Walking back after XC - what do you think?

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lizfh65

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I am disappointed to see so many people not getting off their horses at the end of the XC phase of an event. When I was younger! you would be reported to a steward if you didn't get off promptly. At Larkhill ODE I know it is a long way back to the lorries but I still got off and by the time I reached the lorry the horse was cool and relaxed. I saw only a handful of people dismounting, loosening their girths and doing the same. What is your opinion: I am being old fashioned or am I one of the few who thinks their horse has worked hard and should be rewarded after their efforts!
 
You take your life in your hands getting off my horse before you are safely back in the lorry park as he has an immense dislike of the motorbikes used to score collect.

That aside, at the coaching DT day I did, they mentioned that current thinking is not to get off immediately, but to loosen the girth, stay on board and walk for a bit, then get off but don't remove the saddle, still walking the horse, then to remove saddle, wash down and walk again. So thinking has definitely changed on the right way to do things, probably due to the advent of close contact saddles.
 
It depends on the horse/event etc, i often jump off purely to undo girth, if mum is around though i tend not to as my horse would be liable to cart me back to the lorry/jump all over me!!
tbh i dont think it makes a huge amount of difference unless a horse is exhausted! Also a horse will walk out better with a rider on top!
 
I think it is often safer to stay on board. Our horses remain very on their toes after xc...jog all the way back to the lorry. Its better to wait until you get back to lots of helpers with this type of horse imo....and then you can cool down safely.
 
I agree. I tend to walk a bit, loosen my girth then hop off and walk the rest of the way back loosing the noseband along the way & generally patting him most of the way home.
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Well, i stay on my horse, as do a lot of other people.

When my horse finishes the xc, he is very often full of adrenaline and wants to go around again ( I like him as fit as i can get him), and so often feels "well" going back.

The first event he nearly got me off when heading back to lorry park, and at another event he jogged the whole way back.

I think it is MUCH safer to stay on board!! Otherwise there could be a lot of loose horses milling around
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Ive always been told to go through the finsh, steady for a good few canter stides then a good forward collected trot then into a good forward walk. I was surprised this weekend how many people gallop through the finsh line then collapse in a heap.
 
i always get off mine after the finish- slow down gradually, trot a few big circles to check soundness and then hop off, cross stirrups and let the girth out a hole or 2 and walk them back to the box.

i am amazed at the amount of riders who don't get off when their horses are blowing hard and looking pretty tired- yet their riders never seem to notice!
 
One of those handful getting off and walking back at Larkhill would have been me! It is my pet hate (with the exception for those reasons above eg scared of motorbikes, horse too difficult to lead afer xc, would run off etc) that people don't get off and take the weight off a tired horse.

My routine goes as follows...

through finish line and let horse naturally pull up to a slow canter, trot, then into walk.
Jump off and loosen girth to last hole and undo flash, and crank noseband to aid breathing.
Take reins over head and walk horse round in circles whilst I simultaniously undo my hat, back protector etc
Usually keep walking in circles until 'support team' arrive
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Keep removing gear as we walk back to lorry so that I can be free of all xc clobber by the time we are back so I can then untack and wash off horse
Wash off all over and walk more, allow to graze if recovered, offer water
Depending on how hot a day it is I might wash off again to cool completly. Then apply leg cooling gel, carrots and pats
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After a whole day of warming in dressage and jumping I think it's only right that you reward your horse by not making it carry you tired and hot back to the lorry park when you are perfctly capable to walk it yourself.
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*steps down off of soap box*
 
I'm in the minority - come through the finish, pull up gradually, swing offside leg forward and loosen girth a hole then walk back on a long rein and stay on board until horse is pretty much recovered, then hop off, tack/boots off, offer quick drink, wash horse, graze horse and whilst grazing strip off myself. Learnt this way from grooming for the several times National Team Chase Champions, used to horses being so hyped that trying to lead them back would be a risky business, always think it's safer to be on board.
 
I always stay on my horse for the simple reason that shes still v excited and if i get off her she starts running around in circles so its safer to stay on her until we get back to the lorry
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I think it depends on you and your horses circumstances and whatever works best for you. After all you would probably be the first to complain if a excited loose horse got in your way at a event!
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I always get off straight away, because that's what i was taught (and because i'm not a featherweight!), i like to loosen girths asap. also, i'm usually boiling hot so i want to start taking off hat, body protector etc and can't do that while aboard!
 
Yes chips I agree with you as I said in my post above...

(with the exception for those reasons above eg scared of motorbikes, horse too difficult to lead afer xc, would run off etc)

but there are riders on perfectly behaved and tired horse who just sit there like a sack of spuds nattering to their chums and drinking water, when they couls so easily get off and walk, they have legs!!!
 
I think it depends on the horse, the weather and the type/length of course you've just completed. I can see all sides of the discussion, and although like Kerilli I was taught to get off immediately, when you're sitting on a lunatic it's not always possible.

That said I wouldn't be happy to see someone still sitting on their horse 10 minutes after finishing a 4* course!!
 
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but there are riders on perfectly behaved and tired horse who just sit there like a sack of spuds nattering to their chums and drinking water, when they couls so easily get off and walk, they have legs!!!

