BHS Stage 1 exam

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LillySparrow

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Have recently mustered up the courage to make a career change and today registered for stage 1 BHS exam in order to hopefully start on route to BHSI eventually.

Looking at the stage 1 syllabus it all looks very basic; stuff you do routinely every day with your own horse. HOWEVER, I know that some organisations have a 'way' of doing things. Kind of like when people take their driving test and you can have been driving for years but they fail you cos you didn't check your mirrors enough or feed the the steering wheel hand over hand.

I don't know if BHS is like this but had a flip through my BHS manual and noted some slightly unusual things ....... Such as 'when leading horse you should tie a knot in the end of your lead rope'. Now, I can see their reason for doing this but I can also think of some valid reasons not to, and I have to say I have NEVER tied a knot in the end of my lead rope, nor have I seen anyone else do this...... Is this sort of thing really important?

Also, I'm sure we all get into bad habits, such as taking feet out of stirrups to adjust girth and stirrups, so I'll have to make sure not to do this!! But are the examiners quite rigid and looking for a particular 'BHS' way of doing things? Or is common sense and 25 years of horse ownership sufficient? Just a little bit nervous of going into an exam situation. :eek: Yikes! Any tips appreciated!
 
It's years since I did my exams, but back then it was all about doing it the bhs way. All the bs about wearing hats 24/7, tie horse securely before doing anything with it, leading in bridles etc. Have to say the only thing I did revise for any was the 'bhs' way to do stuff.
 
My daughter did her stage one earlier this year. It is definately about doing things the BHS way.It is worthwhile investing in several lessons to get yourself familiar with the way to do things. Much of it is safety based, and does make sense, even if you don;t see the point, as it were!!
Someone kindly posted their experiences about the exam on this thread:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=547956
 
I did my stage 2 this year, and as long as you can explain why you do something a certain way and you do it SAFELY then you should be ok. I don't remember the knot in the leadrope thing and have never done it :-/ . Stirrups - practice - I never keep my feet in at home so had to. In the exam, if I was 100% sure they weren't looking ( cant look at all 6 of us at once!) I did my stirrup my normal way as it was so much quicker! But I went through the book, highlighted in yellow things I needed to learn or remember and highlighted in pink things that were v important or I might forget/do my normal way.

Good luck!
 
Yes- definitely "doing things by the book", things like tying up etc, picking feet out into a bucket (which I always feel I need another set of hands for!).

They also let things go if you can be logical, i remember we all got given a beaker with feeds in, that we had to identify.

I got sugar beet, but I wasn't 100% sure what is was as I'd never used it before - so I just said it was a commercially prepared food, and I'd check the manufacturer's instructions with regards to preparing it and for feed advise - which they said was fine, and still passed me.

I actually struggled on the riding side as I was given a cob that seemed to only have one speed "plod", and I really struggled to get him going, they said it was the work without stirrups that got me through... (i was used to much sharper horses).
 
Amigo said:
I did my stage 2 this year, and as long as you can explain why you do something a certain way and you do it SAFELY then you should be ok. I don't remember the knot in the leadrope thing and have never done it :-/ . Stirrups - practice - I never keep my feet in at home so had to. In the exam, if I was 100% sure they weren't looking ( cant look at all 6 of us at once!) I did my stirrup my normal way as it was so much quicker! But I went through the book, highlighted in yellow things I needed to learn or remember and highlighted in pink things that were v important or I might forget/do my normal way.

Good luck!
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Haha. De Ja Vu! Have also been going through the book and highlighting the bits I need to do the 'BHS way'! hehe. Admittedly most of it is just how you do it anyway but a few things they seem to have a slightly diff way. Like unclipping lead rein every time you go round front of horse..... Would never have done that!

Did you wear hacking jacket or v neck sweater? I only have a black or blue jackets and don't really want to spend money on a tweed just for one morning, so will prob go with the sweater. Do they expect you to wear shirt and tie underneath still?

Thanks!
 
