Differences in turn out showing v dressage

[PucciNPoni]

Can anyone tell me in general the difference in turning out a horse for a show - dressage v showing? I mean things like....

...number of plaits? (showing seems to have fewer, whereas some dressage horses have zillions?)
....quarter marks? (some show horses do, but do dressage ever?)
....length of tail? (tails seem longer in dressage)
.....pulled tail v plaited?
...hoof black or oil?

Not so much tack...but more actual spit n polish type stuff.

Thanks!

 

[Halfstep]

The main difference is that turnout in dressage, so long as your tack and clothes obey the rules, makes no difference at all. For dressage it truly doesn't matter how many plaits you have or what the tail looks like. all that is just fashion! And at the moment the fashion is for:

sewn in hunter type plaits that sit on the crest and are quite widely spaced. The very puffy plaits are a bit "last year".

Quarter marks: stencils are very "in", especially unusual ones, or ones that reflect the horse's name or origin.

length of tail: tails do tend to be longer in dressage, because people tend to think a long, full tail is very flattering. And you'll see pulled and full, less frequently plaited. Unpulled tails are more common in europe.

Hoofs: really doesn't matter tbh. So long as they are clean. Some people use that Asourbine sticky stuff that makes them shine, but as most dressage is on a gel track type surface, it is pointless using stuff like that as you end up with surface cemented to your horses' hooves!

At the end of the day, not matter how posh your turn out is, the judges are looking at the horse and the rider and the quality of the training. that is what matters in dressage.

 

[Abbeygale]

what halfstep said

You could in theory go in for a dressage test looking like a right scruff, and do a brill test and win the class. However, I enjoy the scrubbing up of my horse and making ourselves look as glam as possible when we go out, as much as the actual riding, so I always make the most effort that I can!

 

[PucciNPoni]

Thanks for that. While I realise that the judging on dressage hasn't really got a whole lot to do with the turnout - I think that the effort certainly goes a long way for first impressions. I guess as halfstep was saying, it's more a fashion thing - and that's kind of what I was looking for. I tend to turn mine out as if I'm showing (minus the quarter marks cos I don't really know what I'm doing there, and would rather go without than make it look horrible). But with mine I pull and trim his tail, plait sort of show style (but I wondered if there was a reason for some dressage horses to have loadsa tiny ones versus an odd number of bigger ones).