9 Ways to Prepare Your Horse for a Tournament While Riding
Photo: https://www.equilifeworld.com
A little imagination and riding can be a fun and rewarding tool to prepare your horse for success in competition. Whether you’re looking to hit the big time in a tournament or feel more confident performing when the competition starts again, these 9 tricks can help you.
1. Practice command accuracy.
It is very easy to lose points during a performance if the horse does not follow commands clearly enough, and it also takes some skill to ride in a straight line on a narrow triathlon hurdle. To work out accuracy and straightness, while riding, choose a landmark for yourself – it can be a specific tree or a telegraph pole – and make a transition there.
2. Practice leg yielding.
Use leg yield when you ride your horse past some intimidating object, turning the horse’s head away from it and continuing forward. The horse will learn to move from the pressure of your leg without even thinking about it.
3. Open and close the gate.
Feel free to open and close the gate while on horseback. By doing this, you will automatically train your horse to do the front turn and rein back.
4. Refine your free stride.
A contented and relaxed horse will walk wide and move forward. It’s much easier to get them to reach forward for the reins while riding than on the job site, where they don’t feel as relaxed. You can also work on the middle stride and feel the difference.
5. Teach your horse to climb and descend slopes.
If you live near a wooded area, going up and down natural slopes is a great way to develop your horse’s balance. It’s amazing how difficult it is for some young and inexperienced horses to get up and down slopes, so a nature walk is the perfect way to teach them how to do it. Start with small slopes and gradually increase the difficulty.
Photo: https://www.equilifeworld.com
6. Learn to brave ditches.
Jumping over small ditches while riding is a great way to add variety to your training, as long as you don’t teach your horse bad habits. Find a small groove and start there. However, we do not advise you to choose drainage ditches, and make sure that the opposite side has suitable soil and no debris.
7. Strengthen your relationships.
8. Enjoy water treatments.
Walking across rough terrain, crossing natural water barriers is a great way to teach your horse to enjoy bathing. Start in shallow places and make sure the bottom is safe.
Many top riders, such as British Eventing team members Mary King and Nicola Wilson, regularly take their horses into the water before the race with their athletes to give them confidence.
9. Learn to deal with unexpected situations.
When riding a horse, you never know what lies ahead for you, however, as well as in competitions. Therefore, if your horse gets used to different environments, puddles, shadows and other unusual things, they will behave more calmly during the competition.
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