junior Heritage champions, Talia Aristodou and the nine-year-old Welsh section A stallion trotted to the overall reserve supreme M&M title at the 2019 Royal International Horse Show (RIHS).
4. Greenholme Warbler
Claire Wigley’s 15-year-old stallion came out of retirement this season to win his HOYS classes at both Lincolnshire county and The Great Yorkshire with Katy Marriott-Payne in the saddle.
5. Crusheen Shadow
The six-year-old Connemara and Abby Macey stood top of the RIHS junior ridden championship at Ponies UK spring classic.
6. Wells Reliance
The 11-year-old Shetland, owned by Harry Sleigh, clinched several titles during the season, including taking the Sanderson Trophy at the Royal Highland Show.
7. Southerton Jasper
Helen Jeans’ Dales took home a HOYS qualification and the section reserve at Derbyshire Festival with producer Jess Talbot.
8. Betws Onid
The three-year-old Welsh section A colt landed his first Cuddy ticket this season as well his section title at the National Welsh championships.
9. Stuffynwood Daffodil
The overall supreme at NPS Area 4 was clinched by Everett Hayes and Sarah Nobles big-moving Dales mare
10. Dunmere Glayvar
The Dartmoor stallion took his RIHS open ridden qualification at South Suffolk show.
11. Gloves Blakehill William
Ella Kivlochan rode her own Connemara gelding to clinch his Olympia place at the BSPS summer championships
12. Wagtail Echo
Karen Shield led the stunning youngster to land the foal championship at the NPS Area 4 summer show.
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Enjoy some of our favourite updates from equestrian social media channels during the past week. From eventing mums flying around five-stars to a pony in a kitchen, it all happened on social media this week.
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A post shared by Ros Canter (@ros_canter_eventing) on Oct 26, 2019 at 12:49pm PDT
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Lilly-May was born soon after her dam was rescued by SAFE
Comedian Ricky Gervais is among those backing a struggling charity that specialises in rescuing mistreated and abandoned fly-grazed horses and ponies.
SAFE, which is based near Reading, Berkshire, has had to stop taking in new rescues after running low on funds.
The organisation appealed for help and its post was shared by Ricky — who is from Reading — on his Facebook page.
“We’re lucky we have a connection to him through his niece and he was decent enough to share the appeal for us,” said SAFE’s founder Alison. “We have had a few donations come in since, even from some people in the US.”
The charity’s appeal fund now stands at around £7,000 but Alison said the day-to-day running expenses are still mounting.
“We spend £300 a week on hay at the moment,” she said. “Although we don’t have any money, we never scrimp on top quality feed. Everything that we take in goes into quarantine, is strangles-tested and blood-tested and the vet is constantly out — it all adds up.”
The charity runs from basic premises that do not have running water.
“We have always had to ferry water in with a bowser,” Alison said. “I think people see us on social media and know we are a successful charity and they think we have rolling fields and lovely shiny stable blocks but it’s far from the truth. We do what we can with the limited resources we have but we have been struggling for a while.
“We are successful rehoming our horses and have found lovely homes for many of them but the equine crisis carries on.”
Alison reassured supporters that the charity is not closing, it does not urgently need to rehome horses and that support for the horses it has rehomed will continue.
“I have seen a lot of posts saying we’re closing — we’re not but we can’t take in any more until we have our funds sorted and are sure we’ve got enough to last the horses currently in our care through the winter,” she said. “Other than that, we are carrying on as normal.
Continues below…
Casper, who was rescued by the charity, on his arrival
Kellogs, a 26in high pony, attended the 2015 Animal Hero Awards on behalf of his best friend Twiggy, who was
Credit: TI Media
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“If we do come across rescue cases we will work with the landowners to try and find somewhere for them, find another rescue or post on our Facebook page looking for homes. We will still do home checks but will not get involved financially, but we’ll still be at the end of the phone and email and Facebook messenger doing what we can to help people.”
Alison said what the charity needs more than anything is a regular secure income, and appealed to horse owners to sign up for a monthly donation of “just the price of one cup of coffee”.
