Horse&Rider Magazine - January 2014

Horse R der Uk’s best-selling equestrian monthly

and

January 2014 n Michael Eilberg’s movement masterclass n Signs of pain in horses n Quick, clever lungeing workouts n Nosebleeds and nasal discharges explained

horseandrideruk.com JANUARY 2014

Supple, fit, healthy Key exercises to keep him injury free

Winter survival guide TM

Winter survival guide

35

beat-thefreeze tips d Quick, clever lunge workouts d Healthy seasonal feeding

Michael Eilberg’s Movement

Snot a problem?

Nosebleeds and discharges demystified

masterclass

Read

signs

the

Is your horse hiding pain? ➤ Pippa Funnell’s secrets of success

➤ Apps and organisers – techie tools for horsey types

WIN a day with Tim Stockdale ➤ How plus goodies to help a worth headshy £2,000! horse

£3.99

Horse

world

White stuff

Horses can survive and thrive in the extreme cold, as these amazing photos from ‘The Majesty of the Horse’ illustrate so dramatically

Photos: Astrid Harrisson

Huge herds of Kazakh horses roam the vast, unforgiving landscape of Kazakhstan that matches beauty with a ferocious climate, a place where many other breeds would perish. The Kazakh horse is extraordinarily tough and hardy, resistant to extreme climactic conditions, and able to survive and even thrive on the harshest of diets.

Youngsters delay growing when conditions are harsh and the horse has a double-layered water- and cold-resistant coat .

The lives of the nomadic

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Kazakh people revolve around horses, which provide them with transportation, meat, milk and entertainment. They still play an enormous part in the nomads’ culture. Distances are measured in terms of how far a horse can run during a race, days are divided into intervals of milking mares and horses still form an important part of many traditional ceremonies surrounding births, weddings, deaths and festivals.

Turn to page 8 for more. . .

Kazakh horse, Kazakhstan

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14 HORSe &RIDER

Photos: Steve Bardens

Horse

world

Happily

ever after

Not one, but two great horse charities were involved in this little cob’s amazing survival story. Alison Bridge reports

F

ive years ago, the horse world was rocked by a horrific tale of extreme cruelty and neglect. On the now notorious Spindles Farm in Amersham, Bucks, 125 horses were found starving, riddled with disease – and 32 of them were dead. It was the worst case of its kind ever experienced by the RSPCA. The Horse Trust was one of the charities who took the survivors in, treated their malnutrition and other horrible ailments, and set about the long process of rehabilitating them to full health.

One such horse was Disney, a scraggy little pony with a matted grey and white coat and

Above: Disney before his rehabilitation at The Horse Trust

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Top tips ➤ With a

short session, concentrate on relaxation and steady rhythm in all paces. A nice, loose workout will leave him warm but not overheated – you don’t want to put your horse away hot and sweaty, especially if you have to rug him up and go.

➤ Working-in areas at competitions or the path to the arena can be dark or have patchy lighting, so working your horse on the lunge at various times of day in different lighting at home is great training. ➤ Similarly, if you have a puddle, use it! As long as it is not slippery or damaging to the surface, working in a sloppy school or through puddles will help your horse become confident with water and give him a great workout.

Simple lunge

Lunge line attached directly to the bit A basic lunge from the bit is a great way to get your horse moving, especially if you are short on time. Simple lungeing can help improve rhythm, suppleness and connection in an unforced, horse-friendly kind of way. As with all lungeing, ensure you work both directions evenly.

Good for Lungeing off a bridle with little other equipment is great when you are running out of daylight – or time – as you don’t have to fiddle with extra gear.

How to Attach the clip of the lunge line directly to the bit ring, or to the bit ring and ring of a drop noseband on the side which you intend the horse to travel – ie, on the left if you are starting on the left rein. I prefer to do this than the more conventional method of running the lunge line under the chin, because this can pinch the horse.

What’s more, the tightening action encourages the horse to stick his head in the air and hollow.

Clip the lunge line to the inside bit ring – I find this better than running the line under the chin to the other bit ring, which pinches and encourages the horse to hollow

Session suggestions

25-minute general movement and relaxation When you are short on time, you’ve got to start at the beginning with your horse and see how far you get. But while it’s important not to rush, there are some time-saving tips that help make sure you use every moment you have well. For example. . .

Five minutes Start by walking in-hand around the area you’re going to work in. Use your warm-up to get him used to his surroundings – you can stay on one rein and when you are ready, send him away and start trotting.

Five to 10 minutes Focus on a steady rhythm in trot, encouraging your horse to relax.

Five minutes Change the rein. Walk on the bigger lunge circle if your horse will stay out and active, otherwise take him back in-hand and walk the perimeter of your area.