There’s a lot of urban myths about doing things “the BHS Way” – if you do things in a safe logical way and have reasons for why you them that way you should be fine. Remember in the exam you are dealing with horses you aren’t familiar with so it makes sense to tie up when tacking up, rugging etc and to wear a hat when leading to protect yourself in case they react/behave in a way you weren’t expecting. You are also expected to use the time allocated for tasks efficiently as would be expected if you were employed.

As far as dress, neat and tidy is expected – a plain jumper is fine but a shirt and tie underneath would be expected - clean boots, tidy hair, minimal make up and no jewellery. At the end of the day the assessors are human and honestly don’t try to make you fail, at Stage 1 they know you will be unfamiliar with the exam format and may be nervous. Good luck!
 
OP - have a look in the careers and education forum on here for lucysearle81s threads about the BHS stage 1 exams. You may find them a good read
 
I too was nervous of Exam situation!!
Passed my Stage 1 this Aug.
Yep, always turn a horse away from you to control the hind quarters,
Unclip lead rope to go to other side of horse,
Pick out into bucket,
Fold rugs off and fold on,
Feet in irons to change length(bloody difficult if you've never done it that way)
Always carry a stick when riding,
These are the things I had sloppy habits in!
Cocked up my riding when I was lead file and my horse swerved the trotting poles (I was too kind with my contact) but next set of poles(still lead file) I got horse on the bit, looking at the ground with a good contact and once over poles gave a reward pat-All choked up thinking I failed.. (felt like a spanner!)
Still....I PASSED!!!
When asked questions just keep talking until they stop you-I'm sure you'll breeze it!
 
Ok, to an extent you can get away with some non bhs answers if you have a good reason why. Eg on one exam I had a question on safety when doing something. Instead of trotting out the usual hat, boots gloves line, I said well mannered horses were more important. Because I could explain why, the examiner was quite happy. However if I had acted on that & started mooching about without a hat in the exam, I doubt I would have passed. Ditto being asked to pull the mane of a cob who'd returned that morning from being turned away for a year, on a freezing cold day. I did a very small amount of thinning all the way along, & told examiner I thought pulling it to short & thin would put it off mane pulling for life. But she was happy with my explanation of how I'd do a bit each day after work when it was warm. But saying 'no that's mean' wouldn't have been accepted.
 
LillySparrow said:
Did you wear hacking jacket or v neck sweater? I only have a black or blue jackets and don't really want to spend money on a tweed just for one morning, so will prob go with the sweater. Do they expect you to wear shirt and tie underneath still?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Funny you ask that as I think I had a thread about dress code on here when I did my 2. I paniced as my tweed jacket didn't fit and didn't think I could wear my usual navy jacket, white shirt, white stock combo. I ended up borrowing a tweed jacket (still a little small:o), wearing an old school shirt so I could wear a tie and borrowing a tie of my dads! I was uncomfy and when I arrived most people were in navy! I was so annoyed!

When someone else asked "I don't feel that my jacket is a good fit and will not show off my riding ability well, can I please do everything in a jumper?" and when the head assessor agreed, I piggybacked on her request! I was glad I had popped a navy Zara jumper on my back seat, which I then wore all day over my shirt and tie, without a jacket. Next time I will wear my navy jacket and what I normally wear and be comfortable!
 
Thanks for all the helpful responses.

Eventing Mum: yes, agree with what you say. On a seperate note that is a seriously cute dog in your profile pic! Is it a fox terrier?

Elbie: I read LucySearles posts which gave a good idea of exam content and format. Thanks. :)

Amigo: Thanks, will prob go with the jersey or just wear my black jacket! Seems many others do!

Will post about how it goes! Hopefully be able to pass on some useful tips!
 
I did my stage 1 this summer. Buy the study guide that goes with the book is my first recommendation. Also ride plenty of different stage 1 horses - if you watch the stage 1 DVD it gives you a good idea of how the ridden exam goes. As for the care get plenty of hands on experience. They do follow a grooming step by step approach. As long as you read, practice and revise you will be fine. They do like the points of the horse too. Good luck :)
 
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