another BHS stage 1 question (or maybe more than one...)

Bowen4Horses

Bowen4Horses

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as i posted the other day... i'm bored. my brain is bored. and maternity leave is dragging on and on. i'm in the middle of doing a masters in a subject which bores me... so i thought i'd do something fun. i am going to do my BHS stages.

i looked into the courses, but then was worried that stage one would be full of 16yr olds (i'm FAR older). and then i saw you can buy the books to study from. i presume i can do that and then take the exam? without doing the course?
i've been riding/horse owner since i was 2yrs old... so will it be ok for me to study at home?

also, the riding part... what is involved in the riding exam? is it something i'd need special lessons for? again, could i do it without going on the formal course?

whenever i try to look up what's involved, it just seems to be people trying to sell their courses...
obviously for further stages i'd be happy to do any course/tuition needed, but is it REALLY ESSENTIAL for the stage one?
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Personally I don't think you will need lessons or any specific training before the Stage 1, it is pretty straoght forward, riding part I can't remember, I think it was only show control on walk and trot, correct diagonals? Something like that, pretty easy stuff anyhow.

Anyone with a bit of experience should be fine with the one!
 
I did my stage 1 when I was 18 but (7 years ago). There were quite a few people there who were at college studying equine related things but plenty who were a bit older.

I'm now at the point when I need to re-take my 3 riding and want to do my PTT. My main problem is that I'm currently training to be an accountant and am worried about being the only person there who isn't working / studying in a horse related industry.

Good luck and go for it is what I say - I'm planning on booking my next exam once I've had the results of my accountancy finals (assuming not too many resits are needed!)
 
You're not required to actually do anything before going to the exam! You can print off the exam syllabus from the BHs website and see if there's anything you can't do, but to be honest as gina2201 said it's pretty simple. Good luck
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I didn't get lessons before I did mine. I had an assessment to make sure my riding was at the necessary level but other than that no formal training.

For the riding, we had to show control of a steady horse in 3 gaits, and a slight forward seat. Nothing you probably haven't been doing for years. Some lessons to brush up on position etc might come in handy but you should be fine.

When I did mine the examiners were very helpful and actually gave me some of the answers! I said a youngster didn't need energy and they said 'what about for growing' and so I replied oh yes of course, and I think because I knew it and has just forgotten, they didn't fail me on it. They take into account that it's your first exam and you'll be nervous and don't know what to expect, and if you make mistakes, if you realise you have and correct yourself you'll be fine.
 
I did my stages when I was freelancing (many moons ago
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) - needed very little extra for the HKC part (get a book and just do things the BHS way) but for the riding I nearly failed
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because I'd been used to riding foward, supple, well-schooled horses and because I'm small I was put on a banana-shaped RS pony and - er - failed to get to grips with it! You could invest in a couple of lessons at your nearest exam centre so you can see what types of horse you might get. By the Stage 2 they assume you're a bit more competent, so that one went much better, with better horses, even though it was only a month later...
 
You have to do them in order I'm afraid. And the riding and road safety before you can do riding stage 2

ETA - unless you have another equine qualification that is same level as one of the exam stages - the booklet/syllabus will tell you what qualifications count
 
I always planned on doing the stage 2 straight after stage 1 but other things got in the way. It's been about 5 years now! Still plan on doing them and occassionally I ask for BHS membership for xmas with every intention of doing them, but still haven't got round to it. I don't think I'm practically at a stage 2 level yet so need much more practice
 
One thing ppl on here havn't mentioned about the riding (and it sounds really stupid!!) is that you ride as part of a ride, So you have to know, and be able to make sure you can keep your distances, and if your lead file checking your pace is suitable for the others etc. Sounds really basic, but when I did mine my instructor put me in a group lesson just before the exam, just so i brushed up on those rather rusty riding as a ride rules, and that really helped. If you can get a few friends together when schooling, and do some work as a ride with someone watching to make sure you are doing it correctly and safely (ie BHS style). I was glad I had done that when it came to the exam, as it was one less thing to worry about for me (I hadn't ridden as a ride for about 5 years before my stage1). Also don't expect great things from the horses, they will just follow the one infront, unless you make them do differently, and they will not know any form of outline or correct way of going, so just show off a fab position, rather than trying to make the plod you are put on into a dressage horse!!!!!
 
As others have said you should have no problem with Stage I if you have ridden for that long.

Stage II however is a big jump and you will need to know things like the names of all the bones in the skeleton (and where they are on the living horse), taking off a shoe, how to lunge and detailed feeding regiemes. All of which can be (re-)learnt the 'BHS way' from a book.

I failed my Stage II riding the first time, as someone else said, simply because I was not used to riding and jumping school horses. So before you take it its worth booking in for a couple of group lessons at your chosen exam centre (tell them you are booked in for your stage II and ask if you can join their working Pupils in a group ride).

NB: If you are buying the books, I would recommend the Pony club manual in addition to the standard texts. It explains stuff clearly in idiot speak which comes back to you easily in the heat of the exam!
 
As people have already said it is all pretty striaght forward just make sure you learn everything the BHS way. I had to brush up on stuff like putting a rug on the right way (i.e folding it and what straps you need to do up first) or altering your stirrups correctly all stuff I learnt in PC but had forgotten after years of non BHS eticate :-). I know it all sounds really basic and stupid but its just stuff that I found may have caught me out without re checking it all. Any way good luck and i'm sure you'll fly it.
 
The care side is pretty easy, just brush up on the BHS way of doing things (eg, folding rugs to put them on, putting on a headcollar in a specific way).

Riding - hmm, well, I failed, but that may have been due to an injury I sustained 2 days before. I would recommend booking some lessons at your local exam centre, so you get to know the type of horse you might get, and you get used to riding a variety of horses. Part of my downfall was that I was so used to riding a particular type of horse (polo ponies). If you mostly ride a certain type, this would definitely be worth doing.
 
I'm planning to do mine and a lovely lady (camilla) on here lent me the book.

Get it and you will be surprised how straight forward it is, I reckon I could have done mine at 16 and passed. I'm most concerned about whether I have any nasty bad habits lurking.

My instructor thinks that I will be fine to do the riding for stage one and two without extra training. I might arrange a brush up session or two for the care section.

The only thing I would say is that if you aren't used to riding a variety of horses or in a group it would be worth investing in a few lessons at the exam centre. I'm lucky that I already ride there and know the horses well (not that the ones I ride normally are trusted to behave in a stage 1 exam!). We often have people training for their exams join our group when they come for practice and it is surprising how they can't cope with a riding school cob when they come in with big tales of what they are up to with their own horses
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Don't underestimate riding school horses, they are normally pretty good at showing people up! We have one in particular who is always used for exams as he is a fab little chap ridden well but a naughty little git if he isn't! He assesses riders better than examiners!
 
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So before you take it its worth booking in for a couple of group lessons at your chosen exam centre

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I would agree with this - I had ridden for years before I started the BHS exams but I was glad I had booked in for some lessons beforehand, even for the Stage 1, to get used to the horses and the format.

Also worth asking if they can do a theory session or 2, just so you get used to the kind of questions they ask - I was also able to do this in the same group that I rode with, which was a similar situation to the care exam. Gives you practice at speaking up in public, as well as thinking of the answers under a bit of pressure.

Good luck.
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