PONY magazine Spring 2013

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No prizes for guessing who’s the most famous dressage rider on the whole planet right now – everyone knows it’s Charlotte Dujardin! Turn to page 18 to read the first of Charlotte’s brilliant columns for PONY. It’s an amazing PONY scoop!

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18 CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN Yes, really, read her first column!

4 TEAMWORK! Meet Eva and Shilas 20 LUMPS ON LEGS

29 JESS TALKS Top show jumping insight from Jess!

60 EMILY WARD She’s the show jumper to watch!

REAL LIFE 54 READERS’ REAL LIVES! “I only have my memories.”

64 READERS’ REAL LIVES! “Bullies made me give up my pony”

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PONY Magazine is published every four weeks by D J Murphy (Publishers) Ltd, Headley House, Headley Road, Grayshott, Surrey GU26 6TU Printed by Polestar UK Print, 2 Wyncolls Road, Severalls Ind Est, Colchester, Essex CO4 9PB Repro by Surburbia Design, The Malt House, Regent Street, Llangollen LL20 8HS Distribution by Seymour, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT PONY Magazine, Charlie, Duggie, Soloman and Colonel are all trademarks of D J Murphy (Publishers) Ltd. Articles, photos and drawings are welcome but we cannot be liable for their safe return. Please enclose an sae. Photos of readers and ponies submitted by email or mail are received on the understanding that they may be published in PONY Magazine or on www.ponymag.com. Every effort is made to ensure that the information and advice contained in these articles is correct and appropriate, but no responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action in reliance on or as a result of anything included in or omitted from such articles can be, or is accepted by, the authors, the publishers, their employees or any other persons connected with D J Murphy (Publishers) Ltd. Save as expressly permitted by law no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written authority of D J Murphy (Publishers) Ltd. We’re sorry, but it may not be possible to include free gifts on copies of PONY distributed outside the UK. Copyright D J Murphy (Publishers) Ltd 2013.

Teamwork!

Eva Roemaat is no ordinary horsewoman. Prepare to be amazed as Eva, from Holland, introduces us to her Haflinger horse, Shilas, and explains how they got into natural dressage*!

Inspiration!

Eva used to ride in the usual way until she went to see the performing riders and horses in the equestrian show Cavalia, which had a profound effect on her.

“I was blown away,” Eva says. “How could these people ride horses with no tack, or make them bow and sit?

I cried during the

whole show because I was so touched and moved.

I was watching friends and team mates, rather than riders and horses.

Afterwards, everything I thought I had been doing right felt wrong. I used to pull the horse’s head into the desired position and, if a horse refused to listen, I used a whip. Cavalia made me realise this was completely the wrong approach.”

Finding Shilas

“My mum’s friend Silvia owned Shilas, a Halflinger gelding. He was bold and a bit dangerous – he used to buck a lot – but when Silvia asked me if I wanted to take care of him I said yes! But this was before I watched Cavalia, and I rode Shilas just as I had learned before! The week after seeing Cavalia I tried things I had seen in the show. I learned to ride without a saddle – and even though Shilas accepted this it

Learning from the best!

Eva says her best teacher was Shilas! “He responded to everything I did,” she explains. “If I did something right he would work with me.

If I did something wrong he would run away or buck me off to tell me, No Eva, that wasn’t correct!”

“In March 2009, after our first public performance

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together, my parents gave me Shilas. I cried with happiness! The moment I started handling horses another way everything went positive, Shilas was no longer a cheeky horse, but a joy to work with. He has taught me how to work with energy and body language.

It took me years to develop this kind of sensitive training but basically, all I’m doing is transforming myself into a

was hard. I fell off his back at every corner!”

Eva also played with Shilas at liberty. “He responded to this very well, and offered to play with me,” she says.

“When I walked through the pasture, Shilas would come running up to me, as though saying, Come on Eva, let’s play, let’s run together! I tried riding Shilas with just a neckrope and was amazed how responsive he was. He did his best to learn and work with me. This was the beginning of everything.”

horse, and interacting with horses in the same way they interact with each other.