“We have more than 10,000 followers on Facebook, so if they all did that we would be secure,” she said.
More about SAFE and options for donating can be found on its Facebook page or its website, where there is also a list of horses and ponies available for rehoming.
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Restrictions on the use of fireworks on private property in Scotland are among options being considered by a new review group.
The Scottish government announced an action plan on 29 October after its public consultation on firework use, which found 92% of more than 16,000 respondents felt there should be more control on how fireworks can be used.
As part of the action plan, a firework review group, made up of key organisations including animal welfare charity SSPCA, Police Scotland, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), has been set up to consider current legislation, and the “opportunity to explore” a number of options has been identified.
Proposed changes include the introduction of restrictions on the use of fireworks on private property, a notification system before fireworks can be used, tightening of the dates and times fireworks can be set off and the introduction of no-firework zones around locations such as retirement homes and hospitals.
Scottish community safety minister Ash Denham said: “The group will carefully consider how the current legislation around where and when fireworks can be used can be tightened to help ensure that people can enjoy fireworks safely and appropriately.”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said the introduction of a notification system would require those intending to use fireworks to notify a relevant authority, and the surrounding community, in advance of fireworks being set off.
“This would have the potential to lead to a reduction in the volume of fireworks being set off, and would ensure those who need to take preventative measures before firework displays, such as those with livestock or people with sensory issues adversely affected by fireworks, are able to do so,” he said.
The pub plans to make an animal-friendly display the focus in the future
Credit: TI Media
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The group is due to begin work “imminently” and will present its final recommendations to the minister in the summer of 2020.
Other actions announced in the plan include a campaign launched on 21 October with the SSPCA and the SFRS to improve awareness and understanding of the impact the legitimate use of fireworks can have on people and animals.
“The campaign encourages people to attend organised public displays, and is supported by a published list of public firework events across the country which is publicly available on the SFRS website. This is supported by a programme of communications run across social media, local press and radio,” said the spokesman.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
I’m a day late but Happy Halloween to you all. Several people have asked if I was going out trick or treating to celebrate, but to be honest, Halloween isn’t something that I can get behind. Not because of any issues with the concept of pagan worship — if treats were on offer, to be honest I’d worship at the altar of thoroughbred racehorses and yes, I am shallower than a paddling pool in the Nevada desert — but more because every day of my life is fright night; I live with my mother…
This time of year is worse than ever because whenever I am invited to the cult event Your Horse is Alive, mother goes into a spin, labouring under some bizarre view that the world will judge her horsewoman skills by the length of my nostril hairs and will remove her right to ride if I have fur, like anywhere. The fact that two minutes in her presence would confirm that the only thing she should be left in charge of is a rocking horse is clearly beside the point. I have to be de-furred, de-haired, de-moustached and de-moralised all in the name of mother’s pride: yep operation “from feral to fabulous” is well underway…
This year the person tasked with turning me from roan (I refute the fact that I am ginger-in-the-wrong-light) to seal pup grey was Aunty J. Aunty J is an individual who has clearly been a bad bad, bad girl in a previous life as she is the one tasked on a weekly basis with trying to instill some sort of ability into mini-mother and the pint-sized piebald pain in my posterior. What crime she committed to be saddled with such a herculean task one doesn’t even want to contemplate, but she’s clearly a very religious woman — she can oft be heard muttering “for the love of God, why me?” as she plasters an encouraging smile on her face (think air stewardess with rigor mortis), while the deadly duo massacre yet another circle.
