The Three Characters That Make A Top Class Horse Rider

Obviously every rider who gets into competition wants to become the best, if it is in dressage, jumping or eventing. Is every rider a potential super star? Or is there some other quality, something else that only the favoured few are born with? Recent studies on successful folks give powerful pointers that successful riders do share some common qualities that lesser people do not possess.

1. Determination

Successful riders practice, practice some more and than push themselves to the edge by practicing some more. If you need to get to the very top of whatever field you are engaged in, your commit all of your soul, your energy and your time to taking yourself up the ladder of talent, one rung at a time. If you’d like to be a top rider, you need to eat, drink, breathe and live riding: nothing else should be permitted to divert your attention all through the days, the weeks, the months and the years. You should train under the supervision of a recognized expert who is constantly perfecting your methodologies. He or she should be someone of exemplary eye for detail and an overriding passion for all things equine.

2. Physical and Fitness and Psychological Alertness

You cannot truly be the best horseman unless you’re the fittest. Only the mediocre believe that saddling up a good fit horse and riding is all that it takes. A decent fit horse needs a good fit rider. The top riders at the Olympic Games and other events put themselves through the grind also: they are regulars at gyms, swimming, jogging, something or the other that when pursued rigorously leads to peak health. Most riders at the top of the totem pole nowadays use the services of nutrition experts and fitness gurus. For themselves, apart from the pros they hire for their horses. If you’d like to give yourself an edge, begin with an effective fitness program.

3. Grit

Folks are keen on attributing reasons for success. Frequently, you will hear comments at events and competitions talking about how so and so “usually wins as he (or she) comes from a rich family who can afford the best horses and the best coaching facilities”. Etc. You won’t hear many comments about the grind the winner went through: the hours of sacrifice and toil, the hours of single-minded perseverance. Practically every single winner has overcame through reversals at some stage or the other of their life. Plenty of them actually came from modest backgrounds: they did not have loaded folks and stables of pedigreed horses. Irrespective of family and financial background, every single person at the very top got there by expending blood, sweat and tears.

If you lack the steely determination to be successful, you’ll drop out at the 1st difficulty that you run into. On the other hand, if you are absolutely single minded about doing whatever it takes to become a winner, you can do worse than begin with a definite plan of action. The core elements of your scheme should include:

1. Riding as much as feasible under the watchful eye of a high quality coach;

2. Sticking to a correct fitness programme like pilates and selective diet;

3. Persevering. Reversals are a part of life and every endeavour in life; someone “a Chinese person, I think “terribly correctly declared that failure is not falling down, failure is refusing to get up after falling.

Every time you trip and fall, get up and take the next small step. It is the first of the leftover steps to success.

Horses are Heather Toms ‘ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers like all things about horse rugs .

Treating Horse Influenza

There are lots of commonalities between a horse and an equestrian owing to the many likenesses in physiological makeup as well as traits and temperament between humans and horses. Among the numerous things humans have in common with their equine friends is the flu. As flu can simply spread into a contagion in groups of folks, equine flu can also simply cause chaos in a herd of horses. But don’t panic when a wave of influenza spreads in the ranks of your esteemed steeds, aside from missed horse riding sessions, no other extreme events should happen. Most horses recover without developing complications , and only a few ever die from the flu.

Temperatures of 101 to 106 degrees F are telling indicators of equine influenza. When the coughing comes along, you can be quite sure that you are basically dealing with horse flu. Obviously it’s common for the cough to come after the fever, and it’s generally dry, hacking cough initially. After a few days the coughing will sound moister, and will reduce in frequency, and then at last fade away after a few weeks. But do not depend on just these to self-diagnose your horses. Always seek expert, vet advice. You do not want to confuse something as innocent as influenza with viral arteritis or viral rhinopneumonitis. The vet can run blood tests and confirm what ailment your horses are having, and his findings of flu are more decisive than your most informed guesses.

The high temperature is bound to go down after a few days or so. Other equine influenza indications include weakness, stiffness, nasal discharge, absence of energy, and loss of appetite. When your horses have the flu they will not be up for horse riding, far less dressage training. Different symptoms persist anywhere from 2 to 7 days. Any longer would merit another vet check.