Still working!

When Eva began natural dressage, searching for information about it drew a blank, “So I decided to ask Shilas to help me,” she explains. “First of all I asked him to circle around me and Shilas got

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excited, arching his neck and lifting his front legs high. I praised him as much as I could, saying, Shilas, you danced with me, well done! By making the exercises harder and asking for a little more each time, Shilas improved with each training session. Today, we are still working on our dressage, and improving all the time!”

Spotlight on Shilas

Eleven-year old Shilas is a born showman who loves to be around people and entertain a crowd. Intelligent, bright and friendly, he can sense when someone feels down and tries to cheer them up by kissing them, only stopping when he hears a giggle! His fave things are to eat, learn, perform and play with his friends. This talented Halflinger spends a lot of time sleeping in the sun and nibbling hay with his best friend, Shetland pony Flip.

Shilas Flip with

“I know Shilas enjoys natural dressage because he joins me voluntarily,” explains Eva. “He always comes running after me to have some fun! Shilas tries many new things while I am riding, even when I don’t ask him to, offering me the beginnings of new exercises which we can develop. This makes training a blast as I’m not the only one thinking about what to do – we’re thinking about it togther.”

t ssion – bu e s g in in a A tr e trainer? who is th

Eva’s top training tips

● Be patient and build a team with your pony. It’s all about having fun and experiencing things together. ● Spend time together. Normal lessons can help a lot as well, but be open to what your pony wants to offer you. ● Training horses means stopping at the right time, rewarding at the right time and knowing what you want to teach your horse. It’s much more effective to train for 10 minutes every day rather than for hours. If your horse comes to you and offers to play however then that’s fine, of course!

Click on to

m g.cSo a m y a il n h o d n p more about Eva a ! s, for

pictures and more

*That’s dressage without any tack! Yes, really!

Don’t try any of these ideas with your own pony unless under qualified supervision.

It’s a blast!

Don’t miss next month’s PONY Mag – we’ll be meeting up with Eva’s amazing performing Shetland ponies!

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1: Part s freak d e e Sp oand g ! slows

Jumping

probs sorted!

Help... my pony is a speed freak!

What’s the problem?

When you’re jumping is your fave pony totally under control and listening to you? Does he usually approach fences at 100 miles an hour? If you answered no to the first and yes to the second question then something isn’t quite right! A pony that jumps too fast can be both scary and dangerous. If your fave pony comes flying into jumps like a bat out of hell there must be a reason for it: ❀ He’s anxious or worried ❀ He hasn’t been trained properly ❀ He’s in pain ❀ He’s just naturally speedy and excitable ❀ He’s trying it on with you If you’re worried that your pony could be in any pain or discomfort, it best to tell an experienced person straight away and possibly call the vet. However, if your pony is being speedy for any other reason, it can hopefully be fixed – yay!

Try any combination of these top 10 exercises and get control of your whizzy pony!

✘ 1 Sitting pretty?

Be honest now... could all your problems be fixed if your position were better and stronger? Is your rein contact consistent? Is your lower leg secure? Are your shoulders back? Your position is key when riding a fizzy pony.

Sit still in the saddle, and maintain a strong position. Don’t simply tug on the reins to slow down, use your other aids, too. Your seat is very useful – think of it as your back brake. Ensure your seat bones are fully in contact with the saddle, but be careful not to drive the pony forward with your seat.

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nc e ing influnyew 2 Cwalm ho is a good ith another po ad

Ride you a le who can give influence and t go faster your pony can’ into fences so t him to. than you wan

✔ 4 Grids are good

3 Relax

Do you feel like you need to ride differently as soon as the jumps come out? Well you don’t, you ride exactly the same as normal! Don’t clamp your legs round your pony – that will just make him go faster!

Wrap your legs around your pony and stay relaxed through your body.

Also, remember to breathe – it sounds silly but it’s amazing how many riders jump a whole course of show jumps without breathing at all!

They finish their round looking as red as a tomato!