Anyway, this week at least she got a treat, as she got to lay her hands on a real horse, one whose masculine physique was (at the time) cocooned under a three inch thick man-blanket while I wafted a moustache that Colonel Mustard would have been proud of rakishly in her general direction. Fast forward two hours and I have hair envy of Right Said Fred, the facial hair of a prepubescent Daniel Radcliffe and an ass colder than relations between Boris and Jeremy. It’s so cold my Hovis sausage has gone so far into hiding a US Seal team couldn’t find it. The few remaining lone cat hairs on my inner thighs are forlornly swaying like backing singers at a Kanye West concert — superfluous to requirement and painfully aware of their imminent demise; in my hair’s case because my mother’s middle name is Edward (think about it), and in the singer’s case — well Kanye, needs I say more…
Aunty J did have to phone she-who-has-a-fuse-shorter-than-the-career-duration-of-a-british-prime-minister and admit to having slipped while de-furring my back leg, and thus my leg lines are slightly lower than the morals of an alley cat. If all of you coming to see my at Your Horse is Alive could make an effort to point that out, I would be grateful — I have a mental sweepstake as to how fast I can get the mothership’s blood pressure into outer orbit. Plus, if you lot point it out, then she has to be polite which will mean I get to enjoy watching the muscles near her jaw twitch as she grits her back teeth and channels her inner Jaws (the bond villain not the fish — she’s not that good a swimmer). Whereas if I draw her attention to it then my life expectancy drops lower than the chances of us leaving the EU before my 30th birthday.
Not that I will probably live that long. Certainly not if Aunty Em McSnitch of Snitch-ville insists on posting videos of me manfully protesting the enormous civil rights violation that occurred earlier this week. Now, it’s worth bearing in mind several key facts here, because unlike Mother McJudgey (why I’ve gone all Scottish here I know not but bear with me), you should not jump to conclusions.
Firstly, in life there is a hierarchy. We might not like it but there is. Call it Darwin or Fred for all I care, but the reality is I’m more senior than the cowardly coblet — be it in years, talent or social standing. So thus, manky mane should NOT come in before me. Like ever.
Secondly, I am Celtic.The green blood of the Emerald Isle of my birth flows through my veins like water down the River Shannon. Thus, when I protest I do it in suitable style, conveying my ancestry as well as my angst; River Prance was my interpretative masterpiece and NOT as critiqued by some uneducated heathens “a mini-tantrum”.
Thirdly, and quite frankly most importantly, I have NO hair. I am NAKED. Equine Dougal looks like a walking pompom — he could house an entire family of field mice in his mane and his fur is thicker than he is. He could have stayed out a few minutes longer while I was fetched in and allowed to defrost like Olaf working on his suntan.
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Thus, I think I was totally within my rights to protest. As for the allegations of “doing an impression of Puff the Magic Dragon” — I was not snorting I was swearing in fluent equine. Hey, if it’s ok for mother then it’s ok for me. For those of you who have viewed the video on my Facebook fan pages, then behold my moves.I’ve always told you Viagra has nothing on me — there’s the proof…
Talking of Viagra, I understand he’s coming to Your Horse is Alive next week so I look forward to it. Very few times in your life do you get to be in the presence of your hero, a world beater who has changed the very face of British Equestrianism. Don’t worry though — I’m sure he will handle it just fine…
Laters,
Hovis
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Good horsemanship starts with a feeling for horses, and knowing your horse is invaluable. In dressage we seek to replicate the natural movement of the horse, but the horse in nature doesn’t repeat these movements while bearing a load. So what can we do to achieve our goals and keep our horses sound and happy?
In an ideal world, repetitions would be kept to a minimum. Sometimes professional riders are lambasted for working their horses at higher levels too soon. However, often the benefit of the rider’s experience means they know how to present the work to the horse in a way that is easy to understand, and so the horses have actually done fewer repetitions of the movements than they may do with a rider who is doing it for the first time.
Learning to train different horses to grand prix is a very different skill to riding one that is already trained, and it requires great patience. I don’t start my horses at small tour until they are eight as I like their seven-year-old year to be one of consolidation, but I have started several at grand prix aged nine. It doesn’t hold them back.
Good eyes on the ground are invaluable, and sometimes it is best to swallow your pride and let a more experienced rider show the horse a new exercise, particularly if you are trying to keep the repetitions down.
Make your training short, sweet and meaningful. Strengthening the horse’s core by riding on different surfaces, up and down hills, walking on roads and incorporating some polework is key to building an athlete that can cope with the demands of the sport.
