Posts Tagged ‘showing’
How you know that you have chosen the right discipline for your horse!
Now this is a horse who LOVES what he does!
You know, this is something I think about a lot. I really don’t want to start a big discipline war here, but I genuinely feel that there are disciplines horses LOVE and disciplines horses TOLERATE. It’s like the difference between the job that you do to make good money and the job you love so much that you’d do it on a volunteer basis. I’m not saying it’s cruel to make a horse do one of the “tolerate” disciplines, it’s not, but I can’t imagine that a horse ever enjoys something like western pleasure or dressage the same way they enjoy, say, foxhunting or cutting or team penning. And I say that as someone who has a western pleasure horse! But I admit I think of it as “something he has to do to earn a living” (aka the right to breed) and we just have to get it “over with” and then we’re gonna spend the next twenty years doing fun stuff, aka fun shows with games, team sorting, jumping little wimpy jumps, bombing around bareback, etc.
It is entirely possible that some of this is me projecting my own feelings about the comparative fun levels of these activities, LOL! So I ask YOU the question…what do YOU think horses truly enjoy doing? What does your horse love to do as opposed to things your horse tolerates because they are well trained and you are asking for it nicely?
Shopped and…not shopped
Guess which is which!
Show record:
15 APHA points in Halter & Color! 3 APHA Points in Hunter Under Saddle!
105 PtHA points in Halter and Color!!!
Reserve World Champion Halter Pinto World 2007!!
World Champion Tobiano Color Pinto World 2008!!
3rd Place Open English Pleasure Futurity 2008!!
Um, this is why people make fun of horse shows and say they are stooopid. Because the Spotted Hunchback is out there winning. People DO come to the shows in person, you know, and bring their cameras. What are they supposed to think when they see mutant horse there in the second pic? At least it is a gelding, but still.
You can take an unflattering pic of any horse – I could make any world champion look like a crap from some angle if I tried – but even at worst, it shouldn’t look like a camel!
This is kind of the problem with a lot of the color registries – Pinto, Buckskin, Palomino. You have some really super nice, outstanding individuals showing at those shows. Then you have stuff where you just go, what is that and why did someone think breeding to make that happen was a good idea?…and sometimes it has all kinds of titles on it. I may not agree with everything that the judges like in AQHA, APHA, the Arab shows, etc. but at least there is more consistency. Why do you think the color registry shows are so all over the place like this? Is it because they’re so all-breed that there’s just too much of a mix of opinions among the judges? I still don’t understand how you can think that’s a halter champion, no matter what your breed of choice is.
And, oh yeah, don’t shop your horse to the point where its picture looks nothing like it. You don’t want the real version to be a disappointment. Ask anyone who has ever seen Pamela Anderson running around Malibu without makeup!
The grapes of sour!
I love it when people gripe about how showing is sooo political and the standards are all wrong and they just won’t (add dramatic emphasis!) participate in such a flawed system. This usually translates as:
1. Holy crap, I saw what that shit costs and I can’t possibly make room for it in my budget. I might have to give up smoking, are you nuts?
2. I tried showing and I got beat. Clearly the judges are insane not to recognize how great my horse is.
I recently read one such rant online and I MUST share it here, along with the accompanying photo.
“For those of you who did not make it to World, kudos to you! This year’s world show is a JOKE!
Yes, I am a little bitter, but before you start calling me a poor sport, listen to what happened today in the western pleasure classes.
First of all, the Snaffle Bit classes were being judged at the same time as the JR western pleasure classes. I’m still not sure how the judges are able to judge 2 classes at the same time. I’ll admit, I’m not familiar with NSBA rules, but common sense says, if you’re competing in a “Snaffle Bit” class, you should be using a “snaffle bit” on your horse, not a curb.
Then, the competitors are asked to walk…jog…extend the jog…lope, etc. I was the only person in the ring that did what we were asked to do. Not a single other person moved any faster then a walk, and yet they all placed! Only 1 judged came an looked at my horse when we were asked to line up, and then back.
To further prove my point; almost every horse kept going in the original direction for at least 50 yards, after we were asked to reverse! I’m sorry but that is not showing!
