Horse&Rider Magazine - July 2022

TOP TRAINER!

WARM-UP WITH PIPPA FUNNELL

WIN

HACK YOUR WAY

A lesson with eventer

Georgie Campbell

TO BETTER DRESSAGE SCORES

OUT OF THE

SADDLE

10 MINUTE EXERCISES

9 things to try that aren’t riding

for a more uphill horse

5

weight matters

The vet’s view

PIGGY MARCH PERFECT YOUR APPROACH

FIRST AID

ESSENTIALS

WAYS TO

BEAT BURNOUT

Why

DJMurphy

Issue number 634 July 2022 ■ Piggy March: perfect your approach ■ Pippa Funnell’s showjumping warm-up ■ Hack your way to better scores ■ Why weight matters ■ First aid ■ Anatomical bridles ■ Beat burnout

The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly

12bridles of the best

anatomical

FEEDING SECRETS

for a happy, healthy horse

Issue 634 £4.49

16 June – 13 July 2022

25

COMPETITION

MUST-HAVES

In this feature. . .

➤

Reflect on your speed, rhythm and approach

rush Beat the

As told to Kiera Boyle. Photos: Jon Stroud

Struggling to contain your horse’s energy on your approach? Improve his rhythm and your eye for a stride with Piggy March’s go-to exercises

W

e’ve all been there. You pick up a nice, steady canter as you make your turn towards a fence. Then, suddenly, your horse takes off at lightning speed, throwing all sense of rhythm out the window, which quickly limits your options for a good stride. This isn’t an enjoyable feeling for any rider, nor will it help you make it over a fence successfully.

I had this exact problem when I first started riding Polo. Being an ex-racehorse, he’d been conditioned to canter at one speed and one speed only – fast. It’s taken over a year, but by working on a few simple exercises and over poles on the ground, he now has an adjustable, balanced canter that I can tweak to suit. If we can do it, anyone can, so I’m here to let you in on some of our secrets to showjumping success.

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22 HORSE&RIDER

In the saddle

➤ Develop

your eye for a stride ➤ Maintain a steady rhythm

Our expert

Piggy March is an International eventer who’s represented Team GB at several World and European Championships, as well as winning Badminton Horse Trials in 2019.

Our model

Our Old Fella (Polo) is an 11-year-old ex-racehorse who transitioned to eventing in 2016. Standing at just 15.2hh, he came eighth at his first CCI3* at Rockingham International.

HORSE&RIDER 23

In this feature. . .

Our expert

Charlotte Dujardin is a multiple World and Olympic dressage champion. She’s the world record holder for all three Grand Prix level tests and coaches alongside her highly celebrated competitive career.

Our models

Sadie Smith is a Grand Prix dressage rider who groomed for Carl Hester for six years before setting up on her own.

➤ Learn

how to collect your horse’s paces

Smooth

moves

Learn how to achieve higher level dressage moves with Charlotte’s five-step guide

T

here are plenty of moves that many riders tend to avoid because they believe they’re unachievable – travers, canter lead changes and half-pass to name a few. They may have fancy names, but really all they are is a culmination of correctly implemented basic training. Working towards achieving them can be the key to unlocking your horse’s potential, and it’s that progressive journey that will help improve his balance, suppleness, straightness and much more to new levels.

I’ve got a step-by-step guide to help you up your schooling game through five key movements – once you’ve achieved one, you can move on to the next.

Let’s take a look.

As told to Kiera Boyle. Photos: Jess Photography

1. Adjust within a pace

Swanmore Dantina (Dia) is a seven-year-old mare

by Dante Weltino. The pair won the six-year-old championships at the BD Nationals and now compete at Advanced Medium level.

Many riders become stuck in the same canter during their schooling session, but it’s important to mix it up. On and back is a time-old exercise that’s used by dressage riders and showjumpers alike. Its purpose is to encourage a horse to carry himself and take more weight onto his hindquarters so he therefore becomes lighter on the forehand, which is fundamental for the next four steps.

Collected canter

Start by asking for a few strides of collected canter. Collection is the basis for all higher level moves, and your horse needs to be rhythmical, balanced and reactive before you can achieve it. The aim is to shorten his stride so your canter becomes bouncy.

To ride it...

1. Stay light and allowing with your hands, while half-halting, and engage your core by sitting up and imagining you’re pushing your naval up.

2. Keep the energy with your legs, but don’t overuse them – half-halt as if your hands say walk, but your legs say keep going.

Medium canter

Then push on for medium canter.

When asking your horse for medium gaits, you’re looking for his stride to become bigger, rather than faster and flatter.

To ask for it...

1. Bring your upper body forward slightly and lighten your seat so your horse can move forwards.

2. Ask for a little more power by squeezing with your lower legs, but control the power with a soft hand.

3. Then, half-halt and ask for collection again.

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44 HORSE&RIDER

In the saddle

➤

The art of simple changes ➤ Work towards half-pass

HORSE&RIDER 45

Can you train

trust?

How would you go about helping a horse overcome his fears and phobias?

Anna Haines shares some of the positive training techniques she uses

Photos: Peter Nixon

R

ehoming charities, sanctuaries and other similar organisations come across many different types of equines from a variety of backgrounds. While some are healthy, well-rounded individuals, others have behavioural or psychological problems that would benefit from rehabilitation.

The need for good behaviour isn’t just limited to sanctuary animals – it’s just as important that your own horse is calm, content and a pleasure to have around. After all, a nervous horse can be quite challenging to work with. However, the secret to a harmonious relationship is patience, regardless of your starting point. We take a look at some of the horses at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary – and how, with the help of the staff, they managed to overcome their biggest phobias.

56 HORSE&RIDER

Mind matters

Our expert

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.

Why behaviour matters

Within the sanctuary setting, the behaviour team and care staff work with a wide range of cases, each of which require careful consideration and the development of an individual behaviour modification programme. All equines within the sanctuary are required to have regular checks from professionals such as vets and farriers, too, which means that lots of training’s needed to ensure they’re as confident and relaxed about the procedures as they can be.

Case study

Avalon is a 13.3hh spotted gelding who has complex behavioural needs. He struggles with new experiences and becomes anxious quickly if he’s faced with something that he’s unsure about, such as veterinary treatments and worming. If he’s rushed, he’s quick to respond with big reactions and can quickly become difficult to handle.

Avalon’s handler, Chelsea, worked patiently with him, taking very small steps towards the eventual goal and, due to his reactive nature, allowing him to be loose during their training sessions. One of the earliest obstacles the pair worked to overcome was Avalon’s fear of having anything put near his mouth – this made worming and veterinary examination a challenge.

Plan in action

HAPPY DAYS

In order to train your horse in as sympathetic a way as possible, it’s crucial that training is done predominantly through the use of positive reinforcement. This involves providing the horse with a reward when he carries out a desired behaviour to encourage him to do more of that behaviour in the future.

Chelsea resolved this by teaching Avalon to touch a worming syringe with his mouth in return for a reward. Over time and plenty of repetition, she was able to work up to him taking the wormer into his mouth, then started to add different flavours into the syringe. Throughout his training, water, apple sauce and molasses were used to get Avalon used to something nice being squirted into his mouth and to help change his emotional response to the process.

By doing this gradually, Avalon’s confidence grew.

On the day he was actually wormed, Avalon was completely loose, without even a headcollar.

He chose to take the syringe into his mouth and there was no negative reaction to the wormer being administered. He then continued with his training session to go back to enjoying tasty molasses being squirted into his mouth instead of a wormer. A similar process is now being carried out to help him gain confidence with injections, in preparation for his next vet visit.

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HORSE&RIDER 57