Know your horse
“Feel” needs monitoring. We’ve had fun at home with a new app that tracks us riding in the arena, and shows the route we take and how long we’ve spent on each rein and so on.
We use sleep monitors on some of the older horses as, if they don’t lie down at night, it can be a sign of orthopaedic pain or stiffness. Or you can simply check your horse’s rugs to see if he’s been lying down.
Repetitive strain injuries are common in dressage horses, but often there are signs, such as leaning heavily on one rein, that can be picked up by the rider.
Of course, ideally you would start with a horse with good conformation. But know your horse’s strengths and weaknesses and use common sense: if your horse has an upside-down neck, then you will have to focus on keeping his back strong; if your horse has long pasterns, make sure your shoeing is tip-top so he doesn’t end up with collapsed heels, causing more pressure.
Many anecdotes can be brought up about top horses having long careers despite bad conformation, but top horses will have balanced riders. Rider fitness is our responsibility and crucial to being an easy load for the horse to carry.
Keep your horse off his forehand. It already has you, the saddle and much of his natural bodyweight over his front legs. I see too many young horses trotting round on their forehands whacking their front feet down, which is far more damaging than the horse being one centimetre behind the vertical at times.
Social media trolling has made some riders terrified of picking up their reins. Learn to ride in balance and save those suspensory ligaments!
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Police are urging owners to be vigilant after a horse who sustained such serious wounds in a malicious attack had to be put down.
The 18-year-old mare sustained a significant wound to her neck and shoulder between 4pm and 6pm on Tuesday (29 October) in a field in Mendham, Suffolk.
A spokesman for Suffolk Police said the mare had been wearing a rug, which it is believed was removed by the suspect before the attack.
“The horse had to be put to sleep as a result of the wound,” he said. “Officers investigating believe it to have been a deliberate attack.”
Sgt Brian Calver, from the rural crime team, said: “We would suggest other horse owners review their security measures in their paddocks and stables, and we are also urging the wider public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
“This is a particularly disturbing attack and one which we don’t want to see repeated. It’s vital we catch those responsible as a matter of urgency.”
Anyone with information on the incident should contact police, quoting crime reference 37/65784/19.
In this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out on Thursday 31 October 2019, don’t miss our vet and National Hunt specials — packed full of interesting features, interviews and much more, including why equine legs swell up and what to do about it and how National Hunt trainers approach jump schooling their horses. Read our feature on how to minimise your horse’s distress when it comes to fireworks and some vet advice on what your horse needs to stay healthy this winter. Read our reports from across the disciplines including eventing action from France, racing from Cheltenham and much more.
Oh my gosh, this is amazing! We truly appreciate this – it was very unexpected and I’d say pretty successful! Thank you for doing this! This was truly a surprise and a great thing for the horses and those trying to help them – this makes a difference!
Our Pay Pal receipt.
ALSO… I just saw this on my local FB feed!
Most of you have probably heard on the news about the fires in California. They are all around us, but not near us. We have the smoke, but no fires.
Well, we have two very large, Olympic qualifying Three Day Eventing venues within 10 minutes of our house. One is 10 minutes to the North, and the other is 10 minutes to the South. The one to the South, I pass every day. It is called Paso Robles Horse Park.
They are done with show season, so they thought it would make perfect sense to open up their stalls to horses in need of shelter from the fires.
Yay Paso Robles Horse Park. Good on you!
Here is a news story about it, plus some stills I took from the news video.
The Paso Robles Horse Park is setting up temporary stalls to help those who have had to leave everything behind due to the wildfires burning throughout the state.
The horse park is hosting two nationally rated horse shows for hunter jumper competitions this weekend and next, but some competitors impacted by the fires are arriving a little early.
“It is great that we got to move in a little bit quicker here because it left room for the evacuees to come into our barn,” said Holly Charlebois, West Marin resident.
Charlebois brought 20 show horses down from Northern California to the Central Coast for the Paso Park Fall Classic Series. Moving those horses frees up space at her barn where they have, in turn, taken in 20 evacuees.