I show, breed, and train performance horses. If you talk to anyone who does anything with performance horses, they will tell you that your horse needs to be able to do natural gaits. That is how a horse is built, that is how they naturally move. It’s been that way since the horse first showed on the evolutionary time line. This stupid 4-beated-cater, tr-anter, or whatever the *#%! it’s called has got to go!
My stud has placed in the top 2 at Futurities, AQHA shows, and Open shows performing the same way he did today. There is no reason why he should not have placed, because he did what he was asked. Just because the other people don’t know how to train their horses properly, is no reason why us responsible trainers shouldn’t win and/or place!
OK I’m done venting.”
Ma’am, let me explain to you what that picture shows us:
1. You’re leaning forward which is not helping your horse slow down and look relaxed. And you seem to be bracing off your stirrups. Honestly, you look kind of scared. I lean forward too, it’s a hard habit to break, and it’s why I have a trainer who’s showing my horse instead of me. You might want to consider that option.
2. The death grip on his mouth does not help him lower his head or look relaxed. Again, you look like you are trying to keep him from running off. This is not the look anyone is going for in western pleasure, NOT EVEN at the foundation QH shows, which this wasn’t one of. ALL western pleasure horses go on a loose rein. ALL! In fact, there is not a single western discipline I can think of in which the contact you’re riding on is appropriate. Cutting horses, roping horses, all work mostly on a soft rein, with contact made only as necessary.
Maybe this horse is simply not a pleasure horse type, or maybe he was having a bad day. Either way, you will not improve the way he goes by ranting about how unfaaaaaair the show was online. I get so tired of reading stuff like this. People go on these anti-show rants, and usually it is all about western pleasure.
HERE IS AN IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH! LISTEN UP!
Even at an AQHA show, MOST of the classes are NOT western pleasure. You have a very wide variety of events to choose from, MANY of which NEVER contain any participants that are troping, wogging or peanut-rolling.
Go in Working Hunter!
Go in Roping!
Go in Team Penning!
Go in Cutting!
Go in Ranch Versatility!
The fact that you don’t, and instead run around the Internet spewing venom, is proof that your horse isn’t good at anything, and that you are just a whiner.
Add to this the information provided by others who were present who noted that:
1. Your horse bucked in the class. No, saddle bronc is NOT an event. Sorry.
2. Your horse wouldn’t stop and almost ran over some of the judges.
3. Your horse was on the wrong lead more than once.
But my favorite comment was from a gal who observed “You should try to learn from your ride, not make excuses and point fingers at everyone but yourself and your horse.”
That’s about the size of it – but Blame-Throwin’ Betty isn’t about to point a finger at herself.
And that’s the end of MY rant.
Training Abuse – could it be YOUR fault?
I’ve been having an interesting conversation lately with my horse’s trainer, and she’s pointed out that while everybody screams about incidents like the Cleve Wells debacle, the root cause of a great deal of training abuse is clients who want quick results and do not care how they are achieved. (Please note I’m not saying that was the case with Slow Lopin Scotch – it’s obvious his mom did NOT feel that way but it’s equally obvious that MOST of Cleve’s clients do or they wouldn’t still be with him.) So we’ve been discussing the real truth about how long it takes to finish a show horse, and how few amateur owners understand there’s no good way to do it quickly.
Training a horse for serious competition, whether it’s jumping a course, cutting a cow, performing a reining pattern or a dressage test, is not like drawing a dog with your Etch-a-Sketch. It’s more like painting the Sistine Chapel. You have to have a plan. You are going to have some setbacks along the way. There will be days the horse just says “nope, I don’t get it,” and you have to slow down and try different approaches ’til he does get it. Or something will scare him and you’ll have to work to get his attention back. Maybe you’ve got him riding beautifully at home and the first time you take him somewhere new, he loses his little pea brain. Horses get hurt – they hit rails jumping, they whack themselves or twist something in the pasture, they get cast in the stall – and that slows down the process.
And they show up at training at all different levels. Owners think nothing of dropping off a horse that is skinny, doesn’t tie, hasn’t had his feet done in six months and is kind of vaguely halter broke – then complain when that horse isn’t w-t-c under saddle after 30 days. Even if you think you have done all the work you can and really prepared your horse, he may act differently in a new barn. Mine was w-t-c’ing quietly at home and arrived at the training barn where he had to deal with other stallions, breeding taking place, lots of activity and OMG a different rider and promptly forgot everything he knew for the first thirty days. I came out and hopped on him bareback like usual and my trainer thought I was taking my life in my hands. We laugh about it now but that isn’t an unusual story.
