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PLAY TIME
Upgrade your connection
Pippa with
How does your horse unwind?
Funnell
FLY RUGS
5
TRIED AND TESTED
LUNGEING SETBACKS SOLVED
COURSE WALK WITH
confidence Sam Griff iths
THE PERFECT
JUMPING
WARM-UP SPECIAL
7 JOBS TO TICK OFF
before summer
The low-down on
laminitis
SWEET ITCH
Issue 631 £4.40
24 March – 20 April 2022
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Spring
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Issue number 631 April 2022 ■ A better connection with Pippa Funnell ■ Horse play ■ Sam Griffiths’ perfect warm-up ■ Lungeing ■ Course walk with confidence ■ Laminitis ■ T&T: fly rugs ■ Trimming ■ Sweet itch
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MYTH BUSTING
TRIMMING GUIDE
Issue 622 £4.25
22 July – 18 August 2021
In this feature. . .
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Improve your horse’s straightness
Conquer the
canter Perfect your horse’s canter with Dan’s three unique exercises
C
As told to Kiera Boyle. Photos: Jon Stroud
reating a cutting-edge canter is one of the longest but most rewarding journeys a horse and rider can embark on. It certainly takes time and patience, but becoming a stable, balanced and effective rider makes the process run a lot more smoothly. Cantering in balance and on a straight line is a surprisingly tough ask for a less established horse – it doesn’t come naturally to most – yet it’s so easy to take this skill for granted. In fact, it’s the result of cumulative hours spent focusing on exercises to build the qualities that will most help your horse.
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When it comes to crafting the perfect canter, the main quality you’re looking to hone is self-carriage – that is, your horse balancing himself without relying on you to micro-manage his way of going. At the end of a session, this is normally the difference between an exhausted, tense rider and one who’s relaxed as a result of being in tune with their horse. To help you find that perfect harmony, I’ve got three excellent exercises that will allow your horse to build up his strength, discover his natural balance and then test the finished product with a series of straightness challenges. Let’s get started.
In the saddle
➤ Create
a forward and engaged canter ➤ Introduce collection Our expert
Dan Greenwood is a dressage rider and trainer. He has won many national Championships and has ridden for GB at Small Tour, as well as coaching up to Grand Prix.
Our models
Kensington is a six-year-old gelding by Szechuan, ridden by Josh Keyho. Kensington is competing at Novice/Elementary level.
Let go The missing link to a great canter is often simple – relaxation. So I like to start my canter sessions by riding a 20m circle in a long and low stretch. It’s a really helpful way to encourage your horse to bend, accept the leg and let go – especially if he’s naturally spooky or tense. Introducing travers on the circle can also be an effective way to encourage extra bend around your inside leg – I use this exercise with a lot of young horses who lack balance and straightness.
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HORSE&RIDER 29
In this feature. . .
➤
Improve your position ➤ Build connection
It’s all
about you As a rider, self-reflection can be one of your most effective tools. Pippa Funnell explains how holding yourself accountable will help your horse go better than ever
As told to Tilly Berendt. Photos: Lucy Merrell
O
ne of the most amazing things about riding is that, so often, the solution we were looking for all along can happen as a result of the subtlest change. When I start working with a rider, I always try to get a sense of what they’ve been working on and the problems they’re keen to overcome. A lot of times, their responses sound something like: “he’s stiffer to the left,” or “he struggles with the change to the right.” Very rarely does a rider say: “I collapse through my left hip,” or “I put more weight into my right seatbone.” In almost every case, the real culprit that’s stopping you from taking the next step is an issue with your own balance. So, to improve your connection with your horse and the overall picture, it’s all about staying mindful of your position and aids so you can correct him subtly and effectively. Let’s take a look at how.
What’s the Wesko Foundation? The Wesko Foundation was launched in 2018 as a way to provide support to up-and-coming professional eventers. The two-year support cycle includes intensive training with Pippa Funnell, as well as sports psychology and fitness guidance, business support and media training. For more, visit bit.ly/YOUNG_EVENTERS_ OPPORTUNITIES
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In the saddle
➤
Learn to train your horse independently at home
Our expert
Pippa Funnell is one of the most well-known riders in the history of eventing. She was the first winner of the Grand Slam in 2003 and has since become a stalwart fixture on the British team. She’s the reigning Burghley champion, too, taking the win in 2019 with MGH Grafton Street.
Our model
22-year-old Emma Thomas competes up to CCI4*, producing her own horses alongside her studies. She deferred a place on a Masters programme to take up a spot at the Wesko Equestrian Foundation with her three horses. She rides Icarus X (Stix), a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding who stepped up to CCI4*-S in 2021.
HORSE&RIDER 35
Photos: Jon Stroud
Love to lunge L
Fizz Marshall explains how to tackle common lungeing problems with her five easy exercises to help counteract your horse’s weaknesses and build on his strengths
ungeing can bring so many benefits to your horse’s way of going and is invaluable in helping you achieve an effective schooling session when you’re short on time or unable to ride. The lack of a rider can highlight a horse’s common faults, though – and it’s important to have a robust toolkit of exercises to resolve them and improve his way of going. Here are my go-tos.
Our expert
Fizz Marshall has worked with all types of horses in her six years as Centre Manager at the Equine Therapy Centre at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. More recently she’s managed racehorses for Jonjo O’Neill and been Yard Manager for Carl Hester.
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Management know-how
Work the warm up
Whatever exercises you plan to focus on in your lungeing session, a good warm-up is a priority. Consider the best way to begin for your individual horse. This might be free lungeing to start with, or attaching the training aids very loosely – trial and error is needed here to find the most effective way to encourage your horse to move his body forward in a positive but calm way while he loosens up. Transitions on the lunge can be something people struggle with – but often that’s because they do so few of them that their horse isn’t tuned in to listen for the aid. So, be sure to incorporate plenty of transitions in your early work – between and even within the gaits – and focus on settling your horse into a rhythm as much as you can. The aim is to keep his attention on you and the aids you give him.
TOP TIP
Although you’ll come into the session with an idea of what you want to work on, think about how your horse is reacting and be prepared to alter your plans as needed to get the best from the horse you have that day.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
Your horse will have parts of his work that he finds easier and, similarly, chinks in his armour with things that are harder for him – in the same way that you do. Understanding his strong and weak points allows you to tailor your exercises and organise your training sessions in a more structured way.
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