“You know I feel horrible for the people that are more affected than we are. We are happy to help any way we can and hope that if we were in the same situation, they would do that same for us,” Charlebois said.
Those at the Paso Robles Horse Park are also doing what they can by installing temporary stalls to house horses that may need to leave their homes due to the blazing fires up north.
According to park leaders, they started receiving calls days ahead of their typical load in time from people wanting to see if they could bring the animals they consider family to a safe place.
“Particularly being affected by the Kincade Fire, looking to get out of the poor air quality and into a safer zone,” said Amanda Diefenderfer, Paso Robles Horse Park Director. “We also had some people calling and asking to pull in a few extra stalls to bring a few horses that may not be competing but they wanted to get them somewhere safe.”
The park has set up about four barns to help close to 40 horse owners keep their equines safe.
“Luckily, we are really glad to be able to expand and doing everything we can to accommodate. We have actually brought in a few extra stalls from down the road to really work to help out everyone we can,” Diefenderfer said.
This comes the same day as the Easy Fire broke out in Simi Valley. Horses there, like across the state, have also required rescue. Many of those horses are being taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.
Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
You can see the smoke in this one… it is just in the air, there are no fires near us.
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A full house enjoyed the Blue Chip Winter Showjumping Championships (10 to 14 April) gala at Hartpury last night (12 April) featuring the opening Kingsland Equestrian junior challenge, a Graham Fletcher lecture-demo and the feature Blue Chip grand prix.
Nicole Pavitt gave the crowd their money’s worth with an edge-of-your-seats round on nine-year-old chestnut mare Paris 16 to take the class in a seven-horse grand prix jump-off that had them yelling and gasping in equal measures.
Early riders left rails on the floor tackling course-designer Nigel Jess’s 13-fence first-round track and it was not until 12th drawn Rose Moss jumped a copybook round on the scopey African Affair that a clear round was found. Six more combinations eventually joined her, with Rose and Olli Fletcher jumping clear on two rides apiece.
Rose gave the riders something to chase with a competitive opener on the Billy Congo eight-year-old — and Nicole did just that with a breathtaking turn into a double one stride away and an indecisive approach to the final Blue Chip oxer.
It makes the long journey worth while Paris 16 is pure class tonight by winning the Grand Prix ( who says don’t have chestnut mares) #equitopmyoplast #charlesowenhelmets #prestigeitalia #veroequestrian #redmills #poweredbyprotexin #EQUstreamz #rockelgloves
“I saw a long one to the double and had to kick,” she said. “Phillip Miller told me it was a short six strides to the last and to go on five but once I’d landed over the [penultimate] vertical I couldn’t see five strides so hesitated and went on six.
“I’d put an extra stride to the last in Addington’s grand prix two weeks ago and was just pipped by Helen Tredwell, I’d never live it down if it happened again.”
Afterwards, Nicole said Paris 16 was “pure class”, adding: “Who says don’t have chestnut mares!”
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Olli Fletcher finished in second place on Temple Rebus, just over a second and a half behind Nicole, with Rose and African Affair in third.
Nine classes are due to be jumped at Hartpury today, including the Eskadron pony discovery championship and the Pikeur pony novice championship. Competition wraps up tomorrow (Sunday) with seven classes to be jumped.
Don’t miss this week’s edition of H&H magazine, out 18 April, for a full report from the Blue Chip championships, as well as all the normal reports, news, features and interviews.
Irish Olympian and Fellow of the British Horse Society Eric Smiley launched his new book Two Brains One Aim, written with freelance journalist Ellie Hughes, at the recent International Eventing Forum (4 February).
In this extract, he discusses how the bits horses wear can impact on cross-country safety:
I first noticed the desire to achieve greater control when the minimum weight restriction was removed from the eventing cross-country phase in 1998 (previously all horses had to carry 165lbs (75kg), made up with lead weight if necessary, for the cross-country phase). At the same time, courses started becoming more technical. These two changes brought control into focus as lighter riders were now riding big, “scopey” horses, and they needed better control to negotiate the more technical courses. The short fix was to find a bit that offered more control.