Grids and polework are brilliant as they encourage your pony to back off and stop rushing. Keen ponies often see a fence and lock onto it. A placing pole can help to redirect that attention. Raised poles and bounces are particularly, helpful but they require quite a bit of athleticism so don’t push your pony if he’s young or inexperienced.

Having trouble with your jumping? In this two-part series we tackle four common jumping worries and share the secrets to overcoming them

7 It figures!

School over a fence on a circle or figure of eight. That way, every time your pony tries to rush into the fence you can circle away or ride past it. Do this several times and your pony will forget about jumping the fence. Then you can quietly steer him to the fence and pop over. Changing his way of thinking will help him to stop anticipating the fence, and wait for direction from you.

Circling away will focus his attention on you

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10 Work on your get-away Don’t let your pony whizz off after the fence as if his tail is on fire! Maintain your rein contact over the fence – never drop your pony – and gently but firmly ask him to come back to you as soon as you’ve landed. Sit up tall and get your shoulders back. Collapsing forward onto his neck just says go!

6 Half-halts

Banish tug-of-war-matches with your pony. He’s bigger and stronger than you and is bound to win!

Instead, massage the reins through your fingers and remember to use your half-halts. A half-halt is an aid used to steady and re-balance your pony and bring his attention back to you. To ride a half-halt sit up tall and sink your weight deep into the saddle. Close your hands tighter on the reins and close your legs around your pony’s sides. Hold for two seconds then release.

That’s it! It is much more effective to ride a series of half-halts than it is to pull on the reins.

Remember to praise your pony when he does as you ask

More over the page...

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IMPROVE YOUR RIDING! Mounted Games are such a fun thing to do and are a great way to improve your pony’s schooling and develop your riding skills. Garth South Pony Club Mounted Games team show us how it’s done – why not have a go at home!

am!

Meet the te * Greta Dare is 10 years old and she rides Poppy, an 11.2hh mare * 10-year-old Toby Dean owns Yogi, who’s 11.1hh * Simon Bowdler is 11 and he owns 11.2hh Patch * Amy O’Hara is eight years old and owns 12.2hh Pippy * 11-year-old Kitty Munn owns Bugsy, a 13.2hh mare

How to vault on!

Flag race

What is it? Riders must transfer flags from one cone to another. Two cones are placed in the lane, one half-way down and one at the far end. The middle cone contains four flags.

The first rider starts with a fifth flag. They must each gallop to the furthest cone, place their flag into it, ride around that cone and gallop back. On the way back, they pick up another flag from the middle cone to pass to the next rider. This continues until all flags have been successfully passed between members, and the four flags have been transferred from the middle cone to the far cone, the fifth flag in the hand of the last rider. If a rider drops a flag or knocks over a cone, they must dismount and start again.

What’s it good for? This game is excellent for improving the rider’s hand-eye coordination, and it teaches the rider to steer and control the pony one-handed. It improves the rider’s ability to look where they are going and not down at their pony in order to pass the flag successfully. Balance is also very important in this race.

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If you watch an expert vault on a pony they make it look so easy. Sadly, it isn’t! It takes a lot of practice but most riders are able to learn if they put their mind to it.

When vaulting on a pony, two things are key – speed and accuracy. Speed is required from the pony because you need the momentum in order to leap on!

Accuracy is required from the rider to leap on at the right time in the pony’s stride.

Your pony needs to be trotting in a straight line with you running next to him, just behind his shoulder. Put

Run with your pony...

1

Mug race

What is it? Four bending poles are placed at equal distances apart along the lane. Three metal beaker-style mugs are placed on three of the poles. Each rider must move each mug from one pole to the next, then ride to the finish before the next rider can go.

What’s it good for? This game is also good for hand-eye coordination, and control of the pony. It is essential to be able to ride in a straight line, with your pony between your leg and hand.

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your right hand over the saddle and grab hold of the front of the saddle flap on the right hand side. Your left hand holds the reins and lightly rests on your pony’s neck. As your pony’s near-side foreleg touches the ground, jump with both feet and bounce once on the ground then spring upwards, and swing your right leg over the saddle, transferring your weight onto your right arm. Your right hand supports your weight and guides you into the saddle.

