Areas - turnout/appearance/I don't know, I'm quite stressed...

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smja

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Hi all,

Little horse had SI injury earlier this year, and as part of the rehab we've started doing some BD. Qualified for Areas, going to Warren Farm on Saturday.

Now, my quandary: he's mostly TB, and thanks to the slightly colder weather this week he's suddenly poofed up a winter coat - think long/fine hair rather than flat/dense. He also is badly in need of his tail pulling, mane is fine enough to hide in plaits. Basically, he looks scruffy. He does look cute, like a child's pony though 16hh, but is pretty sweaty when worked (neck/saddle/girth/flanks/back legs).

Main problem: this horse is very ticklish and not good to clip or pull. I don't do him myself. I normally pay an experienced friend (who has done him before, knows his issues and happy to work around them) but he's not answering any messages.

So, do I try and get someone to clip/pull on Friday, or just give up and go to Areas looking like a fluffy puppy?

Apologies for rambliness, BD is way more stressful than BE :D
 
You'll not be docked marks for looking fluffy :D.

The only time appearance comes into it for me is that Topaz is the hottest horse known to man, and can sweat buckets and get crotchaty as a result. So she is clipped out, though even then we went out last weekend and I popped a cooler on her to travel home in and she sweated through it, despite it being chuffin freezing! Bonkers black beast...

I would neaten any beard and the top of the tail, I do my tails with a rake rather than pull, and leave at that if he doesn't get cross at being sweaty.

Super good luck, we're there on Friday :).
 
^ Also that, Topaz improvised a few flying changes in for me on Sunday, as she was a wee bit fresh having been clipped the day before. Maybe not a good idea for Area's where you don't want anything adding to the pressure!
 
Most dressage people don't touch the tails at all (have a look at pics of the German dressage horses) apart from cutting the end (and some of those near enough trail on the floor) - a pulled tail can draw the eye to tension in the back.

The judges won't care if the horse is fluffy or not, they will be more concerned if you track left or right when you get to C.

Well done on the rehab and qualifying for areas.
 
Plait him up, take the ends off his tail so it looks neat and falls about 4" below his hocks. Use a tail rake to remove the bushy bits, though TB's don't ten'd to get too bushy so maybe you could get away with dampening and bandaging to lie flat. Consider rugging to help coat to lie flat. Give him a good brush and off you go. Whilst you 'never get a second chance to make a first impression' as they say, a neat and tidy appearance is all that is expected. An accurate and well presented test is what matters. Enjoy your day.
 
PaddyMonty said:
Is it a good idea to clip a horse then take it straight to a comp? Most horses I've come across tend to be a bit lively after first clip of the season.
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depends on the horse really i guess

My 5yo was fine to be clipped then dressage comp the next day - same will likely happen this week with a clip the day before Tweseldown on Saturday
 
JennBags said:
Hmmm I'd be considering how many marks are given for turnout :p
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^^ this! Really, don't worry OP. Just pop your plaits in and have him and yourself nice and clean, it'll all be fine.

Good luck, well done for qualifying after his injury - now try to relax and enjoy it :)
 
Thank you, everyone, for putting my mind at ease :)

Although I've clipped day before a show previously (can you tell that I'm super organised?), being sweaty doesn't seem to make a blind bit of difference to him. Fluffy it is!
I'll see if I can track down a tail rake. It does lie very flat and his hair is very fine, so might just bandage for the trip there to get it to look smooth.

Good luck AlexHyde (I'll look forward to your report!) and thank you again to everyone for your advice and reassurance.
 
PaddyMonty said:
Is it a good idea to clip a horse then take it straight to a comp? Most horses I've come across tend to be a bit lively after first clip of the season.
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Depends on the horse. Last year I did the first clip of the year on my 5 year old then took him to an event. Despite the dressage warm up being next to the XC start as well, he was still laid back. Maybe to laid back :)
Again this year he got clipped evening before event, still very chilled.
 
I'd thought I'd do a mini-update - you were all right, the judges didn't care about him being a scruffbag.

I was super-stressed (it was my first BD comp away from home, which had more impact than I was expecting). I blanked out and forgot the test, rode like a bag of spuds, and although the mediums went lovely in the warmup in they didn't really happen in the test arena.
However, I did mention upthread that little horse is very cute. Seems this saved the day :D and we came home with 66.something% and 6th place.

Thanks again for all your good advice, I really appreciate it.
 
smja said:
I'd thought I'd do a mini-update - you were all right, the judges didn't care about him being a scruffbag.

I was super-stressed (it was my first BD comp away from home, which had more impact than I was expecting). I blanked out and forgot the test, rode like a bag of spuds, and although the mediums went lovely in the warmup in they didn't really happen in the test arena.
However, I did mention upthread that little horse is very cute. Seems this saved the day :D and we came home with 66.something% and 6th place.

Thanks again for all your good advice, I really appreciate it.
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Amazing well done - that's a great result for your first AF (and first BD comp away from home too!!!). Any photos?
 
dressage_diva said:
Amazing well done - that's a great result for your first AF (and first BD comp away from home too!!!). Any photos?
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Thank you! No photos unfortunately - was so panicky that I forgot to get any. Even forgot to look at the pro pics afterwards - I'm a bit of a perfectionist and was a bit angry/upset with myself about the test.

JennBags said:
Brilliant, well done!
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Thanks! :)
 
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