A similar thing happened in show jumping. Bigger jumping horses were introduced — they were not necessarily better or more careful, they just had bigger jumps. Courses became more technical, so there became a need to control these horses.
In dressage, the desire for control has taken a different route. While there have been adaptations to the snaffle and double bridles, these two pieces of tack have remained a constant. Crank nosebands and hyperflexion have become the focus.
When it comes to bits there has always been a fashion, a “must have,” a “follow the trend.” Bit manufacturers see opportunities in the market and take them, convincing the uninitiated that a certain bit will make all the difference because it is “kinder to the horse” or “more natural.”
Bitting to gain control produces problems for everyone, from the happy hacker to the upper level rider. Coaches must feel like they are swimming against a tide when they advocate correct acceptance and understanding of the rider’s aids, and instead, see three-rings, pulleys, and big hunks of metal. The welfare and integrity of the horse remain paramount, but, at times, it seems this has been replaced by the need for control at all costs.
When double bridles were permitted in the dressage phase of eventing, riders saw this as an opportunity to gain the control they felt they were missing in a snaffle. Thank goodness this trend has been identified and rule changes seem to be coming in to rectify this. In show jumping it appears that riders will resort to anything in order to gain control, provided it is within the rules.
Every discipline has its own requirements and some would say that it is not possible to draw comparisons. But I think there are similarities and that it is important for us all to seek a moral common ground.
We all want a nice riding horse: one that goes, stops, and turns on request. When asked to jump, we want the horse to know what to do. When asked to gallop, we don’t want him to run away. In dressage, the “Carl Hester effect” has changed the face of the discipline throughout the world. To watch and listen to this brilliant horseman should be a must for all riders. In time, the ethical way of training that Carl so inspires will filter right through the sport at all levels.
Does the end justify the means? No, of course not, but we need to be careful to supervise that it does not. At this year’s Junior and Young Rider European Championships for all disciplines, I was able to watch each discipline warm up for their respective classes; because of the age grouping most riders had trainers. Indeed that’s why I was there. I was struck by the difficulty the stewards have in enforcing the rules. Not so much when they are clearly defined (as in show jumping), but more so the interpretation of the rules in the dressage warm-up. Each rider had a headset on and was being instructed by her trainer. In many cases, it amounted to “supervised bullying” of the horse with a high degree of “mental cruelty” — always on the edge of the rules and their interpretation. Hyperflexion, excessive use of spur and or whip, seeking “false paces” in place of correct and ethical schooling.
Classical principles dating to Xenophon some 2400 years ago should still be upheld today:
1 That the horse should be allowed to develop naturally.
2 That force should not be used.
3 That the result should be beautiful and beautifully easy to watch.
In show jumping, jumping clear is the aim. The issue of making horses careful is, and always will be, part of the sport. The ethics of how this is achieved is open to much debate. Bits and bitting can be a part of this.
But it is for eventing that I have my main concern with the misuse of bits. In dressage and show jumping there are undoubtedly issues, but cross-country there is far more danger lurking.
“Fake” Control
Horses are not natural gallopers. Their instinct allows them to sprint, but they must be taught to gallop, just as they are taught to walk, trot, and canter. To perform in all gaits in harmony and control should be every rider’s aim. Without this harmony and understanding, we open a Pandora’s box of possible problems.
Asking a horse to gallop at Preliminary (US) or Novice (UK) cross-country speed of 520mpm before he is comfortable with a fast canter (350–400mpm) has every chance of triggering his natural response of “run.” The moment speed becomes a conditioned response to the rider shortening her stirrups and getting into an open space, the rider feels the need to control it. Now problems arise and the perception is that brakes are needed.
The range of bits and gadgets is endless. Some of the most popular are:
➤ The three-ring or bubble bit.
➤ The elevator.
➤ Rings and pulley reins in various forms.
➤ Curb chains — excessively tight.
Every one of these is a potential disaster waiting to happen!