Training is expensive, to be sure. Let’s say the average cost is $800 a month including board. Well, that’s more than many of us are paying for rent! The desire to get a horse ready to show quickly is understandable when you look at the numbers. Unfortunately, there’s simply no way to do it that is good for the horse. I’ve been talking to various trainers and experienced owners and here’s what most people are telling me:
You’re looking at a year to 18 months to train a show pleasure horse correctly.
Reining, cutting or barrels? Two years.
Dressage? Depends on the level. If you want a Grand Prix horse, expect to put in a minimum of four years of professional training, probably more. There’s a reason you don’t see young high-level dressage horses.
Of course, there are no hard and fast rules. It’s like asking how long it takes to teach a child to read. The wonder horses who win at the shows when they’re 90 days under saddle absolutely do exist, but they’re rare and usually the result of far more months of excellent ground work, so that they were better broke than most horses before anyone stepped into a stirrup. Like the gifted & talented child who learns to read in a flash, they are smarter than the average horse and athletic enough that the training comes easily to them. It also helps not to be forcing a round peg into a square hole. A horse who is built to carry his head in the correct position for his discipline is going to be ready for the show ring a lot faster than one whose owner needs to be told that she owns a barrel prospect, not a pleasure prospect, and it’s time to sell him and get what she actually wants.
I can keep going with the child analogy – anyone here who’s a teacher or a riding instructor knows that parents can drive you NUTS. They often have certain expectations about how fast their child should be learning or what goals should have been accomplished by now. Well, people are the same with their horses. If their friend Suzy’s horse was at a show after 3 months of training, why isn’t theirs? Never mind that Suzy’s horse is crabby, pissy, lame behind and tropes around the arena looking mad at the world, his angry tail stilled only by those wonderful injections everybody still gets away with. Suzy’s out there showing! Why isn’t their horse? Frustrated by these conversations, and losing desperately needed income to other trainers, young trainers slide into using the gimmicks and abuse that get the horses out there faster. Oh well, everybody else is doing it, right? And we have to pay our mortgage…
The flip side of this is that there are trainers who truly DO take advantage, like the one I blogged about who hadn’t even been on the (broke, 2nd level dressage) horse after a YEAR of $1000 a month training. So how do you know that your prospective trainer is the type who is careful and using good judgment as opposed to a con artist who’ll suck up your cash like an Electrolux?
First question, can that trainer show you horses he or she has successfully trained? Go watch those horses compete, or talk to the owners and see them ridden if the trainer’s focus is creating quality trail horses. Are they sound? Are they happy? Pinned ears and a pissy expression is NOT OK, not even if the horse is winning like that. (I don’t mean cutting horses that pin their ears at a cow or reining horses that lay them back on a slide. That’s normal. I mean constant pinned ears or grinding teeth and obvious discomfort loping around on a soft rein or doing rail work.)
Second question, what are the trainer’s policies about their barn? I would not personally leave my horse anywhere that visits were restricted or had to be announced (within reason, during normal barn hours). If you cannot just walk in and watch the trainer work horses, I would worry about what is going on. Now, you don’t have the right to walk in unannounced and ask the trainer to drop what they are doing and ride your horse for you – that’s different. You are not the only client and may not behave like a princess. But an “open door” policy is usually a very good sign that your horse is being treated well even when you are not present.
Third question, has the trainer ever been disciplined by their breed association and why? A phone call will tell you this. If they have been caught drugging or abusing horses, trust me, they have not changed their stripes. Not all discipline is for that sort of thing, so do ask why before you jump to conclusions.
Fourth, GOOGLE! One Rip-Off report or similar rant could be a problem customer and everybody has had at least one. Six of them? Probably not a good sign.
Fifth, go to the barn and look at the horses. Happy and fresh, ears up, come to the door to see the people and determine the presence of cookies? Or all sulking in the corners, hoping not to be bothered, or aggressively scraping their teeth on the stall bars?
Another thing I’d do before choosing a trainer include going to a show they’re at and observing how they treat their clients and horses when under stress. That can be very different from how things go at home, and they can’t hide anything at a show. Lurking quietly around the warm up ring, with no one knowing you are a prospective client, is highly educational.
