stage 1 help:)

[cocomalonealex]

hi im taking my stage one care and riding in just under a week very exited but nervous aswell!
and help or advice would be really apreciated is there any little things to remember to do that ca be easily forgotten?

also i have a few questions i need some help with
- what am i required to know about shoeing and horses feet
- also what are the feed samples and what questions am i likely to be asked on them

thankyou so much in advance for your help
Alex

 

[LaurenBay]

Hi, good luck for youe test! Im sure you will do fine. Main tip is just to relax and every task you do, think about saftey! When I done mine I was asked to identify the parts of the hoof that was all, no questions were asked about shoeing. With the feed they will give you a jar with feed in, you need to tell them what the food is, how it can be fed, what type of horse would you feed it too and the pros and cons. So brush up on your feeds! I had chaff so I just said that it can be fed either on its own or with another feed to bulk it up and stop the Horse eating too quickly, can be fed to most Horses, is quite cheap and now has loads of varies. Good luck

 

[maxie]

The best advice I can give is to relax, remember that you have studied what you need to know and the examiners are not trying to catch you out, they want you to show what you know.

Shoeing: you could be asked to look at a horse's feet and say something about its shoeing, as I was in the Stage 1. Just have a look and explain what you see- does it look like it was shod recently or ages ago? Are the clenches risen? Shoes hanging off? Or are shoes new and feet nicely shaped?
How many nails generally used to hold a shoe on? Why are four nails use don outside and three on inside? (To reduce possibility of hosre injuring itself)


Feeding: We had samples of a coarse mix, rolled barley, rolled oats, whole barley, whole oats and some horse & pony nuts/ cubes.
Just say what you think the sample is and what animals it woud be suitable for. For exampled, coarse mix without oats woud be suitable for a pony doing some work but not all ponies, particularly those being ridden by childrne and novice riders, need any hard feed.
Oats would be suitable for fast work and horses that need energy so hunters, eventers, racers, any hard-working horse. Oats should be fed with a balancer nut.


Best of luck!