Adam's Handy Hints!!

HANDY HINTS by Adam Fawcett

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Adam's Handy Hints - October/November 2011

Perfecting the square halt

Having a horse automatically produce a square halt in his test is the hallmark of all good riders and the easiest way to gain marks and leave a positive impression on the judges at the beginning and end of your tests.

Some horses will produce a square halt 9 times out of 10 but many horses will leave a hind leg out (often the same one each time) or step out wide behind. To try and teach your horse to "auto correct" himself at the halt you only need 2 things: patience and consistency.

EVERY time you ask for the halt ensure you are sitting evenly and drive the horse quietly into a restraining contact and bracing back. Although you are halting think of keeping the momentum forward - this will automatically solve some problems by giving the horse the feeling that it can step further under its body with that stray hind leg!

For those horses that still won't halt square then lightly tap the "offending" leg once with the whip until the horse puts it into place. Increase the pressure of the tapping if your aid is ignored. Initially you are simply after a reaction rather than the correct response, so a simple lifting of the leg by the horse (even if he puts it down in the same spot) is absolutely fine.

Once you are getting a response then you just need to continue asking until the horse presents the correct response. As soon as the correct response is achieved and the leg either brought in or under as desired then praise lavishly and walk on. Be consistent and ask the horse to halt squarely every time and eventually the horse will start correcting himself and those scores will start climbing!

Recovery, recovery, recovery!

What sets many competitors apart from their rivals is their ability to ensure their horse recovers as quickly and efficiently as possible from the stress of daily training and competition and recovery is the vital ingredient in this recipe!

Recovery is more than just chucking the horse back in his paddock with a big meal after a long day competing. The horse's welfare is always at the front of our minds and we should look to do anything for the horse that will assist it to do the job we have asked of it.

There are hundreds of recovery techniques for human athletes and horses are no different, the trick is to find those techniques you can afford and which give the best benefit to your horse!

For instance Gandalf responds incredible well to 2 recovery techniques in particular: ice boots and his Draper Equine Rug. The ice boots are used every day after each training session and although it adds an extra 25 minutes to my day, I make time for them because the benefit far outweighs losing 25 minutes extra sleep! The Draper Equine Rug goes on before training to help warm up his muscles and straight on after training to help him cool down without catching a chill. It also doubles up as the perfect travelling rug to competitions so financially is a sound investment for me because I get the use out of it each day just like the ice boots. I hope my own example has shown how you can find some recovery techniques that are not only financially viable (something we are all conscious of these days) but which also make a huge benefit to the welfare and recovery of your horse.

Because of my commitment to these recovery techniques (and other management factors) I was able to keep Gandalf sound for the entire year with no muscle fatigue or leg injuries, enabling me to continue our training as consistently as possible whilst still giving his body the best chance to recover between daily training sessions and competition.

If you can find some recovery techniques that work for your horse as well as your wallet, then you are more likely to use then more often! And that can only be a good thing for your horse!

Happy riding, Adam.

September 2011

REPLICATING COMPETITION STRESS AT HOME

If you are like me and find competitions more stressful than they should be, try replicating the same environment at home on weekends when you aren't competing. Plan a "draw" the day before and allocate 2 times an hour apart from each other. Nominate the 2 tests you will ride. Plan what time you need to wash, plait and prepare your horse. Get yourself in the mindset to ride the tests. Try and have someone waiting at the arena as a "pseudo" Judge. Make them sit at "C". Ride your first test just like you were at a competition - remember your "anchors" (see August tips) and try and execute. Debrief with yourself and anyone else available before preparing for the second test. Make a note of what you found difficult (time management, remembering the tests, staying focused) and use this information to help you improve in those key areas. Obviously you cannot replicate every facet of competition (especially learning to warm up in a ring full of horses!) but fake test riding at home is a great way to put you under a little more pressure and keep you reaching just outside your comfort zone - it is your ability to widen that comfort zone which will help you improve and be able to tackle competition days more confidently! When you know your faults, take it to the next level and hire an indoor for two hours the next time - the change of venue is another way to push those boundaries without the full on stress of competition day.

PIMP YOUR FLOAT - WITH SHAVINGS!

Line your float with a thick layer of shavings. The extra cushioning qualities will help him be more comfortable and hopefully mean an easier journey for him. They also help absorb any urine and manure and make cleaning much easier. It may seem like a small gesture but it can make a big difference - your horse will thank you for it!

IMPROVE COLLECTION BY DEVELOPING GEARS!

A great way to improve your horse's ability to carry more weight behind is to ask for variations of tempo within each pace. Rather than transitions between walk, trot and canter, spend some time trying to develop "gears" in each pace. Bracing your core muscles and back to ask for more collection, keep the contact soft with your hands and try and have your horse collect and stay active by responding to these light, invisible aids. Then relax a little and ask him to stride out purposefully before asking him to collect again. Changing the tempo within the pace is a great way to not only help collect a horse but to keep them mentally alert and thinking. This will give you many different types of "gears" and a horse that is finely tuned and listening to his rider - as Brett Parbery says, everything about the horse must be adjustable!

Happy Riding, Adam

August 2011

TRUST YOURSELF MORE!

Too many riders rely on their coach/parent/partner to direct every facet of their equestrian lives and often that of their horses. As the person who spends the most time on the ground and in the saddle with your horse, you should have a much better intuition on many aspects of horsemanship and training in regards to your horse - so trust it! The journey we all share with our horses is sacred and unique to each rider and horse, and it is absolutely vital that you are able to express any concerns you have with everyone that you enlist to assist you in your journey. They do not have to agree with your concern but they must give you a right to express it. It is your journey after all. If you can't do this with your coach or friends, then you need to find ones that do.

IMPROVING THE EXTENDED TROT

As a rider who has had a lot of trouble keeping his horses hind legs from falling out behind during extended trot, I can highly recommend the following exercise:

Coming out of the short side of the arena in collected trot, try executing a 10 metre circle at F, M, H or K, then as you come out of the circle, continue down the long side and ask for the extension. Circle again at the marker before the corner, and repeat on the opposite side (ie, circle at F & M and H and K with extensions in between those markers). The circle helps to not only get the horse focusing more on you and the aids but helps to collect them better and put the hind leg further under their centre of gravity. When you go into the extension, think of uncoiling that energy you have built on the circle whilst keeping the same rhythm and tempo. Horses love to predict and you should soon find they will be "uncoiling" themselves as they come out of the circle. Once this occurs, move the circles to A and C, then as you come out of the corner following the circle at A or C, ask for the extension across the diagonal. Good luck.

RIDING DRESSAGE TESTS - GET YOUR 2 "ANCHORS"!

There will be many things you will do wrong in a test. Striving for perfection is pointless because it cannot be attained and you are only fighting a losing battle! Instead, think of 2 things you want to achieve during the test (your "anchors") and use these to gauge how successful your test was. For instance, with Gandalf my anchors are often "lengthen the neck" and for me to "breath out loud during the corners" - I do the breathing because it helps to slow me down and focus as I tend to rush a lot. If I am able to achieve these 2 anchors then I know I will ride the best test I am capable of riding at that moment in time. Worrying about specific parts of the test like "will he get the flying change" or "I can't do traver very well" is not helpful - those issues cannot be worked on at competitions - that is what training is for. Competitions are stressful enough without us having to worry about these things. So keep it simple, pick 2 anchors and see if you can achieve them. Once you find you are achieving them automatically, you can move to another 2 anchors and so on. I have used the same 2 anchors for the last 6 months - I am a slow learner! - but it relaxes me when I ride at competitions now because I now have a way to measure the success of my test that is not based on the judges score. Happy Riding, Adam