Once they’re in training, you should be able to set up times to watch them worked and get regular updates about their progress. This can be scary ground for the trainer. Some of you are like the parents who will flip if anything negative is said about your child. GROW UP. Your child has bad days, really 
I hear everything about my horse – from the glowing reports when he goes like he’s ready for the World to the days when he says “nope, I don’t sidepass today, eff you lady” and I like it that way. If you’re a grown-up who can handle hearing about your horse’s faults, make sure to tell your trainer so that he/she won’t be scared that you’ll simply stomp off and find a different trainer who blows sunshine and butterflies up your ass instead of the truth.
Finally, don’t expect results if you trainer-hop. Absolutely move your horse out if you find evidence of abuse or drugging or you’re seeing your horse’s attitude deteriorate or he is developing vices he never had before. But if the progress simply isn’t what you were hoping for, ask questions and give the trainer a chance to show you what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what mental or physical limitations or challenges are holding your horse back.
It’s probably obvious at this point that it’s a lot cheaper to buy a fully trained horse if your goal is getting into the show ring quickly – but going through the training process with a much loved horse or one that you bred is particularly rewarding as well. You get to control how that horse is trained. You can ensure he never has bad experiences, becomes sour, gets ridden too early or pushed too hard – things you may not be able to avoid with a horse you purchase already finished. There are advantages to both approaches and it’s up to you to figure out what makes sense for you.
Now, tell me your training stories – good and bad. If you have a horse that is competing and doing well, how long did that take? Did you find a great trainer right away or have to hop a bit to find the right one? Good experiences? Bad ones? What were your horse’s challenges during training? What have you learned, perhaps the hard way, and can share with others who are looking for a serious trainer for maybe the first time?
And of course, trainers, your thoughts are welcome as well! If you have trained one to the point where they placed or won in national-level competition, how long did that take?
P.S. Never look this topic up on Yahoo Answers if you don’t want your head to hurt. Actual quote: “You dont really train them to jump, all i did was head for a jump, and my horse jumped it, lol” Poor horse…bet he was not LOLing about this process.
Halloween is coming – What is your horse going as?
A reader sent me these great pictures of her kids and their horses all dressed up for fall costume classes. I love stuff like this! Costume classes are a great way to have fun with your horses and your kids can be as creative as they want in coming up with ideas. When I used to teach lessons, my polo ponies had to wear everything from pegasus wings to unicorn horns to a full body costume of feathers. I’ve seen a green blanket painted with scales to make a dragon, a tan fleece blanket covering pillows to make a camel out of an Appendix mare, and horses bodypainted as zebras and cheetas!
So let’s have some fun today – what are your horses going as this Halloween? Or just hypothetically – if your horse was going to wear a costume, what would s/he go as? What would suit his personality?
I think my VLC would have to be a surfer dude…that would suit his laid-back personality. He could wear a long blonde wig, have a surfboard strapped to his side, and of course big sunglasses! He could even wear a tarp as a wave, ha ha.
Shame he’s not a reiner, that’s a discipline where adults get to play dress-up too – freestyle reining competitors can wear just about anything and the class is always a crowd-pleasure. Some examples:
Stacy Westphal – Note what parts of her costume aren’t there. This is a heck of a great example of horse training!
Youth Freestyle Reining at Arab Nationals
Really fun stuff. Post direct links to your pics (don’t use the IMG tag, it doesn’t work, I don’t know why) and I’ll make them show up as I go along.
For the locals, remember that the Thurston County Hooved Animal Rescue’s benefit horseshow is this weekend. Pleasure/Eq. on Saturday, games on Sunday. It’s only $7 a class and $25 for a day stall, $30 for the weekend, so you can’t beat the price. Come on out to the Trails End Arena in Olympia and support a very worthy rescue!
For the Texans, the Bluebonnet Horse Expo is taking place next weekend. This is a full day of clinics and demos, silent and live auctions for great horsey stuff, and an opportunity to meet horses available for adoption. If you are near Austin, check it out!
Finally, if you’re in Seattle and want a Thoroughbred, I understand at least 18 of them are being dumped at the Enumclaw Auction now that the Emerald Downs season is over. Come on out and save one from the meat buyers – 3:00 p.m. Sunday at 22712 SE 436th St in Enumclaw. You should be able to take your pick for $300 – $500.
