BHS stage 1- how much training is needed?

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Bubble734

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Hi

I'm thinking of doing my BHS stage 1 (riding and care) but have only got until end of March as am going traveling. I am 19 and have been riding since the age of 5 (mainly riding school due to living in London). I worked at the riding school on Saturdays for 1.5 years and since August have been part loaning a horse, so I am familiar with general horse care and am a fairly experienced rider. There are courses that bring you up to stage 1 standard but they are quite expensive, are at yards not very close to me and I don't know if they would finish before I go away. How much training do you think I would need? Could I do it on my own just from the BHS's stage one pack which has a workbook and syllabus and stuff? Having looked at the syllabus I know quite a lot of it already. I guess I could have a few private intensive sessions.

Thanks!
 
To be honest whilst the actual content might look quite easy and basic, it's doing it the "BHS way" that can be the hassle, I'd try to get people who are familar with the Stages to watch you tack-up, lead, put a tail bandage on etc to ensure you're doing it the way they want you to do it :)

Also you need to be able to practice things like types of feed and why they are used so I'd make friends with the person in charge of feeding the horses so they can test you.

I used the workbook, my yard and my college course (BTEC in horse management) so I had a variety of horses to practice on as well, something I found helpful for tail bandaging. (The horse I had in my exam had a huge, thick tail!).

All in all, it's practice, practice, practice as much as you possibly can and get everyone to test you on things and you should be fine if you already feel confident with some of the syllabus. Good luck! :)
 
As above, what you need to do is quite straight forward but you have to do it in the 'right' way which may not be obvious from the book.

It's many years since I did my BHS stages and for instance I've put on hundreds of tail bandages thousands of rugs but doubt I do it in the BHS way.
 
MrsD123 said:
Not sure what your plan is, by this I mean that a lot of the stuff they teach is not used in day to day care, I would rather spend my cash on lessons.
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Stage 1 is;
Basic riding
Feeding
Pasture management
Tacking up
Mucking out
Grooming / Tail bandage

How can that not be day to day care!?

Admittedly you have the BHS way and the practical way - I know I don't do things the BHS most of the time unless required but you'll need to play their game to pass.
 
I think it's worth doing and I'd imagine with your experience you have the skills. I wouldn't go for a full course as it may well be too basic, I'd go for an assessment/training session with a BHS centre. They should then be able to tell you areas you need to work on or if you are doing something in the non BHS way.
 
I did an 8 week course of 2hours on a Thursday night which included theory, hands on with the horses in the stables, and lunging practice. I paid £15 a session. A lot of it was stuff I already know having had horses for many years, but being shown the BHS way as a reminder was rather useful.

I was, and still am, having lessons elsewhere.
 
It's Me Megan said:
Stage 1 is;
Basic riding
Feeding
Pasture management
Tacking up
Mucking out
Grooming / Tail bandage

How can that not be day to day care!?

Admittedly you have the BHS way and the practical way - I know I don't do things the BHS most of the time unless required but you'll need to play their game to pass.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point.

Stage 1 is for people who have no idea, and OP has been working with horses for some time. The girls [staff] at the local R.S. who did it said afterwards.......... well obviously we will just carry on doing what we do day to day, I never saw their ponies getting groomed, no tail bandages for travelling, they were not "led" in the BHS manner. I will say they got pony nuts [instructions on the bag], but does the BHS Stage 1 suggest shoes are replaced when they fall off, one at a time?

Its a piece of paper.
 
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Thanks everyone. Yeah I don't have a real reason to do it- as in I'm not planning on a horsey career, but I'm on a gap year and thought that it might be a good and productive thing to do. Hmmm can't decide whether to bother or not
 
I would do it. I regret not doing mine when I was younger, as I have since started doing more teaching, and have gone down the qualification/insurance route.
I did mine last year, and did quite a few sessions for my stage 1 to make sure I did everything right. I only did a couple of sessions for my stage 2, as found it wasn't worth doing that many sessions. I would go for a couple of riding sessions somewhere telling them what your plans are, and have a couple of stable management lessons to go through everything you need to cover. I would say if you have read the books and watched the dvd, a couple of sessions is more than enough!
 
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