It will seem really tricky at first but practice makes perfect! Practice with your pony as often as you can and remember a good rider can mount from both sides... that goes for vaulting, too!

y...

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... bounce once on the ground...

... then swing yo ur right leg up an d over!

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UP YOUR SKILLS! bumps d n a s Lump gs are e l s e i n t on po on – bu m m o c not un what’s w o n k t’s do you nd wha s a s u o i k ser wo loo t t r a P not? wths. o r g y n at bo

Legs – they’re complicated

The lower half of a pony’s legs is made up entirely of bones, ligaments and tendons. There is no fat or muscle tissue at all so it’s not surprising that they are very prone to damage.

Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is one of the most common causes of lameness in horses and ponies. It can manifest itself in different ways, some of which we’ll talk about here, and can happen for a number of reasons including: ❀ Poor conformation ❀ Poorly trimmed/cared for hooves ❀ A knock ❀ Work on hard ground/concussion ❀ Long periods of being overweight and/or under exercised

Lumps on legs

Not so swell!

Splint

A bony enlargement on either the cannon bone or on one of the splint bones. While ponies are still young, their splint bones are attached to the cannon bone via a ligament, which means they are prone to damage and tearing. Therefore youngsters can be very prone to splints just from tearing around the field and playing. In older ponies, the attachment becomes more fibrous or even turns to bone.

Any knock to the leg causes the periosteum (bone surface) to become inflamed and grow new bone. The pony will probably be lame, but four-six weeks rest should see a full recovery.

Once the inflammation has gone down, gentle massage may help to reduce the size of the swelling but the bony growth will remain.

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Bone spavin

This is the term for degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis of the hock. Often, both hocks are affected making the horse look stiff in general. If only one hock is affected, the horse will be more obviously lame.

It is fairly common in dressage horses and show jumpers that have not been trained correctly, or have been put under too much stress.

Horses with bone spavins can develop back problems due to the restricted movement in their hocks

Ringbone

and the abnormal way in which they move. If only one hock is affected, the hindquarters may become uneven as the muscles develop differently because the horse is favouring one leg. The horse will usually develop a swelling on the inside of the hock which, although it feels very hard, is not a bony lump. Abnormal wear on the shoes is also a good indicator of bone spavin because the horse moves oddly.

The degeneration of the joint starts with the cartilage and later progresses to the bone.

This is the term for degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis of the pastern or the coffin joint. Ringbone can occur in both the front and hind legs and lameness will vary from pony to pony, but will be less obvious if it is in both legs.

Ringbone can occur spontaneously or because of an injury. Once well developed, bony growth can be seen and felt around the pastern joint and the pony may resent having the joint moved or flexed too much.

It can be very difficult to diagnose without the help of X-rays but like all bone degeneration, once ringbone has started there is no way of stopping or really slowing down the process. Often, the pony can still be lightly ridden but will most likely be lame and need box rest and painkillers when new bone is forming.

In severe cases, the growth can encircle the bones, hence its name. The bone can be surgically fused to stop the on-off lameness

Because cartilage doesn’t show up on X-ray it is very difficult to diagnose the condition in the early stages. As the cartilage breaks down the body tries to stabilise the joint by causing more bone to grow where the cartilage once was. These new bony growths are what appear on the inside of the hock.

When new bone is forming the horse is likely to be lame. However, once nature has fused the bones most horses come sound, albeit with restricted flexibility in the joint.

and pain but the joint will be significantly restricted and only very light work will be possible.

Side bone

Side bone is ossification (hardening) of the collateral cartilages of the pedal bone.

The pedal bone has cartilage on both sides which is strong but elastic.

As some ponies get older the cartilage calcifies and turns to bone.

It is very common in the front feet of heavy breeds and cobs, and the horse is often not lame at all. In some cases, the side bones can actually be felt around the coronet band.

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