Putting on a good show, even your first show!
Almost every time I go to a horseshow, particularly local open shows, I see one or more exhibitors who skipped Show Prep 101. Their horse isn’t clipped and sometimes isn’t even clean. They aren’t sure what classes they are in and they’re not too sure about what lead they’re on, either. 99 times out of 100, these people will then scream bloody murder when they don’t get a ribbon, complain that shows are all political, that only the rich people/kids win, blah blah blah.
(I’ve been dying to make this point about horse show politics: If your horse who usually gets excellent ribbons comes home empty-handed despite having good rides, that might be politics. When your horse goes to five shows in a row and doesn’t do squat, it is time to accept that nothing unfair has taken place, you’re just not competitive. Might be because of your horse’s quality, might be because of lack of training, might be because the two of you just aren’t clicking as a team yet. But it’s not politics.)
Check out the picture below:
This is a cute horse, in good weight. No sign of anything but good care here, but he’s not at all ready for a horseshow! He has rubbed out parts of his mane so that the length is all over the place, but the shortest part is actually perfectly fine for the pulled, banded mane he ought to have in this class. How much prettier would his neck – obviously not his best feature – look if that effort had been made? Shaggy fetlocks further detract from his appearance, and he has not been taught (or the exhibitor doesn’t know how) to square up so that he looks his best.
The purple halter, well, I’ll cut enough slack to say that maybe it is a schooling show, in which case a casual halter is acceptable. Would a leather halter look better, even without any decoration? Absolutely.
I’m the first one to object when anything cruel is done to a horse to give it the right look in the show ring. Tail blocking is absolutely unacceptable in my book, as is plastic surgery of any kind, ginger, etc. But clippers are a painless way to give a horse a neat appearance – it’s like bothering to shave before you go to a job interview if you’re a guy. Why wouldn’t you? Who wants to look scruffy when you are being judged?
(I should note it is entirely possible this picture was taken at a foundation quarter horse show, which I think of as an un-show. FQHA rules forbid things like clipping or nice tack or show clothes, so basically I don’t know what they are showing off. Not how well they ride, because they also forbid equitation or horsemanship classes. I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind this. It reminds me of spelling bees where no one wins because they do not want to make the losers feel bad.)
So what about all of you who want to get it right? I often see people post to ask what they should know/do/wear at their first horse show. They may be the parents of a child who wants to start showing, or adults who have decided they’d like to try something competitive with their horse. Here are some tips if you’re in that position:
1. Go to the type of show you want to compete at without your horse. Take some notes about the classes, what people are wearing, what kind of tack they are using, and how the classes run. Try to pick winners and see if you can tell what is impressing the judge(s).
2. Learn the rules. Most open shows have the rules printed on the show bill. A breed show will go by the breed association’s rules, almost always available online. Shows approved by USEF (the United States Equine Federation) use their rules. Take the rules seriously – the judges do, and you can and will be eliminated for things like the wrong bit, a martingale in a flat class, illegal spurs, etc. Make sure you have all the paperwork you need – is your horse registered and in your name? Do you need a Coggins test? Do you need an amateur card? Nothing’s more disappointing than getting to a show and not being able to show because of a paperwork problem.
3. If you want to be original, go in the costume class. In other classes, the more you look like everybody else out there, the better – particularly when you are learning. Off the wall or unusual clothing or tack just draws attention to your mistakes.
4. If your horse is new to showing also, plan to take him to a show that you may not show at. Just ride around the warm up ring and get him used to the sights and sounds. Make sure he will not kick or otherwise misbehave in a crowd. If you know kicking may be an issue, a red ribbon tied into his tail is a warning to other exhibitors to give you your space (and is often useful on horses that do not kick but are explosive to ride when someone rushes them from behind!)
5. Be courteous to other exhibitors. If your horse is higher than a kite, try to find a place to longe where you are not in others’ way – ask to see where it is okay to longe on that particular show grounds. Longeing a bronc in the warm up ring will not make you popular. Always give the right of way to beginners, small children, and driving horses pulling carts. It is your job to stay out of their way. At many shows, the warm up ring is required to go in one direction only, with riders asking for the whole ring to reverse when needed. If you see everybody going counter-clockwise, don’t just start going the other way. And for heaven’s sake, be aware of who is around you. It is the height of bad manners to slam on the brakes and start backing up without looking to ensure no one is following you. Come OFF the rail to “school.” If you are jumping, always call your lines out – tell the rest of the arena what you are going to jump so they know to avoid you.