The aim of flatwork training is to produce a nice riding horse for all occasions. As the topline is rounded to encourage the horse “through” from leg to hand, an acceptance and understanding of the aid is produced. This harmony must also be present cross-country.
The bits I have listed above, and others like them, have an action that encourages hollowness in the horse’s way of going that is detrimental both on the flat and over fences. Not every horse has a natural bascule over a jump — and we should make every effort to work with what the horse is given and encourage him to buy in to what he has to do to jump. But by using bits that encourage an incorrect way of going, we create many problems for ourselves and the horse:
➤ The jaw shows resistance.
➤ The head comes up.
➤ The neck goes hollow.
➤ The shoulders become blocked.
➤ The steering becomes delayed and unresponsive.
➤ The back becomes less “through.”
➤ The rider stops using her legs for fear of more speed.
➤ The horse’s hind legs are less engaged.
➤ The rider’s hands become the dominant aid.
And so it goes on.
The problems that occur when hollowness appears can manifest in different ways:
➤ Lack of roundness to a jump.
➤ Dragging of hind legs (causing poles to fall down behind).
➤ Tight shoulders (causing more poles down in front).
➤ Tight shoulders (causing more chance of hitting solid fences).
➤ More stand-offs or long spots.
➤ More speed, less impulsion.
Spend a day watching cross-country and you will see some unsightly pictures. Look more closely and there is also a trend: most of the ugly sights are control issues. Look more closely and you will see these control issues will also have a bit issue. Course designers cannot make the jumping phases of eventing higher or wider in their effort to separate competitors, so they have had to use their imagination to test the control of horse and rider.
Course designers explore the concepts of the control of line and pace, the control of accuracy, and the riders’ training of their horse in answering this control.
Coaching riders and horses to meet these challenges of control requires skill, but there is a perception that this increase in skill is a euphemism for more control. More control can come from an improvement in the way the partnership works together, or it can be tack-induced. The latter is a shortcut. This is not to say that a change in tack can never make a difference for the better, but it is important to know how to retain the good qualities when in control and not to just “be in control”! There is too much of the latter.
A lot of our everyday problems are directly attributable to bits and bitting. Moreover, only a handful of top riders are skilled enough to “cope” with the issues created by bitting, leaving the rest to struggle with the consequences of these issues.
Is your horse nervous at natural fences? Here’s how to boost a horse’s confidence ahead of the new eventing season.
When Cross-Country Becomes Dangerous
Good cross-country horses look, think, and react. To the rider who says, “He’ll jump anything,” I reply, “That’s not always a good thing.”
To produce a suitable canter or gallop, the horse must allow himself to be balanced by accepting the rider’s leg aids. These aids should engage the hind end in a way that doesn’t produce speed, but encourages the horse to accept the contact and the resulting adjustment to speed in a round and rideable way. Failure to do this makes it difficult for the horse to see, assess, and take responsibility for his part in the jump.
Imagine a car with its accelerator stuck on and the brake as the only regulator of speed. The driver would survive for a short time but very soon the brakes would overheat and fail. This is what happens to over-bitted horses — it is called “running through the bridle” — and it can have frightening results.
Hollowness over solid fences is a problem in itself, but add in a drop behind and safety becomes a very real issue. When the horse is unable to see what he has to do until the last second, he will not be able to react quickly enough to stay safe. Furthermore, the way the horse is likely to hit the fence will be with his forelegs above the knee. This is the type of impact that often causes a rotational fall or a fall on landing as the horse is unable to get his undercarriage under control.
There is an indisputable link between bitting and falls. As the rider endeavors to regain control and balance in front of a fence, the horse inverts and so the ability to ride from the leg to the rein diminishes. The takeoff becomes uncertain, spreads become a lottery, distances in combinations become short, and the “out” element becomes very chancy. A blow on the horse’s forearm could be the result, and with it, the risk of a serious fall.
Price:Two Brains One Aim can be purchased for £19.95 from Quiller Publishing. It is also available to buy via Amazon. Published by: Quiller Publishing, 2019
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