Five to 10 minutes Focus on a steady rhythm in trot, encouraging your horse to relax. Include a few transitions to walk near the end of the session to gradually bring it to a close.

If using a drop noseband, clip the bit ring and noseband ring together with the lunge line, for greater stability while lungeing

A bit more time...

If you have slightly more time or are working with a horse who lunges well, work in a few circles of canter, then increase the number of transitions between and within a pace. Lunge sessions needn’t last more than about 30 minutes, but start with 20 to 25-minute sessions if your horse is unfit or hasn’t lunged for a while, and build up.

Weatherproof your horse!

Do you know what your horse is like in the wind or rain? Lungeing is a low-risk way to get to know your horse’s reactions in all weather.

Discovering that a blustery wind makes your horse wild is better found out in the school on the lunge than in an open field on a hack. Once you know that he finds behaving himself in the wind or rain a challenge, you can work on him on the lunge until he learns to trust and tune in to you, whatever the conditions.

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Threading the lunge line through the bit, over the poll and attaching it to the other bit ring can force the horse to tilt his head when pressure is applied – not ideal!

Key movements...

Perfect walk-pirouettes A true walk-pirouette requires considerable strength and balance from your horse

Many riders find walk-pirouettes tricky. They are complicated in every aspect – in the way the horse has to do them, in the way the rider has to ride them and in the way they’re judged. I feel like everyone is looking for something different. I’ve had times when I think I’ve done a super walk-pirouette in a competition but I get a seven, and I’m not really sure why. The goalposts seem to be constantly on the move.

I have noticed that sometimes judges don’t seem to mind when a horse steps out with their outside hindleg in the walk-pirouette – it’s much easier to execute a smaller pirouette this way, as the rider doesn’t have to deal with any level of flexion through their horse’s body.

When you ride a true pirouette, with both hindlegs engaged and the outside hindleg stepping in and across, your horse has to use his strength and balance (pictured above). He doesn’t have a wide platform behind to balance him like there is when the outside hindleg steps out, so he has to work much harder.

Common problems

As with most horses, Baggy is not symmetrical in his way of going and tends to lean more on Zoe’s left hand. On your horse’s more supple rein, the walk-pirouette will probably be fairly good, but maybe a little big. On his stiffer rein, the left in Baggy’s case, your horse may well manage a smaller pirouette, but he’ll probably lead with his left shoulder and fall in.

It’s worth bearing in mind that walk is quite a restricted pace without a huge amount of forward movement and you’re often using a lot of leg as well, so it can feel quite pressured to your horse. If he’s sensitive, your horse will probably not enjoy spending a lot of time in

34 HORSe &RIDER

walk, so work on it a little at a time to avoid him becoming resentful and bored.

He’s stiffer one way

Any stiffness to the inside will block the flexion that you need in your horse’s body for a good walk-pirouette. Put your schooling whip into the inside hand and ride a 15m circle in walk on your horse’s stiffer rein. Bend his body around your inside leg more than you normally would, then move his shoulders onto a slightly larger circle while keeping his hindquarters in on the smaller circle (pictured right).

Try to keep his neck up in front of you and lift his outline if he ducks his head and gets too low.

It’s tempting to pull his nose into his chest when asking for more bend, but try to think of offering the bend up and to the side, otherwise you will block his forward movement too much. He mustn’t lean on you, but he should maintain the contact.

Move onto a straight line, maintaining the travers (quarters-in – pictured below left) you created on the circle for a few strides, then ask for the pirouette. Use the outside rein against his neck to ask for the pirouette and keep thinking ‘forward and turn’ as you bring his shoulders around. Don’t lose the impulsion or you will make the movement more difficult for your horse.

It’s too big

To the right, his suppler rein, Baggy’s walkpirouette is fairly good, but it’s a little on the large side. To help make your pirouette smaller, put your whip into the outside hand and use travers into the movement to put his hindquarters onto a smaller rotation, being careful not to lose impulsion. Your horse must walk forward and around your inside leg rather than fall in through his shoulders. Continue riding the pirouette until you feel the quality start to drop, then walk out of it and work on the positioning of your horse’s body and his impulsion before asking again. Your horse may be tempted to hurry out of the movement, so make sure he finishes it. Take an extra side step and ask for travers out of the pirouette to make sure he’s not losing the bend, and therefore the positioning of his hindlegs, towards the end of the movement.

In the saddle

Harmonious half-pass If you can do travers, you can do half-pass (pictured below left), as it’s just travers across the diagonal. A lot of horses will do a nice travers down a long side, but when it comes to half-pass across the diagonal, they wobble around in their rhythm, bend or line. You can work on this by doing travers along a line of poles across the diagonal to control the direction of the shoulders and give you something to follow.

In trot, start by turning onto the centre line as part of a loop back onto yourself and half-pass back to the track to a fixed point. Be sure to define the start so the half-pass doesn’t take time to mature after you’ve given the aids.

