Horse&Rider Magazine – Spring 2018

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Issue number 577 Spring 2018 n Make him more flexible n Technical bits demystified n Stay secure in the saddle n Recurrent airway obstruction – vet’s guide n Horse fitness plan n Good coat guide

MAKE HIM more

Technical

B IT S demystified

FLEXIBLE

Effective exercises to try today

Recurrent airway obstruction

SIMPLE LUNGE PLANS

VET’S GUIDE

FOR EVERY HORSE

STAY SECURE IN THE SADDLE WITH PILATES

Revolutionise YOUR HACKING Transform your horse using different terrain

Good

horse fitness plan

YOUR PERSONALISED

3

WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR JUMPING USING ONE GRID

COAT GUIDE Prepare now for a spectacular summer coat

BUYER’S GUIDE TO

HOOF BALMS

£4.20

SPR 2018

ON TEST SHORT YARD

BOOTS

In the saddle

introduce quarters-in ➤ Progress towards half-pass

b i l e x e l F FRIEND Supple up your horse in no time with easy lateral work exercises from dressage rider Lucy Cartwright

TOP TIP

You don’t need to be in an arena to practise lateral work – try it out hacking.

Where it’s safe to do so, ask your horse to step across from one side of a path to the other, then back again. Leg-yield is a useful tool out hacking because it can help refocus your horse’s attention if he becomes distracted or spooks.

A

supple horse can move freely through his body and flow from one school movement to the next – it makes him a pleasure to ride. Suppleness is also important because without it he won’t be able to achieve self-carriage, impulsion or a true connection to your rein contact, meaning your schooling progress will be seriously limited. This is why making suppleness an everyday part of your

horse’s training is important. A great way to do this is to introduce lateral work, which is like a gym workout for your horse.

While lateral work may sound daunting if you haven’t tried it before, don’t be put off – no matter what level you’re at, anyone can have a go. The key is to break your training down into bite-sized chunks and introduce it gradually so you both have time to get used to the different way of moving that lateral work asks for.

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Exercise 1

What’s lateral work?

LEG-YIELD

Lateral work is all about asking your horse to move away from the pressure of your leg and step sideways as well as forwards down the arena. In some types of lateral work your horse travels across the arena, while in others you move his forehand or quarters off the track, but otherwise proceed in a straight line.

All lateral work requires your horse to bring his inside hindleg underneath his body, which means as well as being great for improving suppleness, it can help to improve his balance and self-carriage, too.

Leg-yield is the ideal introduction to lateral work.

It teaches your horse to move away from your leg and take one sideways step for each forward one.

The aim is for your horse to bring his inside hindleg underneath his body, crossing it in front of his outside hindleg and pushing himself sideways. Start in walk to give you a chance to perfect your aids and give your horse time to understand what’s being asked of him...

1. Ensure he’s marching forward in walk, then turn off the track onto the three-quarter line 2. Ride straight for a few steps, focusing on maintaining the same rhythm 3. Flex his head slightly to the inside, but keep his body straight by supporting his quarters with your outside leg on the girth 4. Use your outside rein to support his shoulder and keep his body straight 5. Nudge with your inside leg just behind the girth to ask him to step across 6. Take your leg off to allow him to go forwards, then apply it again to ask for another sideways step 7. Repeat, focusing on maintaining impulsion using your outside leg 8. After a few crossing steps, ride forward out of the leg-yield and give him a pat

Perfect prep

Before you even think about having a go at lateral work, ensure you’ve both done a thorough warm-up, and your horse is relaxed and focused on you. He won’t be able to go sideways if he lacks impulsion in a straight line, so make sure he’s listening to your aids by riding lots of transitions.

Simple lateral work focuses on your horse moving away from your inside leg and to do this he must first be able to bend his body around it. So, begin your session by riding 20-metre circles, threeloop serpentines and shallow loops, focusing on establishing correct bend and ensuring he’s listening to you and moving freely. If all feels correct, you’re ready to begin going sideways.

TOP TIP

While lateral work will improve suppleness, your horse does need a degree of flexibility to attempt it, which you can develop using basic school movements such as large circles, half circles and three-loop serpentines.

TOP TIP

If you’re not sure your horse is actually crossing his inside leg underneath his body, ask a knowledgeable friend to watch you ride or, if you have them, ride towards arena mirrors so you can see what his legs are doing. You can also ask someone to video you.

He won’t be able to go sideways if he lacks impulsion, so make sure he’s listening to your aids DID YOU KNOW?

Every horse finds it easier to bend in one direction.

While you want to work him evenly in order to improve this one-sidedness, only focus on his weaker rein in short bursts. This will help supple him up gradually. If you spend too much time on his less-supple side, it’ll be really hard work for him and can make his muscles sore.

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TEXTBOOK TECHNIQUE

While true leg-yield involves your horse crossing his inside hindleg in front of his outside hindleg, it may take a few sessions before he understands exactly what’s expected and for him to develop the suppleness to allow this. So don’t worry too much if he doesn’t achieve clear crossing of his legs to begin with.

A bit BETTER There’s a new wave of modern bits promising a comfortable horse and a better contact.

