THE PROFESSIONALS IN THIS ISSUE WE CONTINUE OUR SERIES WITH ABSORBINE SPONSORED RIDERS EMMA AND KEVIN MCNAB...
MORE TIPS FROM
The Top!
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n this issue International event riders Emma and Kevin McNab share their event preparation tips – Part II. What are your schooling tips to get a horse fit for an event? “The fitness of a horse depends on the level it is competing at. All horses need a good basic level of fitness and we build this up over 8-12 weeks by including a variety of flatwork, jumping, hacking and cantering. Up to novice level we canter our horses once a week but do very little fast galloping work because to compete up to this level they don’t need to do a lot of galloping. “For our horses competing from 3-5* their galloping programs start twelve weeks out from a big event. We will usually gallop them once every four or five days during these twelve weeks. This program begins after 8-12 weeks of basic training.”
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Do you use hacking/hill work to get your horses fit? “We do both because not only are they good for fitness, but they are also important for the horses’ balance and temperament. We are lucky enough to have a hacking/canter track at our yard and the horses go out on that once a week. “If we worked on a perfectly One day a week is dedicated to hacking
level surface daily, then went to an event that was on unlevel grassy hills and expected them to have the same balance it would be fair to say this would be very difficult for them. Event horses must have very good foot work and be equipped to perform on sometimes terrible going, so, diversity in training surfaces is key and hacking is great training for this. “Being able to ride out in the
open and not always around the school is very important for a horses’ frame of mind - if you make variety part of the routine their focus will be much better when you get to a show.” Is feeding a consideration? “Absolutely - we adjust the horses feed depending on their
