Summer time is a busy season for reining riders. A few of the prime occasions happen over the following couple of months, which implies we’re hauling our horses across the nation to compete. Which means that as a way to achieve success at these exhibits, I must pay additional shut consideration to the place my horse is at mentally and bodily after I’m driving him, in order that he’s in a position to peak when it issues.
Right here I’m going to go over the three steps I take to make sure my horse is able to go come present time.
Give Him Time to Reset
There are some things to think about when getting ready a horse for a contest. The very first thing I like to have a look at is my competitors schedule. The purpose is to attempt to area out my competitions, so my horse has loads of time to get well mentally and bodily in between huge occasions the place he must be at his best possible.
For instance, the horse I’m driving in these pictures is a 4-year-old that I occurred to point out final 12 months on the NRHA Futurity. I made the finals on him, which implies he needed to undergo a number of preliminary rounds plus a finals spherical in the course of the course of the occasion.
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It’s no secret that the Futurity is usually a very bodily and mentally demanding present—for each horse and rider! So after that occasion, I gave him a giant break earlier than constructing him again up for the beginning of his derby profession this 12 months. I would like this horse to have a protracted present profession and love what he does, so I made certain he had time to reset and refresh, and be keen to return again to work.
However giving my horse a break after a present doesn’t imply I can’t get pleasure from time within the saddle. The primary couple of days after a protracted horse present, I received’t do a lot with a horse. He’ll get to spend time in his stall and turned out within the area or pasture. Nonetheless, after a number of days off, I’ll begin to incorporate a little bit train into his routine, as a result of I don’t need him dropping all his stamina and energy throughout his restoration interval. This may be an assortment of issues. I would stick my horse on a longe line to let him stretch his legs or spend a while on him lengthy trotting him within the area.
One other factor I like to do is take my horse for a path experience or go experience round my property. Using up and down hills may be a good way to construct stamina whereas spending a while exterior of the sector.
How a lot downtime my horse will get is determined by the present schedule. After his lengthy break following the Futurity final 12 months, this horse began his derby profession by competing on the Nationwide Reining Breeders Traditional in April. The world at this present is very large, and it’s straightforward to expire of horse in the course of the occasion; I knew he would wish a while off after competing there. As a result of I already knew what my present schedule regarded like, I used to be in a position to plan out his relaxation and restoration time and the way I’d construct him again up in order that he was at peak efficiency for the NRHA Derby in June.
Regularly Construct Him Up
As soon as my horse has had a while to relaxation and get well, it’s time to start out constructing him again up. At this level, I’ve had a number of weeks to evaluation my runs from the earlier present and pinpoint what it’s I must work on at house. This could fluctuate. It could be one thing I must do totally different within the present pen with my physique, or it could be a coaching difficulty I must work on.
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I all the time wish to gradual it down in order that I don’t overwhelm my horse after I’m making an attempt to construct him again up. I don’t must sort out each maneuver in a single experience. As a substitute, I area it out so I can actually deal with mastering one maneuver earlier than shifting on to the following one.
Put It All Collectively
After I’m roughly every week or so out from my subsequent horse present, that’s the time I begin to put the items collectively and see the place my horse is at bodily and mentally. I’ll run via a few NRHA reining patterns and get a really feel for a way my horse is performing. At this level he ought to be at peak efficiency going into the present.