Horse&Rider investigates

E

questrianism has often been accused of lagging behind the times where sports science is concerned. But in the last few years it’s made a great effort to catch up, as continued research on equine biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, and mental and physical wellbeing bring to light new ways of approaching how we train our horses.

Bitting is one of the areas that has been revolutionised by research and technically advanced bits have become increasingly popular. Many riders swap to high-end bits for their horse’s comfort, while others are swayed by the promise of an improved contact and increased rideability. But, does your horse need to make the change? Not necessarily. However, if you’re considering it, here’s what you need to know...

TOP TIP

Any sudden aversion or resistance to the contact may be the result of pain in your horse’s mouth, jaw or poll, so get him checked out by your vet or equine dental technician before investigating new bits.

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TOP TIP

An expensive new bit won’t magically fix schooling problems, so ask your instructor for their input to work out what might be improved by a bit change and what simply requires more training at home.

Management know-how

arket What’s on theietmy of bits available,

With such a wide var ow where to begin. it can be difficult to kn of your horse’s nd mi Having an idea in oral conformation and strengths, weaknesses, narrow down the preferences can help you some of the most are choices available. Here on the market and how popular technical bits horse... they could benefit your

KY Rotary double joint eggbutt

KY Rotary

For horses who require less bulk in their mouths, a KY rotary bit can offer all the benefits of a double-jointed mouthpiece, but with a far smaller space requirement.

This is because the hinges are built on a rotary ball rather than a traditional joint. The ball joint allows each side of the bit to move independently, giving you the ability to work on lateral flexion or to lift your horse’s shoulder without losing stability in the opposite side.

It also minimises the risk of pinching. Designed to make the action of the bit smoother in your horse’s mouth, it’s ideal if he’s hesitant to stretch into the contact, tends to travel above the bit or is inconsistent in the mouth. It’s also dressage test legal.

Bombers eggbutt Happy Tongue

Bombers

Bombers bits were developed in the fastpaced world of polocrosse, but have become increasingly popular in other disciplines, especially showjumping. These distinctive blue bits are characterised by their sweet iron mouthpieces, which oxidise quickly in your horse’s mouth, creating increased salivation.

This is said to help a dry-mouthed horse or one who doesn’t easily accept the bit to feel more comfortable and relax through his jaw.

The bits are available in a variety of styles and perhaps their most popular range is the

Happy Tongue line, which features a ported, unjointed mouthpiece. The port is wide and shallow, so as not to act upon the soft palate, and removes all tongue pressure. It’s been used with great success on non-ideopathic headshakers (who don’t suffer from nerve pain), horses who are prone to getting their tongue over the bit and those who duck behind the contact.

The Happy Tongue Ported Barrel bit has recently been approved for use in British Dressage competitions.

Neue Schule

Neue Schule Turtle Top loose ring

Neue Schule’s Turtle-top lozenge mouthpiece – which was inspired by the shell of the Box turtle – has a flatter and less intrusive shape, so it doesn’t take up so much space in your horse’s mouth and exerts less pressure on his tongue. This frees up his front end and helps to lift his forehand, allowing him to develop self-carriage.

It’s designed to be as unobtrusive as possible while still having an influence on his way of going.

If you’ve got a horse with a fleshier, sensitive tongue, consider the company’s Verbindend mouthpiece, which curves away from his tongue.

It’s said to encourage your horse to soften and relax through his jaw. You can use the mouthpieces in dressage when teamed with approved bit rings.

All Neue Schule bits are made from a composite metal alloy called Salox, which matches your horse’s body temperature quickly, creating an enhanced feeling of equilibrium.

HORSE&RIDER 97

fitness FUNCTIONAL

Eventing legend Lucinda Green shares her foolproof fitness regime to take your horse from the field to his first competition

Our expert

As told to Tilly Berendt. With thanks to Petplan Equine for their help with this feature, petplanequine.co.uk

With a record six Badminton wins, eventing legend Lucinda Green balances a prolific teaching career with competing and contributing to eventing’s governing bodies.

A

n unfit horse is a tired horse, and a tired horse, sooner or later, becomes a lame one. This is why a structured, educated approach to building your horse’s fitness is crucial for his long-term success and comfort. Over the winter months, many horses will have been exercised less and, as a result, will have lost fitness.

Some may have been turned away for several weeks to unwind after a hectic competition season, while others will have only been ridden sporadically because of the limited daylight hours. Or perhaps your horse has had some time off due to an injury or illness. Either way, bringing an out-of-shape horse back to full fitness can be an overwhelming prospect if you haven’t done it before.

However, with an understanding of the fundamentals and an outline of your end goals, the process is really quite simple.

Make a plan

Much as you wouldn’t expect to reach peak fitness after only a few aimless gym sessions, your horse won’t arrive at his first competition in optimal condition if you don’t implement a structured regime. Fitness isn’t black and white, so while you may feel you can increase his stamina simply by increasing his workload incrementally, you’ll do him a disservice by not taking into account how best his muscles, ligaments, tendons and respiratory system should be strengthened and improved during the process.

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Management know-how

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