Bhs stage 2 tips

J

jenz87

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Hi everyone
I have just booked to do my BHS STAGE 2 (care).
I was just wondering if anyone has any tips or talk throughs of the day. I saw an excellent one on here of stage 1 which was very helpful, has anyone done anything like this for stage 2.
Also any tips or massive no nos etc, including the lunging!

Thanks everyone :)
 
Don't rush, think your way through any questions/tasks they set. Remember that they don't want to fail you, and will give you nudges in the right direction. I forgot my gloves for the lunging part, and the examiner kept asking me if I'd forgotten something until it twigged lol
Be supportive of your fellow 'victims' - you will all be nervous, and a smile goes a long way to calming you and them down.

Good luck and enjoy the day!
 
Practise everything, make sure you can do it accurately and safely, but also FAST! They were constantly chivying us up to be quick.
Pay attention to detail - check keepers, buckles etc when you fit the lunging tack, make sure you pick out hooves, correct anything that's wrong etc
If you haven't had lessons with a BHS instructor it's worth having a few, because they will be able to give you all the tips you just wouldn't learn from the book - for example, they expect you to skip out any droppings EVERY time you set foot in the stable. The people who struggled most when I did mine were the ones who had had horses for years but hadn't had any instruction on the BHS way.
Practise lunging (again, an instructor can show you the BHS way if you don't do it much).
Make sure you know how to put on bandages, travel boots, knee boots, poll guard, tail bandage and guard etc, and that you finish the bandages in the right places (the examiner will give them a yank to be sure they are firm).
Practise plaiting, including tail, and make sure your plaits are tight.
Make sure you can take apart clippers and put them back together again. Somebody in our test managed to take them apart but couldn't put them back again, and when you are nervous you don't want to be dropping the nut! The examiner was also very firm that anything with the clippers should be done very close to the ground in case they were dropped, so don't just start taking it apart in a standing position.
Make sure you know your anatomy - they are likely to give you one part of the body so don't learn it in a sequence or you'll be lost if they give you a bit in the middle.
Listen to the examiner - they will tell you what they imagine the weather to be like that day, and you will have to select appropriate rugs etc to put on, but they will also carry that through to other things, such as making sure you fold the rug back when you are fitting the saddle if it's cold weather etc.
It's also helpful to have a lesson at the exam centre where you will take the test, but don't expect to get the same horses you've practised with!
Be polite and smile.
Practise, practise, practise!
 
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