Horse&Rider Magazine – March 2020

FREE! PACK OF POLO MINTS Rules of

ENGAGEMENT with Hannah Esberger-Hancock

tips to

jump clear

EVERY TIME

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Set goals, get motivated

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horse’s language On test: Stretchy hoods

All about

equine

SENSES

9 January – 5 February 2020

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Issue number 602 March 2020 n Improve engagement n Tips to jump clear n Set goals, get motivated n Equine senses n Schooling out hacking n Your horse’s feeding diary n On test: Lycra stretch hoods

The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly

No arena?

No problem

School as you hack

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

your horse’s feeding diary

Winter PART THREE

inspirati n with

Our models

As told to Louise Kittle. Photos: Jon Stroud

Our experts

Chris Burton A regular Australian team member, Chris has competed at two Olympic Games and lifted the Burghley trophy in 2016. In 2018, he won the Event Rider Masters series.

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Mary King A prolific British equestrian, Mary has won two World Championship gold medals as well as silver and bronze Olympic medals – including team silver at London 2012.

Caliber Royale is a nineyear-old Holstein stallion owned by the Royale Family syndicate. Athletic and versatile, he’s evented up to CCI1* and is now showing great talent for showjumping.

King Robert II is a nine-year-old gelding competing at CCI4*, having come eighth at Tattersalls in 2019. A five-star hopeful, ‘Bobby’ is owned by The Kings Group syndicate.

Kings Tilly is a five-yearold full sister to King Robert II. Owned by Hannah Lord and Jane Hamilton, she’s competed in age classes with the aim of progressing through the international levels.

In the saddle

With competition season fast approaching, now’s the time to make the improvements to boost your scores. This month, Mary and Chris share more quick, effective exercises to improve your horse’s way of going

A

lthough the days are lengthening, the early months of a new year are often the hardest to get through. The cold and dark can feel relentless, and that magical clock change at the end of March seems forever away. But with competition season on the horizon, it’s time to invest in your schooling, ready for improved scores on the sunny spring days to come.

If you’ve been following our winter training plan so far, you’ll have enjoyed four great exercises from superstar eventers Mary King and Chris Burton, as well as a feeding 101 on what your horse’s diet should include to help him build that all-important muscle.

This month, we return with more easy-to-remember, high-impact exercises to fit into your schooling routine right away.

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Made by horse owners for horse owners In association with

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In this feature. . .

➤ Get

comfortable riding on a slope

Cross-country

confidence with

PART TWO: THE NEXT LEVEL

As told to Megan Hurley Photos: Jon Stroud

This month eventer Hollie Swain helps you tackle the cross-country course with confidence – you’ll be making a splash in no time

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In the saddle

➤ Introduce

your horse to water ➤ Put it all together in a course

Our expert

Hollie Swain is an international eventer from New Zealand, who moved to the UK in 2011. She competes at CCI3* and is based near Godalming in Surrey.

T

he choice of fences when out cross-country schooling can feel overwhelming. With so many options, how can TOP TIP you make best use of your Your horse needs time to horse’s energy and time to develop his settle and chill out while you’re – and your – skills? schooling. Give him plenty of time Last month we tackled warming to relax and think about what up, ditches, steps and drops. Now it’s you’ve asked him. time to move onto some more complex questions to prepare both you and your horse for a cool, calm and collected cross-country round.

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Our model

Working pupil Tara Jeffries rides Ruby, a six-year-old Irish Sports Horse, owned by Carolyn Trousdale, who is based with Hollie to further her education.

HORSE&RIDER 33

Time to talk

What is your body language saying to your horse? Anna Haines explains what you can say without words Our expert

Photos: Jon Stroud, Horse Crazy/shutterstock.com

Anna Haines is a clinical animal behaviourist and full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors, and has been a freelance equine behaviour consultant since 2012. She has a BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour, and an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare, specialising in equines.

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M

ost horse owners, at some point, have wished that their horses could just tell us how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking. The reality is that horses are talking to us through their body language in every interaction we have with them, and last issue we explored what those silent communications mean. However, it’s important to remember that we’re communicating with our horses all the time, too, through our own body language. For this reason, you should try to be mindful of what you might be saying, sometimes inadvertently, to your equine best friend.

Mind matters

How much does he understand?

Horses who have regular, close contact with people are able to learn to recognise human body language. Given how heavily horses rely on reading actions to communicate with other horses, this should come as no great surprise, but it’s easy to forget.

In fact, your horse can detect even very subtle human body language cues that you might be unaware of yourself, which helps him gain information about his environment. For example, he may pay attention to where your gaze is focused to know which area of the field you’re going to deliver his food to.

Your horse can detect even very subtle human body language cues that you might be unaware of This was first highlighted with a horse known as Clever Hans, who lived in Germany in the early 1900s. He was taught by his owner to count – when asked a simple maths question he would tap his hoof on the floor the correct number of times to indicate the answer. Initially it was thought that Hans was able to count, but after careful studies and observations, it was discovered that he was simply relying on subtle body language cues from the person asking the question. If the questioner didn’t know the answer themselves, Hans was unable to respond correctly because the subtle indicators of when he’d reached the right number weren’t there.

Hans was clever – but at reading very small body language cues, not at maths.

More recently, a study has shown that horses are able to read human facial expressions and can distinguish between happy and angry faces. The horses in the study showed negative responses and an increased heart rate as a result of seeing angry faces.

Not only can horses read these emotions on our faces, but they’re also able to remember our previous emotional state if they then see us again later in the day. This is certainly worth thinking about if you’ve TOP TIP gone to the yard after a If you feel yourself bad day at work and in becoming annoyed with your a negative or angry horse, before you react and risk state of mind. your response having a negative impact on your relationship, step away and give yourself five minutes to calm down.

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