Horse&Rider Magazine - May 2024

to May 2024 issue

Would you describe yourself as a confident rider? As Alison Buttery explains on p53, it’s not as binary as you may imagine. There are so many kinds of confidence, and therefore ways to improve it. And what you need at one point in your journey isn’t necessarily the same as at another. It feels like a really empowering idea to see your confidence as a journey, and adaptable, rather than present or missing.

On p60 vet Nicky Jarvis explores a subject we will all face at some point –considering end of life care for our horses.

I know from personal experience that, while it’s all too easy to put off thinking about it, considering what constitutes quality of life for your horse, what’s in their best interests, and the support you may need when the time comes to say goodbye will only make loss easier to bear.

Until next month

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

Maurice Emtage

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a saddle for your horse, not least that it needs to fit you, too, and enable you both to perform.

Master Saddler Maurice explains the process on p106.

Working with young horses can be incredibly rewarding, but also daunting. Fizz shares some simple exercises and tips to help get your horse off to the best start, on p86.

Step up the difficulty level of your gridwork layout and you’ll see some incredible results.

On p26 Jay shares one of his favourite floorplans.

Louise was bitten by the horsey bug at age two, and has ridden and owned horses ever since, competing in eventing as well as enjoying training her horses – and herself: she’s a BHS Int SM.

DON’T MISS...

the jam-packed spring/ summer gear guide supplement with this issue!

The latest looks for you and your horse, plus rugs on test and our guide to XC boots!

Developing a secure seat, and learning how to use it to help your horse’s way of going is the focus of Lewis’s position guide this issue – turn to p38.

How do you know when it’s time to progress from feeling pleased to complete to chasing a rosette? Piggy explains how to make the decision on p20.

The stronger you are, the easier caring for and riding your horse will be, but it can be hard to find time for yourself. Personal trainer Jo makes it easy with her mounting block workout on p92.

Louise Kittle, Editor-in-Chief

Louise Kittle, Editor-in-Chief

Fizz Marshall

Lewis Carrier

Jo Collins Piggy March

Jay Buxton

In this feature. . . ➤ Refining the phases to be more competitive

Knowing when you’re ready to be more competitive starts with establishing your success so far

Photos: Jon Stroud. For more of Piggy’s training content, visit piggymarch.tv

PART THREE: UP THE ANTE

Eventing success

Piggy March explains how to produce better scores and start to be more competitive

Our expert

You’ve laid the foundations, built a successful partnership and are consistently completing events, but what’s next? It’s time to get a little more competitive. But how do you make the transition from an educational or confidence-building day to a competitive one? And when’s the right time? This issue, I share my advice that will help you turn the dream of stepping onto the podium a reality.

Piggy March is an international event rider who has represented Team GB at World and European Championships, as well as winning Badminton in 2019 and Burghley in 2022 with Vanir Kamira.

Force of habit

What are stereotypies and should you stop them? Dr Debbie Marsden has the answers

When you think about it, we ask our horses to live relatively unnatural lives. Instead of allowing them to roam freely as they would in the wild, we confine them in fields and stables, often with only one or two companions (selected by us and sometimes a source of frustration) as a replacement for a herd with its varied social interactions. Fortunately, the vast majority cope quite happily with this more restricted, yet safer, way of life. Some, however, do not and that’s when we might see behaviour developing that scientists call stereotypic.

DID YOU KNOW?

Our expert

Dr Debbie Marsden is Chair of the Society of Equine Behaviour Consultants. She trains behaviour consultants and advises on all aspects of horse behaviour, management and training.

Played on repeat

Stereotypy is the scientific term for any repetitive behaviour. In horses, the most common are crib-biting, windsucking, weaving and box walking, all of which used to be thought of as harmful and referred to as vices. We now understand them to be signs of sensitivity and reactions to particular situations to include feeling pain, frustration, excitement, pleasure and arousal.

What all these, apparently diverse, situations have in common is that they lead to stimulation of dopamine receptors in the brain. Some – such as crib-biting when eating tasty food – do this by increasing levels of beta-endorphins in the blood, which then stimulate dopamine release, with a resultant increase in sensitivity to it. Conversely, others, such as weaving when frustrated, affect dopamine production directly.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a part in a number of body functions, most notably in the brain’s perception of pleasure, motivation and reward.

Photos: Jon Stroud, C.Hamilton, pixinoo/shutterstock.com

A difficult decision

Being aware of your horse’s quality of life, and knowing when an end-of-life decision may need to be made can be extremely hard –vet Nicky Jarvis shares some key considerations

Being prepared to say goodbye at the right time and managing end-of-life care is a sad but essential part of caring for a horse. But by planning ahead and using a quality-of-life assessment routinely, you can make an emotional time just that bit easier not only for yourself but for your horse, too.

Our expert

Nicky Jarvis is Head of Veterinary and Care at Redwings Horse Sanctuary. She holds advanced veterinary practice certificates in Equine Medicine (Internal) and Equine Surgery (Soft Tissue) and lectures around the world on subjects including nutrition and care of veteran horses.

Photos: Bob Atkins, Jon Stroud, marikond, Ruth Williams/shutterstock.com. All photos posed by models. With thanks to Redwings Horse Sanctuary for their help with this feature, redwings.org.uk

TOP TIP

Even if your horse is currently healthy and active, it’s always a good idea to have an end-of-life plan in place should the unexpected happen, especially as it’s easier to think about it when you’re not feeling emotionally stressed.

Regular monitoring

Finding ways to optimise quality of life (QoL) is important for all horses, regardless of age or health, as a good level of physical and mental wellbeing throughout each day, based on species-specific requirements, is essential. As a result, monthly or quarterly QoL assessments, in addition to daily monitoring, can help you identify positive changes you can make to your horse’s management, while a practical QoL tool can help you really appreciate your horse’s

overall experience of life because you’ll...

• understand him as an individual, his personality, likes, dislikes

• know what’s normal for him

• spot ways to improve QoL – sometimes small changes can make a big difference

• easily spot changes that suggest a decline in his physical or mental health – and take action

• have greater insight to help judge when, sadly, end-of-life decisions need to be made

DID YOU KNOW?

There are several QoL assessment tools available online. The Five Domains of Animal Welfare provides a scientifically developed framework for objectively thinking about your horse’s experience of life.