2 minute read
Ask an Expert: Alanna Richards
Alanna Richards: Show ring presentation
ALANNA RICHARDS is an Equestrian Hub Mentor and an expert on what it takes for your horse to shine in the show ring.
What are your top grooming tips?
Buy as many curry combs as you can – the newer the curry comb, the better! If your horse’s hair is coming out, curry comb them after you’ve worked them because the hair will just pour out. Wiping them over with a damp cloth will also create a bit of grip, but don’t wash too often if you’re trying to get their coat out. If the hair starts to move and they’re really clean, it won’t come out. You need that bit of dirt and dry sweat to help you. If you need to clip your horse, don’t clip them until the hair actually starts to move. If you clip too early the hair doesn’t come through very nicely and you’re going to have to clip again. If you clip after the hair starts moving, then the hair’s naturally falling out so you’ll clip the dead hair off.
Keep them rugged so they’re warm, although not a lather of sweat as this will have the opposite effect. I also hot oil my horses twice a week. You want their coat to be really healthy and shampooing it can dry it too much. If a horse is a little bit fluffy I wash them two days before the show, and then I’ll use hot oil or an oil based coat conditioner the day of the show or the night before so the coat sits down.
What’s your pre-season approach to diet?
Over the off season we take their feed back quite a bit to let their body recover, and then start slowing building it up again. That’s the biggest thing - you have to introduce it slowly and not all at once because if you do, they’ll be more susceptible to soundness problems. You don’t want to be overfeeding horses so they’re not rideable, or they’re not good for you on the ground.
And you do have to be working the horse. You can’t just bring them in and feed them because they’ll get fat. You need to be building the muscle as well. If you feed, feed, feed and then say, ‘oh, they look really good’ and you then start working them, the weight will come off because it’s not conditioned weight. If you’re going to start adding a lot of grain or adding rich foods, you want to make sure you’re looking after their digestive system. Hay is very important; you want them to have lots of low-sugar, grassy hay. If they’re well on the inside, they’re going to look well on the outside.
