help with our 1st ever in-hand class!

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Cathey

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Also in comp riders but a bit more traffic in here :)

I need some advice re: in hand showing as its something iv never done before. Im planning on taking my 4 yr old just to get him out and about. I was planning on doing the coloured class and utility horse/pony as any other classes hed be suitable for are hours before the coloured class.

Here he is to get an idea:

mont19thjuly2.jpg


Monty8july.jpg


Do i turn him out plaited and pulled? and me in tweed with dark trousers. Green or Brown tweed? Id like to wear my hat as hes never really been anywhere but its navy with a grey stripe (charles owen gr8), would this be ok? its only a local show and i dont really want to have to spend a fortune!

His bridle has a padded headpiece with crank noseband and no browband as hes ear shy and this makes it easier to get his bridle on. Should i change his noseband? to what? and add a plain or cloured browband?

Any tips on ringcraft or insider knowledge??

Sorry for the questions, iv never shown anything before and although just for fun i dont want to embarrass myself or monty too much! :)
 
I'd go with green tweed (thats what I wear on my dark bay traditional cob). would suggest getting a browband and try to get it on if possible, would also get a flat cavesson noseband (doesn't need to be expensive mine was £22 for the whole bridle but works fine as only for shows). also would do a load of inhand practice around an arena & then in a field, had to do this with my boy at first he was very confused at first + when we moved to a field he thought yay grass lets eat & i spent the next 3 weeks getting dragged around the field. good luck with ur show.
 
Agree with above.
Your horse should have his mane plaited /tail pulled /trimmed heels etc.
He is a very nice type ,good luck at the show.
 
with the bridling.. sorry to be off topic but thought it may help .. Ive had a lot of horses that ear shy, my current 3 year old came to me with issues about the bridle (this was easy to understand due to his previous issue) he was so bad i couldnt even get reins over his head.

i spent hours just getting to touch his ears. in one session, i had a head collar on and first of all taught him to put his head down, this i couldnt do with poll pressure as i couldnt get near him.. he was so scared he was projectil pooing and shaking so it was a genuine fear..

i got his head down by pressure on the side of the head collar so it put pressure on the bit around his ears with out me touching him in that area. i the worked up his face to his ears, once i could touch them both sides i stopped for that day, next couple of days done the same then progressed to a movement like putting a bridle on, ears forward via my hand and back.. we done this for a few more days.

then came the bridle, we started with reins over head, then whilst he was eating id stand with a rope and just pull it gentle over ears and back again..

then came the bridle i removed the browband, and just used headpiece with bit, bit in headpiece put on like you do a headcollar up, then i loosend the cheeck pieces and gently slipped it off. again repeated for a few days,

at this point i introduced other people to touching his ears..

we then were at the point of slipping head piece over complete with bit.

to start with, with the browband i had it done on one side, slipped headpiece over then done it up, we then started to take bridle off with browband intact.

we then progressed to lose cheek pieces but browband on.. the point of this was that there was no tension when it came to pulling bridle over the ears.

6 weeks later it is not an issue to bridle him, yes i may of taken a long time, but he had a good reason for his fear and he was genuinley shaking when i first started so took the long way to ensure it was a job done properley..

sorry for the long post, but i thought it may help as bridle issues can be a right pain in the jacksie!
 
thanks for all the advice! Iv had him for about 6 weeks and in this time hes gone from not being able to get a headcollar on to me being able to play with his ears while he's eating and being able to take the bridle off normally over his ears. Its just putting the bridle on that we're still having issues with, mainly due to his aversion to the bit but were definatly getting there :) thanks for the tips JH, il keep going with him, its nice to know im not the only one!
 
He is lovely, really nice sort :)
Pulled and plaited and trimmed with this chap, i *think* a coloured browband would be correct given his type, if you need/looking for a coloured velvet browband then PM me as i make them tailored to individual needs in all colours imaginable :D
 
Good luck! I am off to my first in-hand too this weekend and am bricking it! Lol. I am taking my 2 yo (also coloured). I actually have nooo idea what i am wearing.
 
thank you for all the nice comments about him :) fingers crossed the judges think the same. Now i just need to practise my plaiting and get him to trot up in a reasonably straight line!
 
Another tip is to make sure that you leave plenty of room between you and the horse in front. Novice showers often end up crowding each other and the horses also like to keep close together (for confidence). It would probably be worth practising with a few friends.
 
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