Equine flu spreads like human flu, through the air in the shape of very infectious material spewed out in each cough of a discomfited steed. So that you can think how fast flu will spread in a group of horses when one of them easily coughs out infectious viruses. And again, just like with human influenza, there is no exact remedy for equine flu. No medication can kill the viruses causing the illness. What can be done is to rest the ailed steeds in clean, well-ventilated stalls and that physically draining exercise is avoided. The equestrian has a major role to play in making certain her steeds go through the difficulty without effort.

Though symptoms generally vanish after a week, a stud or mare that had influenza can take as long as three weeks to a few months to get back to tip-top shape prepared for any amount of horse riding sessions and dressage training. Both younger and older horses are more at risk to equine influenza, and as such should be given due attention. Further bacterial infections and complications need to be pre-empted in these steeds too. Vaccine shots are available to provide assistance in protecting horses from the 2 kinds of flu, so ask your vet about them.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs

Raising New Born Baby Foals

Raising new born baby horses can be a nice experience, but don’t let the excitement fool you into raising a brat. Remember that that small foal would shortly be as big as or even bigger than her mom. And if you treat her the way you’d do your pet dog, you’d inevitably raise a hard-headed pain in the neck. A horse like that isn’t fit for riding, much less equestrian sport.

Baby horses are naturally not ready for horse riding or coaching for sport (though you can teach her to load or something similar). Consider what human babies do most of the time till they are ready for school: they play. Let your foal horse around with other fillies and colts her age range. If you can, take some time to watch her within a herd. If she gets too rowdy, her dam or some other aged herd member would give her a horse spanking to sort her out. Not only is she learning who are playmates, also she is learning who are leaders. Clearly, though you can be a playmate occasionally it’s smart though to establish yourself as her leader.

This means teaching her when you are serious and establishing your leadership authority. The most effective way to do so is with reins or bridles. Without them, it’s play time. When they’re on, she better not play around. It’s fine to reprimand her on your own way, just be gentler—she is a baby after all. Try early training with mom around, and eventually teach her away from mom to develop uniqueness and a sense of being a separate horse away from her dam she might instead be dependent on. In the wild they naturally come to an age where they become self dependent. In captivity, you must guarantee this pattern is followed, because they will be together in pens and enclosures almost all of the time—dam and filly.

Observing the young foal as she grows would provide hints when she is of age for further stages of training. If you believe she is , always apply lessons in moderation, and be twice as patient as you would on other horses. Do not use lessons that are physically demanding or mentally taxing—she’s still developing her muscles and her brain. Pushing too hard on the lessons may cause irreversible damage to essential body parts of your foal.

But let’s go back for a second. Lots of folks take horse riding for a casual activity, while some owners intend for their horses to join equestrian events. Either way, almost all of the time a newly born foal which they’re going to raise into maturity on their own is a rarity. And due to that, and because the thing can be terribly cute, first time breeders tend to treat it too loosely. As fast as evidence of stubbornness or insubordination arise, nip it at the bud. You wouldn’t need her taking such practices to adulthood—a 900 pound stomping, kicking, biting pony that will hardly be contained much less trained.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs

How To Profit From Your Pony Expertise

Many an equestrian first wanted her own pony for leisurely horse riding or modest sport and then found herself starting a barn and a business. And irrespective of what kind of equine related business she puts up, she’ll unavoidably need to market her services and products. How do you go about marketing horses?

Apply target selling. In simpler words, know who possible customers are and target them. As an example, if you are an equestrian coach, then owners of untrained horses need your services—market to them. This is an vital component of selling any business: knowing who to sell to.

When you work out who your possible clients are, the next thing to work out is the easiest way to reach out to them. In the old days an equestrian had to attend shows and competitions simply to have exposure to pony owners and lovers to pitch to. Today though, there are a lot of horse related sites on the web. Frequent these sites (and shows) and work out what your market is like.

When the analysis is done, go ahead and pitch incorporating what you have researched about your target market. You know where they are and what they’re like, so advertise where they often hang out and use adverts that you know would turn their heads.