Keep the strides even and maintain a constant bend in the direction of travel.

If your horse is losing engagement before the turn, half-halt (pictured above right), re-establish the rhythm and cadence, then begin half-pass.

If he anticipates

With some horses, they anticipate the movement and fall out slightly through the lead shoulder. Ride the turn onto the centre line with more inside bend through your horse’s body and maintain it throughout the half-pass. Keep his energy up in front of you to stop him from losing engagement and falling onto your inside leg, or the steps won’t stay as expressive.

If you feel your horse rushing back to the track during the movement and you try to correct it with your hand, it’s already too late. You’ll just take away more bend and it becomes a vicious cycle. Turn onto the three-quarter line and ride a straight

line for longer, maintaining the inside bend, before asking for half-pass.

If your horse really accepts the bend before you start half-pass, then you’ll get more expression, as you can allow him more freedom safe in the knowledge you’re channelling his power in the right way. Creating bend and rideability before starting, and using a little travers if necessary (pictured below right), will make it easier for you to maintain a quality half-pass.

Lacking impulsion

If your horse tends to get overbent, this will stifle his impulsion and expression. Try to keep his outline up and his nose on the vertical. Ride travers to help lift the forehand before asking for half-pass.

Similarly, if your horse gets a bit hollow in his outline, he will lose engagement through his back, which will also affect his expression. In this case, you need to up the energy and increase the bend through his body by using more contact in the inside rein before you begin half-pass.

Zoe has been working on improving Baggy’s left bend because that was originally his stiffer side, so mentally she is preparing more and asking for more from him on that rein. As Baggy feels lighter in the right rein, Zoe doesn’t take up as much contact on that side, but she needs to remember her right contact and the even overall image she needs to present to the judges at all times.

Extension in trot To get good character and expression in extended trot, your horse needs to enjoy going forward – it should be fun. When you first start introducing extension, you want him to offer you something, then you can shape it. Push him to the point where he starts to feel a little unstable, then bring him back into his comfort zone – this way, you can build up his confidence. You mustn’t be afraid to push your horse to the limit in training, otherwise there will always be a bit in the tank that he hasn’t given you.

Add power and swing Baggy has a good extended trot, but sometimes he lacks a little swing through his back. Zoe does a lot of rising in the extended trot to allow him more freedom through his spine, so he can

lift his back. Baggy can also be a bit reluctant about giving his all. He goes forward a bit, but not completely throughout his body. He also goes a little bit wide behind in the extended trot when he loses his balance slightly and that probably makes him feel less confident about going forward.

Good extension requires confidence from both horse and rider. Start by generating some enthusiasm from your horse and really push yourselves – the more you practise maintaining this trot, the better it will get and your horse’s confidence will grow. If your horse is quite laid-back, like Baggy, you need to train him with plenty of sparkle to keep him interested in the work.

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part THREE In this feature...

As told to Lisa Harris. Photos: Bob Atkins, BEF/Kit Houghton. Thank you to Toggi and Champion Hats for their help with this feature. For more product information, visit toggi.com or championhats.co.uk

Our trainer Pippa Funnell MBE was the first ever event rider to win the Rolex Grand Slam (consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley) in 2003.

She is two-time European Champion, four-time winner of Blenheim and Windsor International Horse Trials, and three-time winner of Badminton.

Pippa is also the creator and author of ‘Tilly’s Pony Tails’.

Pippa Funnell and Redesigned competing at the 2010 World Equestrian Games

Our model Lynne Scott rides General Commotion (Smartie), an eight-yearold who’s competing at British Eventing Novice level.

Lynne has had Smartie for four years and the pair is now looking to step up to Intermediate competitions. Lynne would like to improve her medium trot, transitions and the overall marks she receives in her dressage tests.

Horse&Rider training online To see videos of the exercises used in this feature, scan or click ➤ horseandrideruk.com ➤ tinyurl.com/pippaprogress3

38 HORSe &RIDER

➤

Looking the part is important

In the saddle

➤ Create a consistent outline ➤ Master sitting trot ➤ The right canter

Progress with

P ppa

make an impacT at Intermediate It’s the little things that matter, says Pippa Funnell.

Discipline is all that stands between success and merely taking part

B

eing competitive at British Eventing Intermediate level shouldn’t seem like a daunting prospect. You can ride around showjumping courses at indoor shows through the winter. Before the season starts, you can go cross-country schooling to practise the types of fences you’ll meet in competition.

The only thing that could stand in the way of your success is the dressage test.

Don’t get me wrong, an Intermediate test is not that taxing. But if you’re not able to ride a test and steal marks, rather than throw them away, you’ll always struggle to get placed. Our model, Lynne, has told me that at the moment, she regularly scores in the low sixties in her dressage tests and would love to be able to get into the fifties. Achieving this is simple – ride in a more disciplined way.