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Oh yes i completly agree with that
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I remember at Solihull once a rider came over the finish line and then started nattering to their friends for 5 minutes!
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Poor horse stood there so patiently i just couldnt believe it!
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It would depend entirely on the horse's fitness for the level at which it is competing. When I was braver and used to do hunter trials I didn't have transport, so would hack 6 miles there, warm up in trot and canter, go round, walk off on board then in hand and graze a bit, wait for the results, sometimes then do a second height, repeating the cooling down/waiting for results etc, then hack home again. My horse was, however, fit enough to do that without getting overly tired. I have never ridden a horse that was tired after xc - I was usually left with something that wanted to go round again and could probably go round several more times, and that was after the hack there!
 
I never get off immediately. If you watch WFP he will often trot back to the trailer park after xc then walk.
My feelings are the horse should be fit enough for the job and another 5 mins is not going to make any difference. I also like to sit on them as you can feel much better how they are and their recovery while riding especially for soreness. At 17hh, 17.2hh and 16.3hh they have all been too big to get off and walk when excited and silly.
 
I always get off straight after xc. after letting the horse slow down slowly. then jump off let the girth down. I've always been taught to do this.
 
I always dismount straight away. Whether that is the right thing to do, I don't know, but it is how I like to do things. I will obviously push through the finish, then bring her back to a canter until I can eventually trot (
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), and slowly pull her up to a walk and jump off while she is walking and undo her girth and noseband. I then walk her back to the box, walk her round until my parents get back to the box (they will have been on the xc course somewhere watching me go). Then I take her saddle off and mum walks her round for me while I strip
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Then she gets washed down, scraped off with a sweat scraper, offered water (which she never takes lol!), and walked round for about 5 minutes and then let to graze while everything is packed away
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i actually had to have a hard think then about what i do because what i do at the end of xc is natural and routine, i dont think about it.
and i pretty much ALWAYS jump off and undo the girth etc.

it doesnt bother me that some people dont,
i only do because i always have done and i think its nice for the horse!
 
I always get off all of mine after x.c, loosen the girth and walk them back to the lorry!
Another thing I hate to see, which suprisingly you see right through the levels, is people dropping the riens as they go though the finish and leaving their horse to fall in a heap
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Always pull up and get straight off. Loosen of flash (if hes wearing it), and loosen girth. My tb is the biggest donkey in the world, and certainly knows when he has finished, and doesnt want to go around again!
 
I tend to ride [walk] him round until he is breathing normally and it cools down his muscles then I walk him in hand for 10-15min with a loose girth by then he has cooled down wanting to go again
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and looking chilled out
 
I dont believe theres a particulary right and wrong way of doing things here but I tend to slow down through canter trot and then walk. I tend to loosen the girth as were walking back to the truck and then hop off and keep walking while loosening off noseband etc. I dont jump off immediately as like to give the horse a short bit of time to relise there done and not jump all over me. Even back at the truck we keep moving. I think this comes from racing where I never stopped walking the horse, even while having the saddle pulled off, jockeys have learnt to untack while moving, until it stopped blowing. WFP probs has to trot back to the truck to get on his next one.
 
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One of those handful getting off and walking back at Larkhill would have been me! It is my pet hate (with the exception for those reasons above eg scared of motorbikes, horse too difficult to lead afer xc, would run off etc) that people don't get off and take the weight off a tired horse.

My routine goes as follows...

through finish line and let horse naturally pull up to a slow canter, trot, then into walk.
Jump off and loosen girth to last hole and undo flash, and crank noseband to aid breathing.
Take reins over head and walk horse round in circles whilst I simultaniously undo my hat, back protector etc
Usually keep walking in circles until 'support team' arrive
smile.gif

Keep removing gear as we walk back to lorry so that I can be free of all xc clobber by the time we are back so I can then untack and wash off horse
Wash off all over and walk more, allow to graze if recovered, offer water
Depending on how hot a day it is I might wash off again to cool completly. Then apply leg cooling gel, carrots and pats
smile.gif


After a whole day of warming in dressage and jumping I think it's only right that you reward your horse by not making it carry you tired and hot back to the lorry park when you are perfctly capable to walk it yourself.
smile.gif


*steps down off of soap box*

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I completely agree!! The first thing i do when finishing XC is get of my horse, but that's just me!

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Jockeys don't dismount until they get back to the paddock.

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Jockeys arn't allowed to dismount unless competely necessary incase they get handed extra weights that they didnt race with- if that makes sense. x
 
I always pull up slowly and carefully.

Then I ride back to the lorry, I would get jumped all over and if the horses walk out more the latic acid will disperse quicker and more effectively.

I will also give my horses a bit of a gentle trot as this has been proven to reduce latic acid build up.

When I get back I remove boots and walk, then remove saddle and walk, then sponge off and walk some more!
 
I rarely get off unless I'm concerned about the horse or sometimes when I've had such a fantastic round I just get straight off and give them a hug!
 
Ideally id slowly pull up in a straight line (not always possible), then jump off, undo girth and noseband and walk off back to lorry. Take tack off, through water over, scrape off and walk off until breathing recovered.

However you take your life into your own hands getting off my mare when you've finished the XC, she's often high on adrenaline and could quite easily (and has) bounced all over me on the way back to the lorry and its far safer to stay on board, undo girth a couple of holes, mum undoes the grakle and i walk madam back on a loose rein. Far far safer, horse doesnt mind as it means she can walk at her pace to get her breath back. then once she's washed off she's much calmer and is fine to walk round in hand to fully recover.

I think as long as you do the same amount of walking, loosen the girth/noseband sufficiently then whether you stay on board or not really isnt as issue. It's a usually a maximum of a few of minutes to get back and if it keeps you safe then you should stay on board - the majority of people BEing including the pros all stay on board to walk back after XC.
 
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