Now that might be easier said than done. Of course , you’re an equestrian, not a sales person. You would probably do better training a horse for the first time in dressage than you would writing an advertisement the first time. But all you need to concentrate on is the way to reach out to your target market efficiently. Just add a bit of creativity and passion to what you already know about your goods and services and why your target audience should pick your special goods and services. One good point is to be specific and sell the advantages of features: like when selling a mare, don’t just cite her breed, color, and personality, try sharpening it up with accolades, sport accomplishments (if she’s been in dressage competition, your target audience would likely want to know), and any other appropriate provoking facts about her.

Now the equestrian next to you will likely incorporate the same ideas, so set yourself apart. One way of doing so is by giving away something free. Nothing too fancy as that would disadvantage you as a businesswoman; try simple stuff like a day where you let prospective clients take a look at your barn and facilities, if say, you are advertising a boarding facility. If you’ve got the resources, you can try grander stuff like sponsoring a horse riding clinic.

Now promoting doesn’t end with the advertisements and promotionals, it continues with the services or products you provide. Why? Because word of mouth can boost or burn your business, so you would like folk who have had business with you to only say pleasant things about you. It is true that almost 8 out of 10 people would tell people they know about a bad experience dealing with a business, but only 3 out of 10 would proactively tell their pals and acquaintances about good dealings with a business. Take advantage of those 3, rather than getting bad vibes out of those 8.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Horse Coaching Success Comes From Pressure

There are numerous facets of humans that are similar to horses. Among the more notable similarities: we both need camaraderie and fellowship to survive. Horses are herd animals, people are political animals. The core of both natures is that an individual horse or human will always need another of his kind to go on. Another notable parallelism between the two species is that when in a required form of fellowship, an individual horse or human is the subject of pressure. When several minds mingle and share similar space, pressure is inescapable.

Extend this parallelism a bit more, and you can see how pressure, though often having negative connotations, can become a positive driving force too. Some people excel under pressure—using the typically undesirable force to compel them to perform at heightened standards. This is also applicable to horses. Implement some type of pressure in your training and your mare would better and quicker understand her lessons. Though there are limits to using pressure as a training tool.

What does a person do when he constantly experiences pressure at work? He quits his job—or his health becomes undermined. He either escapes the pressure or loses to it. Again, this human condition parallels horses. Apply too much pressure, and your mare would start to go looking for avenues of escape. The flight reaction springs to mind. Well, you’re fortunate if your mare chooses the flight reaction over the fight reaction, in fact. But occasionally a trainer would ignorantly force his steed to the final resort of fighting back to escape the pressure. Horses trained under regimens of unceasing punishment, cruel pressures, and those based totally on fear and force are not fit for horse riding or other higher equestrian sport. They can only be a potential danger to themselves and their riders.

A mare only becomes really fit for riding if she establishes a relationship of mutual trust and confidence with her rider. This relationship must be rooted in her coaching.

Don’t be fooled though; as mentioned earlier, pressure is integral in training and lessons. Dressage and likewise all high level equestrian sports need firm training and compelling pressures. The key is in always knowing the resistance brink of your mare—just how much pressure she can take before she goes searching for a way to be rid of the source of pressure.

As such, it is clear that lessons that can benefit from using pressure positively are most advisable. And pressure is best utilized in acceptable levels. This implies that lessons should be broken down to smaller parts in such a way that the pressure asked for in each part serves to force the pony to learn faster instead of causing her to escape the situation. Of course, the release from the pressure and the corresponding rewards for proper or correct responses build on this idea and help improve a lesson in which these are incorporated. These serve as the small holiday getaways from the little pressures horses are subjected to in training.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Natural Soothing Remedies For The Nervous Horse

Your reliable steed could be a safe mount during horse riding ventures, but may actually be a twitchy wreck in an equestrian sport or before a physically taxing activity. These are some natural remedies for the anxiety you need to use on her to help calm her down.

Homeopathic Chamomile “Okay, so chamomile is pretty familiar, what about homeopathic? A homeopathic remedy is one that embraces homeopathy, an alternative cure with base elements embedded in administering minute amounts of a substance to ease symptoms it could cause in larger treatments. Basically, bigger measures of this substance in a healthy pony would cause it to be nervous—but when your mare is already agitatedly nervous, small doses of this can help her out. While this treament does not always calm the pony down, it does restore her brainwaves to a balance that can permit her to think rationally. This cure is generally available at health food stores.

