Horse&Rider Magazine - March 2019

In this feature. . . ➤ Improve adjustability and coordination

As told to Rachel Dyke. Photos: Jon Stroud. For more information about Harry Meade, visit harrymeade.com

Our expert

Harry Meade has completed Badminton 10 times and finished 6th at Burghley in 2018 with Away Cruising. Alongside competing, he’s often found in the commentary box for the BBC’s eventing coverage.

Our model

Tenareze (Taz) is an 11-year-old gelding owned

by Nigella Hall and Tamsie Castle. He’s been six-yearold and seven-year-old world champion at Le Lion d’Angers, and stepped up to CIC*** level in 2018.

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In the saddle

➤ Fix

overflexion in your leg-yield ➤ Add quality to your transitions

Create a

supple horse with Harry Meade

Does your horse lack suppleness or struggle with engagement?

Improve his gymnastic abilities with Harry’s lateral work exercise

W

hether you want to create a well-rounded eventer or simply a correctly schooled horse, the basic principles you want to instil begin on the flat. Everything in dressage revolves around engagement – getting your horse stepping under his body with his hindlegs – but this is developed by working through a number of different building blocks. One of the most important of these is suppleness.

A supple horse is able to bend his whole body easily, work through his back, and move fluidly without any tension or stiffness. Some horses possess this gymnastic ability more naturally than others, and improving it doesn’t happen overnight – it’s created through regular, consistent training that accommodates your horse’s abilities while still encouraging him to develop. Lateral work is a useful tool to encourage suppleness, and leg-yield is often the first movement that you’ll teach him.

➤

HORSE&RIDER 21

In this feature. . .

➤ Ride

the perfect canter for the course xxxxx

Making

SHAPES

As told to Rebecca Philpot. Photos: Jon Stroud. With thanks to Horsehage for their help with this feature horsehage.co.uk

Eventer Emily King returns for the final part of our training series, showing how you can use different types of jump to transform your horse’s technique

Our expert

Emily King finished fourth in her four-star debut at Pau in 2015 and was recently crowned CCI*** under-25 national champion. Eventing’s in her blood, as she’s the daughter of Mary King.

Our model

Langford Take the Biscuit, known as Hobby at home, is a six-year-old gelding who’s recently completed his first CCI*.

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J

ust like their riders, horses have their own strengths and weaknesses. And, just because your horse’s particular strength might be jumping – as opposed to dressage, showing or endurance rides – doesn’t mean there aren’t areas within that which could do with some further fine-tuning.

Whether you’re looking to add a little finesse to your jumping training by evaluating how he tackles different types of fence, or simply searching for a straightforward way to introduce some trickier fence shapes to his regime, here’s a simple line of poles to get him sailing over them in no time.

One canter fits all

The canter is the foundation of how your horse jumps – and the type of canter you approach fences in shouldn’t change. You’ll need to have an energetic, collected canter, and it’s important to get the feel for this during your flatwork training beforehand. Your horse should be back on his hocks – rather than cantering free and forward when he’s more likely to rush over the poles and jump flat over the fence, which could incur costly penalties on course. Establish this on the flat before you ride through the poles.

If you can get your horse to the first pole in a strong, balanced canter, the rest of the line will help him carry it through to the fence. Even if you’re not quite spot-on with your striding initially, if he’s in a quality canter he’ll be able to adjust in time for the fence. By taking striding out of the equation with the poles, you can focus on your position while your horse improves his technique, knowing he’s in the perfect take-off spot.

➤

In the saddle

xx x ➤ Brave any obstaclex➤ Keep focused with fancy footwork

TOP TIP

As long as you keep an odd number of poles, you can adapt the set up to use more or less as required.

Don’t have enough poles? Drop it down to three. Want to make it extrachallenging? Add more to make a line of seven or nine.

HORSE&RIDER 37

Girls

behaving badly Surgical photos: Yvonne Elce, Langford Vets. With thanks to Langford Vets for their help with this feature, langfordvets.co.uk

Mares are well-known for having the potential to be difficult when their hormones kick in, but could there be more to it than meets the eye? Vet Sarah Smith, from Langford Vets, explains

Our expert

Sarah Smith MA VetMB MVetMed Dip ACVIM MRCVS is Equine Medicine Clinician and RCVS Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine at Langford Vets.

She has a particular interest in neonatology and stud farm medicine, neurology and cardiology.

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E

very horse person has heard of the term ‘moody mare’ and we’ve all probably known mares who can let their hormones get the better of them at times. But how can you tell if what you’re seeing is normal behaviour or the result of something more sinister?

It’s fair to say that some mares, much like female humans, are more affected by their cycles than others – this can lead to colic, poor performance, aggressive behaviour and resentment at being handled. But at the same time, many mares seem to barely notice them. It’s easy to forget that, just like stallions, mares are entire, so it’s important to understand and acknowledge the hormonal changes they experience and how this might affect their behaviour, then make allowances for it.

While some mares are naturally more hormonal, there are times when problems with the mare’s reproductive tract could cause extreme behaviour, so if you feel your mare is showing more than the normal signs, it’s important to ask your vet to check her over.

Ask a vet

Tis the season

Horses are seasonal breeders and mares show signs of being in season roughly every three weeks during the spring and summer months. This is caused by an increase in the blood concentration of the hormone oestrogen, which occurs just before the mare ovulates. Because some mares appear grumpy or show mild signs of colic as they prepare to ovulate, it’s possible that there’s pain associated with the ovary in these cases.

It’s at this time that a mare in the wild would mate to conceive a foal. Mares in

season show normal oestrus behaviour, which can vary from being non-existent unless a male is paying her attention, to raising her tail, squirting urine, winking, squealing and kicking out.

To some extent, all of this behaviour is a normal hormonal response caused by peaks and troughs in oestrogen.

However, if these oestrus behaviours become extreme, if your mare is in a lot of pain or difficult to handle, or if her seasons extend beyond the usual 5–7 days, then it’s time to question if there’s unusual hormonal activity taking place.

DID YOU KNOW?

Your mare’s oestrus behaviour may be more pronounced when she first starts coming into season after the winter.

DID YOU KNOW?

It’s commonly perceived that mares in season perform less well. However, there are also some extremely successful competition mares, so treat each case individually.

Dear diary

If you think your mare has some behavioural issues, you’ve noticed a change in her behaviour or her performance declines, start keeping a diary of her behaviour over several weeks or months, as well as the times she’s in season. Then, you can discuss your findings with your vet, who will help you determine whether it’s hormonal or caused by an underlying problem.

Is her behaviour normal?

If you’re not sure whether your mare’s behaviour would be classed as normal, there are two scenarios when it would be sensible to call your vet...

• if your mare’s behaviour is making it difficult to handle or train her when she’s in season • if your mare shows a change in behaviour, becoming aggressive, or showing signs of oestrus constantly, rather ➤ than intermittently, or during the winter months HORSE&RIDER 63