Looking for better results when you show your horse ?

Why do you show your horse? Have you been consistently winning or placing? Have you ever taken the time to really think about it? Your answer will be a major factor in the results you have been achieving. If you're serious about improving your current show results you need to allow yourself the time to think about it.

Grab a pen & paper and write down 3 benefits you currently receive from showing your horse. For example: 1. show off my horse, 2. enjoy the rivalry, 3. increase the value of my pony club horse.  You get the idea.  Now take a good look at your answers.  Chances are your preparation at home and your show prep are only matching your perceived benefits. If you want to improve the results you're getting from showing your horse, you will have to increase the amount of effort you’re putting in.

There are many simple things you can do to improve the show preparation and skill levels you currently have. And this will improve the show results you are getting with your horse. The most important and easiest is to -  practice at home.

• Practice, Practice, Practice. . This is applicable to every area of your show preparation. Makeup, braiding, banding, clipping, etc.

• Re-read your breed standards or club rules. What are you not allowed to do to show off your horse? Some breed societies and horse clubs have an extensive list of things you can’t do, others have none. For example: some don’t allow the use of hair dye but have no stipulations against colour enhancing sprays.

• Brush your horse daily. Make the time to brush your horse from head to toe. Brushing is a great way to increase your horses’ natural shine, while helping keep his coat clean. We all get busy, and it’s easy to fall into the habit of irregularly giving your horse a good brush. Daily brushing should be part of the regular grooming routine of every show horse.

• Does your horse protest when you razor it’s muzzle? Try dampening the muzzle and using a small amount of shaving cream (for sensitive skin). It reduces the drag on the blades. Less pulling = less pain = happier horse.

• Always double check the horse grooming supplies in your tack box. This applies no matter what type of showing you do. Whether you use your horse for Showjumping, Dressage, Performance, Pony Club, Halter classes only, or anything else. Your tack box is an important tool. Keep it stocked well with your favourite horse grooming supplies. They’re the tools you need to do your show prep, look after them. Do you have enough of everything? Do you have enough rubber bands, (in the right colours), to do your braiding and banding, (at and before the show). Do you have hoof black? There is nothing worse than going to apply your hoof black and finding none in the tin. Or worse still, the lid not replaced properly when it was used last. Hoof black throughout your tack box is not nice. Do you have enough razors, chalk etc.. Finding yourself short of any of your grooming supplies can dramatically affect the results you get when preparing your horse for a show. Not only is your horse not looking his best for the show, you get stressed and this transfers itself to your horse. If you’re serious about improving the results your horse is getting – start treating your tack box, (and the grooming supplies it contains), like the important tools they are.

• Practice applying horse makeup – do this at home so that when you get to a horse show you know the result you want and you can achieve it quickly.

• Do you get lines when you clip? Always use SHARP blades, and make sure your horse is clean and dry before you start. Then practice clipping. Make sure you’re applying the same pressure on each stroke, and that you keep your clippers free of excess hair. Have your clipper lube handy as well as a rag to wipe any excess lube from your blades. Excess lube can make the hair sit lower than it normally would – giving an uneven clip. Always wash your horse well after you clip. Those loose hairs can get very itch. The last thing you want is a show horse with bald patches or marks where it has tried to relieve the itch. A well clipped horse is very easy to prepare, and very easy to apply horse makeup to.

• Do you enter your show horse in halter classes? Put your show halter on your horse, take him to a suitable area and practice a show workout or any variation of the workout you did at your last horse show. Practice making him stand up as you would be required to in your class. The more you do this the better your horse will perform at shows. Five minutes a day can make a big difference to your horses’ performance.

• Do you show your horse in ridden classes? Practice more during the week. If you already ride twice during the week, ride three times. If you can’t increase the number of times you ride during the week, can you increase the length of time you ride for? An extra fifteen minutes a day can make a big difference to the performance of both you and your horse.

It doesn’t matter what type of horse you show, (Clydesdale, Quarter Horse, Miniature etc), or at what level you compete. Practice is as important in preparing a Pony Club horse as it is in preparing a Grand Prix dressage horse. Basically, improving your results comes down to one thing - practice.  Practice, practice and more practice will give both you and your horse a more polished performance at your next horse show.

The more you practice your show prep, the quicker and better you get at it. The more you practice your riding, the better you get at it. The more you practice standing your horse up as you would in his halter class, the better you both get at it. Pick one area you want to improve and focus on it until you see a marked improvement, then move onto the next area you want to improve. © Lisa Morgan, Show Prep 2007.

This is an original (full and unabridged) article. Copyright belongs to Lisa Morgan, Show Prep.