Herbs for adrenal support “This is a pretty new concoction of four herbs that support the adrenal system of a horse so helping her to relax. This fusion of adrenal support herbs can help a mare unwind before new training, her first pony riding session in unfamiliar territory, and can help unwind COPD or heaves symptoms within 30 minutes to 45 minutes. This herb combination can be fed on an everyday basis or for swift relief of anxiousness and similar symptoms.

Probiotics “Probiotics are the good bacteria that flourish in an animal’s stomach—even humans have good bacteria. In horses, probiotics include bifidus and acidophilus. The favorable effect of probiotics in horses is that they produce B12, and the B vitamins, especially B12, have a natural relaxing effect. Mixing in whole food supplements loaded in probiotics before an equestrian event or a long pony riding trek in unfamiliar environs would help shed any upsetting reactions.

Equilite Feed Supplements “Commercial yes, but natural too. Equilite’s Relax and RelaxHer Blend of feed supplements are Valerian-free, natural herb additions that can be fed on a day-to-day basis or during equestrian events, which makes them real handy in an emergency medical kit.

Blue-green Algae, without the cell walls “O.K, this one is rather more scientific: blue green algae which has been specially processed and had their cell walls removed is good for your horses because the substances left—the pure core of the algae cells—are easily absorbed by the horses ‘ brains. This implies the anxiety is dealt with from the center of the studs ‘ and mares ‘ nerve systems, and the nutrient elements permeate the brain where not many nutriments reach due to the pony brain-blood barrier. This barrier is a wall that separates circulating blood from cerebral spinal liquid in efforts to keep invading damaging bacteria and the like out of the steed’s brain; sadly, it also keeps away the cool stuff like vitamins and nutrients. Best of all, specifically treated algae is legal for pony shows and competition.

Unless expressly said you’ll have to check with your equestrian sport authority if these substances are legal in shows and competition, and not all horses react the same way to some of them.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about cheap horse rugs

Effective Horse Coaching Aids

There are many tools an equestrian can use when coaching horses for various sport and activities, and dependent on what the training is for, the prerequisite for more effective tools and more effective use of the tools is made more relevant. As an example, the bridles and ropes used in horse riding coaching would be insufficient when teaching a pony dressage maneuvers. There are several aids that help not only in training but also in the activity the steeds were trained for, and as a skilled coach and rider would know, getting well acquainted with them and their uses is essential.

With modern methods of pony coaching, there are natural and artificial aids. The natural aids are mostly parts of the human body, such as the feet, legs, and hands, and even the voice. Artificial aids are everything else—from the ropes to the bridle to the bit and everything in between. When you consider it, all aids and even horse riding and training itself is artificial, as horses weren’t planned to be tamed and trained. But as far as latest views go, all bodily members and aids are natural. There are corresponding ideas of dangers and risks to using artificial aids as they may sow fear and cause negative reactions from horses, but that’s all just hype. Even natural aids, when used badly, can beget unfavourable responses from horses and even sow fear instead of respect. It’s all about using the aids properly.

One major benefit of natural aids though, is that they are always freely available, what with being human body parts and all. But again, it’s all in the use. And when it comes to pony riding and coaching, particularly for sport as exacting as dressage, the right use of a mix of artificial and natural aids is best.

The secret to making the most out of natural aids is that everything should be coordinated. Cues shouldn’t come from your voice commands alone or from established motions of certain limbs. Don’t simply utilise a command and your arms or your legs and feet, always include your back and especially your seat when giving cues. For example, an ideal way to use a coordinated effort of natural aids with the assistance of artificial aids to make a pony slow down would start with the rider bracing his back. This drives the mount into the bridle, and from there the hands can cue the horse to decelerate. A fluid and nearly effortless motion from the back to the bridle to the hands—almost imperceptible and only slightly noticeable—that’s how well body motion used together with artificial aids can influence and command a pony.

