The weather is warming up, the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming. That means show season is almost here. The beginning of show season brings excitement and expectations for the upcoming year. You have visions of blue ribbons dancing in your head, and maybe even a few tricolors if you are lucky. To meet all of those blue-ribboned expectations you need to do some prep work at home before you ever set foot in the show ring.
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Bringing Your Horse Back Into Shape
If you live someplace warm or are lucky enough to have an indoor, you might have been able to ride through the winter and keep your horse in shape. If not, it will take consistent work to get your pony show ring ready. Here are some tips for bringing an out of shape horse back into shape.
- Start slow. Don’t expect your horse to be able to perform at the level he was last summer right out of the field. Start with a lot of walk and trot work before you get into more strenuous activity.
- Make a plan. Look at your show schedule and write out a plan for getting your horse ready. Use your Equestrian Lesson Journal to keep track of your progress.
- Adjust his feed. Horses that are doing more work may need a different feed regimen to build muscle.
- Watch for injury. Horses coming back into work are more susceptible to muscle injury than one who is more in shape, pay attention to sudden attitude or gait changes.
Now that you are working on getting your horse back in shape, guess who else probably needs to get in shape? That’s right, you.
Getting Yourself Back to Show Ring Shape
If your horse isn’t in shape, there might be the teeniest possibility that you aren’t in show ring shape either. Time to work on you just as much as you are working on your horse. The same tips that applied to your horse will also apply to you. Start slow and make a plan even if you ran a marathon last year if you have been a couch potato hiding from the cold, you will need to bring yourself back into shape slowly and plan how you are going to do it.
Watch your feed, or maybe adjust your diet is a better way to put it. Over the holidays some of us overindulge on all those delicious holiday treats, it might be time to cut back a little on the cookies and opt for carrots instead. (I know you have some in the backseat of your car somewhere)
You are also more susceptible to soft tissue injury, make sure you are stretching before working out or riding.
Related Post – 7 Exercises You Can Do Off the Horse to Improve Your Riding
Get Your Essentials
There is nothing worse than running out of fly spray the day before the show. This sets you running to the tack store and hoping they have the brand you like. Prepare beforehand and get the things you know you will need for the show. An even better move might be to buy extra and keep one in the trailer and one bottle in the tack room so you have plenty for the entire season.
Here’s a short list of must-haves to get you prepared for the show season.
- Fly Spray
- Show sheen or detangler(Or both)
- Hoof dressing
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Water Scrapers (these things grow legs and walk away I swear!)
- Tack Cleaner
These are all things you might need to purchase. You also might want to throw a few extra buckets in the trailer or at least rinse the cobwebs out of the buckets already on the trailer.
Getting Pretty
It’s a horse show, that means looking good matters. Sure you know you need to bathe your horse as close to show day as possible but your daily grooming will have a big effect on how good that bath makes your horse look. Curry your horse daily. Then use a hard brush with short quick strokes to get the loose dust and dirt off. Finally, finish with a rub rag to help your horses coat bloom to an amazing shine.
If you plan on clipping or pulling your horse’s mane you will need to plan ahead. Both clipping and mane pulling should be done about a week before the show. This gives your horse a little time to grow some hair back if you get a little crazy with the clippers.
Before you start clipping every stray hair off know your organizations rules about clipping. In some areas trimming whiskers, inside ear hairs and the hairs around the eyes is forbidden and can get you disqualified. This occurs mostly in Europe but check with your organization before you start clipping away.
Show season is a great time of year. You get to hang out with friends and horses all day, while testing your riding skills. Just remember, have fun, even a bad day at the horse show is better than a good day at work or school.