Advice needed - yearlings first show

[splash30]

I have decided to take my yearling to his first show on the 8th Nov NPS area 14 foal and young stock show, has anyone got advice how to make it less stressful and enjoyable it is just for education and for him to see the world.

He will be going with a friend for company, who is also showing. Should i bit him? he walks and trots in hand beautifully at home.

any advice or past experiences welcome

 

[Faithkat]

Whether or not to bit is a moot point. Some competitions specifically ask for them to be bitted in the rules and regs but I wanted to show my 2 year old NF in a bitted in-hand bridle at the Breed Show this year and was advised that some judges would mark him down for this (so he ended up going in a one of those staggeringly ugly white halters) . . . . so goodness only knows!

 

[pinkcatkin]

I jumped in the deep end took my yearling to Suffolk County for her first show!!! It was a gamble but paid off and she was fab, very "up" but not stupid. Have you walked her out of her environment yet, i.e. down the road? Have you loaded her and taken her somewhere else for a short trip? Anything you can do like that will pay off.

I did loads of loading practice, feeding her in the trailer and then taking her for short journeys, walked her out and practised trotting up and standing square.

Bitting is a moot point indeed. I definitely did as my yearling was a big girl and I got her used to her bit about a month before the show, leading her off the bit and off a halter together to start with and gently using more of the bit as time went by.

 

[angel1c]

I too chucked my yearling in at the deep end by taking her to East of England for her 1st show and it was required that she be bitted. To prepare her i got her used to loading, standing, being plaited etc, i also did lots of in hand work in the school with other horses working around us so it wasn't a shock when other horses started trotting around. Then at the show i stayed really chilled out and it kept her very calm, i also had someone run her for me (coz i can't keep up) and he also is a very calming influence on horses. Nothing can really prepare them for that show feeling, but you can practise everything else to death and make sure they know there manners as they really rely on them.
My girl really surprised me she didn't bat an eyelid at the whole experiance, just did as she as told and chilled the rest of the time, she wasn't even worried when a few of the others got over excited!