6. Even if you don’t normally ride full-time with a trainer, it is well worth it to have one help you at your first shows. You will feel so much better with a pro that you can ask for help, and they will help you learn the ropes. Many trainers will be your trainer for the day for a price. If you know that you are gonna freak out and forget how to tell your leads, it’s awesome to have someone on the rail giving you the nod that you got it right. Well worth the $50 or so it will cost you.
7. Don’t over-do it at your first show. Yes, I know a lot of open shows have that special where you pay X price and can go in as many classes as you want. That’s not for you if you or your horse is green to showing, and it’s not true that if you go in enough classes, eventually you’ll win a ribbon. More likely you’ll fry your horse’s brain and you’ll be super frustrated as well. Go in one or two classes, the ones where you are matched against your peers in terms of ability and experience. Most shows have classes specifically for beginner teams - in particular, look for “maiden” classes at an open show, which are for horse/rider teams that have never won a first place ribbon.
In general, be under-zealous – if you’re jumping 3′ at home, the 2′3 division is just fine for your first show. You want to have a successful experience. It’s fine to make it “too easy” at first – you can and will work your way up!
8. Keep it fun! I particularly hate seeing kids stressed out about showing…at, like, age eight. One way you can avoid that is to go to shows that offer some fun classes like egg & spoon, costume or musical sacks, and let the kid do something fun after the “work” of pleasure and equitation is over. I’ve seen many a distraught child who didn’t get a ribbon earlier in the day win big in one of the fun games and wind up super excited and thrilled about showing. The same goes for you, Mom – if your horse wouldn’t slow down in pleasure, maybe today’s the day you win the trotting barrels. Have some fun, for heaven’s sake – remember, this is an expensive hobby that you do for fun!
(I LOVE shows that have trotting speed classes. You can take your pleasure horses in them with no fear of “ruining” them and you don’t have to be a great rider to have fun in those classes!)
9. Good sportsmanship is important and it’s your job if you’re the parent or trainer to set the example. We had a previous blog where the trainer who owned a skinny horse that did not place because it was skinny told off the judge and all her lesson kids cheered her. I was appalled. Good lord, grow the hell up and stop being a bad example. First of all, the judge is well within his/her rights to knock you for condition. Second of all, even if you think the judge has made a horrible decision, they’re the judge. This is not our legal system and you do not get an appeal! Will you meet judges you think are idiots? OF COURSE. So what you do is you write down the name and you do not go show under them again. Say nothing but vote with your checkbook, and by all means, get involved in the show association yourself so that you get a vote when it comes to judge choices. It is in much better taste to say “I think X, Y and Z are terrific judges and I hope we have them again next year,” than to say “My God, J was a freakin’ idiot. How dare s/he place that lame fugly sack of shit over my horse? Is s/he blind?”
You can think it. But as I have told people at work, not everything you think needs to come out of your mouth – at least not until you are in the truck on the way home!
Something I always hear is that open show judges only place stock type horses with level head sets. Well, there is some truth to that – merely because a lot of open show judges are QH or Paint people. Some can judge all breeds fairly - some can’t. Either look for open shows that are judged by someone who personally owns or trains your breed of horse, or investigate moving into the breed shows with your horse. One circuit that is beginner friendly and friendly to Saddleseat horses, Arab crosses, etc. is Pinto and you can register darn near anything Pinto breeding stock (seriously! look it up!). They do NOT have to be spotted.
10. It is completely appropriate to ask the judge if s/he has any notes about your performance and how you can improve. Just be courteous about when/how you ask. Some judges will come up to you in the line-up and tell you about your performance – others will have to be sought out during breaks.
What other advice would you offer to first time exhibitors? Share your knowledge and help them make a good impression right from the start!
Just one of my little side notes – if you are in the Seattle/Tacoma area and want to learn to jump over the winter on a been-there, done-that horse, I know of a big sound Thoroughbred for free lease with option to adopt if it’s a love match. E-mail me with YUKON in the subject line if you want to know more.