The right impression

From the very beginning, you need to create an overall impression for the judge that says you know what you’re doing. That begins and ends with being a disciplined rider. A positive attitude helps, too – I always go into the arena thinking about the things my horse does well.

You also need to be disciplined with your horse, and when I say ‘disciplined’, people often think that means a reprimand of some sort, but I mean consistency. You should ride to the same high standard every day – a straight line is a straight line, a transition happens when you want it to happen, not two strides later – that kind of thing.

It’s amazing how many marks we all throw away by not being accurate enough.

It’s the little things that matter. You don’t need to overcomplicate your training, just focus on the basic principles, so that you’re really aware of what you’re doing up there.

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Your position

Let’s start with your position. Take your stirrups away and hang your legs down long (pictured right), remembering to keep your shoulders, hips and heels in line. If your hips or shoulders are too far forward, you won’t be able to keep your balance. Balance is the key.

If you have really good balance, you can sit very still and that’s the ultimate secret.

When a rider’s balance isn’t good enough and they try to use subtle, independent aids – one leg or one hand – their body moves as well. Your horse ends up receiving a barrage of conflicting information. Try taking your legs away from the saddle at the hip in walk. Are you able to stay sitting straight and tall? Most riders lean back, their shoulders come up and their spine curves.

Balance is the key. If you have really good balance, you can sit very still and that’s the ultimate secret Exercise

ONE

LEGS AWAY Imagine someone has attached a piece of string to the top of your head to lengthen your spine. Picture two headlights at the front of each of your hips, lined up with two lights on the front of your horse’s shoulders. Relax your shoulders down, but try not to force them. Suck your tummy in, so that your spine feels like a straight line from the saddle to the top of your neck.

This lengthening of your spine helps you to lift your posture and your horse to lift with you. In this position, take your legs away from the saddle again. As you move them, you shouldn’t feel any of your muscles tense up, as you should already be holding yourself together. If you feel your seat alter when you take your legs away, then you need to work on your core strength and balance, so that you’re able to maintain the correct position.

Reinforcing his fear When you take your legs away, your seat shouldn’t alter

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Riders with a weak core often struggle to maintain their balance between movements, and during changes of pace and direction. This can prove particularly tricky if you work with young horses. If you lose your balance whenever a youngster spooks, then they associate it with the rider grasping at the reins, and feeling wobbly and tight – you’re reinforcing your horse’s fear.

PART TWO In this feature. . . ➤ Fine-tune your position ➤ How to

rider

Bio

Secure

in the saddle The big picture ec

Katherine Walter is an accredited ‘Ride With Your Mind’ biomechanics coach, BHSII and NLP practitioner.

Frustrated at not being able to convey what she could feel when teaching, Katherine started to explore a biomechanical approach to instruction. After reading ‘Centred Riding’ by biomechanics coach Sally Swift, she trained with Mary Wanless, gaining her ‘Ride With Your Mind’ qualification. katherinewalter. co.uk

h a nics

Our trainer

m

Our models

As told to Soraya Abdel-Hadi. Photos: Bob Atkins

Julianne Fernandez is a dressage and working equitation rider. She has her own horses, and also a personal trainer to ensure that her fitness and core strength are both up to standard.

Steady Eddy is the horse simulator at the PlayBarn Riding Centre, Norfolk. He has five speeds – walk; a slow, almost piaffe-like trot (although it is not intended to be piaffe); a faster trot; a slow canter and a fast canter. playbarn ridingcentre.co.uk

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Instead of using generic terms to make a change to your position, take a closer look at all the variables

Mind matters

improve your contact ➤ Helping hands ➤ Strengthening your thighs

With a little bit of fine-tuning, you can make yourself more effective and secure in the saddle, says biomechanics instructor Katherine Walter

H

aving a secure position in the saddle is important for every rider – whether you enjoy a leisurely hack on a schoolmaster or tackling a course of 1.10m jumps at speed. And as we all know, it’s so much more than just ‘sitting pretty’.

Last month, we looked at how riding in a hollow position – where your back is arched, legs are very long and your core is not engaged – is a common, but correctable, positional fault. The

perception that ‘sitting up tall’ will correct all positional faults has been instilled in many of us since our first riding lesson, but it can actually encourage a hollow and, therefore, weak riding position.

Instead of using generic terms to make a change to your position, take a closer look at all the variables – from the tip of your toes to the top of your head. In this feature, we are going to look at how keeping a few simple principles in mind will help you hone your position.

HHH Rate

this feature

Go to tinyurl.com/RateJan for a chance to win a Mountain Horse Crew jacket (p9).

HORSe&RIDER 53

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