Showing mares and foal HELP!!!!!

Dizzle

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Welsh mare and foal is by a tb stallion.

How on earth do I go about showing the mare and foal? What sort of classes can I enter? How do I turn out myself and the mare, how do I turnout the foal? How on earth does this all work?

Do you show individually?

Help please, I have no idea about it! I don't think I've even watched it, I only know about RoR showing!!!
 

Foxhunter49

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First you enter a class! Most breeding classes are for potential hunters for bigger horses. The mare is plaited the foal isn't.

You have someone leading the mare who should be in a double bridle at a big show or an in hand bridle plain leather if it is a hunter class, the foal in a leather foal halter or slip.
The mare is lead with the foal at her side, she is judged on conformation and movement and what she produces. The foal is judged on the same.
You do an individual show but the foal can follow the mare (with the handler) keep it to the side away from the judge when the mare is being looked at and on the side so the judge can see it when the foal is being judged.The foal needs to be taught to stand correctly and slightly away from the mare so the judge can walk around it and to trot when being led.
 

Lady La La

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Fox hunter has told you pretty much all you need to know up there ^^
I tried to dress my welsh X mare up as a small hunter and stuck her and my BOFOF foal in the hunter broodmare & youngstock class.. foal wasn't at all of hunter type but it got them both out and about and they both behaved beautifully which I think got us up the line a bit!
starlafoal.jpg
 

Lady La La

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Sorry meant bogof* foal. Can't edit on my dangg iphone.
If foal is by tb sire, would it be morev at home in the sports horse class?
Mind you, not sure where that would leave your welsh mare, lol.
I think just go for it, dress them up and take them out, great experience for your foally and its a bit of fun :)
 

Dizzle

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How old do they have to be before you can take them out? Foaly isn't very handled at all yet. Mare is on the small side but STUNNING so it would be a small sports horse?? (sports pony?! :D)

So do I need a ring assistant as well then?

What do you have to do in the individual show? I've not watched or taken part in inhand showing!
 

much-jittering

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So do I need a ring assistant as well then?

Yes you will! And a good one if you're going to have them running the foal - it often becomes just a case of how well can you hold on (my YM did a complete somersault on slippery ground without letting go of the foal at a big show last year lol)

Depending on the classes, only one may be being judged - for example in a foal class the foals may all be at foot, but the mares aren't being judged as such, in which case you'd want the best showperson on the foal to show it off well. When we have mares being judged as broodmares and foals as foals in seperate classes, sometimes handlers might swap so the les confident at doing the actual showing is on the 'spare' each time.

Practice at home too. Sometimes the mares move better if the foal is in front, rather than lagging back if the foal is behind. And you'll need to have made sure that you can trot them without an explosion!

Eta - if your foal was born this spring, get it out this summer. All mares and foals shown together have foal at under weaning age, after that the foals belong in yearling classes and so on.

2nd eta - so lonf as the foal understand leading, stopping, starting etc most of it is just a case of stay close to mum and you'll manage, I've taken very underprepared foals into the ring and only gained a few extra bruises for the lack of preperation time! Consider how you travel them together too - we do ours loose in a closed trailer with a full bed, then they have a stable effectively at the show and you have space to do all your prep on board rather than trying to ponce up a foal that has just landed on the grass as it's first ever party!
 
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FAB_FERN

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If your mare is registered Welsh then you can do part bred welsh classes. I'm taking my welsh mare and TB x foal next month to do wpb foal and sec D mare.
 
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