Natural aids are usually quite handy, as besides from always being available they’re simple to manipulate and so straightforward to control. But even something as apparently harsh as a whip, when used at the right times in appropriate measure, can be of immense help not just in pony riding, but in coaching for equestrian sport or activity. And combining their usability with natural aids is the way to go.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Ponies And Hay

Winter is at hand , and the hay makers are making hay while the sun shines. I should stock up on hay for my horses for the winter, and am finding out the hard way, like lots of folks with horses, that hay has shot up in price and shot down in quality. Horse owners have to use supplements with even top quality hay. When we were getting hay at 2 or 3 bucks a bale, we did not feel it was any kind of strain to pay for the supplements too. Now, when hay has hit exorbitant dollars per bale and appears to have hit the very bottom in quality, we feel the pressure. We are indignant that at a price this high the hay quality is so poor; we might have anticipated the best hay for the way that we are being scalped.

It appears that high quality hay has just about disappeared from the market. Farming methods nowadays involve repeated use of chemical-based herbicides and fertilizers through the year. While this improves harvest volumes, it does not do much for the purity of things.

Chemicals have an adverse effect on the natural bacteria and fungi that soil contains. In its natural state, arable soil is loaded in necessary minerals, other plant nutriments and water content. Better water means better grass and crop expansion, better expansion reduces chance of drought. Compost and other nature-based fertilizing agents sustain the healthy ecosystems of soil. They support natural cycles and keep soil continually recharged. In reality, chemical fertilizer is needless for fruitful soil that is moved regularly. Organic farming can be costly at the initial stages in comparison to chemicals-based farming, but pretty soon, it works out much less expensive as it maintains soil fertility and increases yield.

Each time we pay hay merchants top dollar for bottom hay, we are encouraging hay farmers to adhere to their chemical-based methods and ignore natural farming. What we should do is follow the example of cattlemen: they do not accept hay that has not been tested for quality and passed. This way, competition in the hay supply market will increase, and increased competition often means good news for the customer. If your hay purchases aren’t so bulky as to justify testing, you must encourage your provider to get tests conducted on hay in his stock. You could also ask the hay grower to get a test done. Reputed laboratories like Equi-Analytical do comprehensive hay tests for charges not exceeding $75. If your current hay provider acts hard, ditch him and get another one. Get all of your horse owning friends to crack down on bad quality hay. Success in your activities to get consistent top of the range hay can be done only if the effort is sustained by each purchaser. Success comes with determination.

So long as you are feeding your horses bad quality hay, you will need to supplement the hay with other feed of high nutritional value. Digestive enzymes and probiotics should represent part of your horses ‘ regular diet. I find performance horses thrive on Simplexity Health’s Essentials and horses for pleasure do well on APA, also from Simplexity Health. Probiotics like KLPP and Pro-Bi are also really useful for horse’s hind stomach digestion. They’re really desirable supplements to feed your horses when they don’t seem to be getting the best hay.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs

Your Ponies Personality Is Part Of The Solution

For equestrian trainers new to the trade, horses can come in different shapes and sizes, but most irksomely, different temperaments as well. And a horse’s personality type determines what sort of training and even what kind of sport it’s most suitable for. There are horses that are very excited to please and are quite friendly, a charm to go horse riding with. There are active character types that prefer challenging equestrian sport over plain horse riding, and there are others who’d do most anything for food. Let’s concentrate on one actual character type: the Metal component type of pony.

Metal types are some examples of the most trustworthy mounts and sport or chore horses you would ever come across, because they covet routine. They have to be well placed to do something they’re used to doing in a schedule in reality they need to so badly that if they do not, they get wired and develop many stress-related health issues till they’re reunited with their beloved routine. As you can imagine, a pony that does something so earnestly and even passionately is a valued asset that surpasses the simple joys of horse riding and is worth its weight in gold when it comes to equestrian sport or other activities it’s trained for.

Nonetheless together with the good comes the bad. Metal types rely too much on established routine that they encounter difficulty when introduced to new routines and new equestrian training or work. Also, if the trainer or breeder happens to skip a scheduled routine, they easily get stressed. The reality is, a pony would have to learn a lot of new things in the course of its equestrian coaching, even in the course of its standard pony care and health upkeep. Furthermore, not a lot of trainers have all the time in the world to zealously stick to routine day in and day out. While older metal types get the point and are simple to introduce to new routines or exercises and can stay off of regular routine and left in pasture for a bit without adverse reactions, younger metal types aren’t the same.

So what can a trainer do to help a hot metal type gelding avoid a stressful experience? Stick to routine. The routine does not have to be an exercise of precise standards, while you do one thing continually and create that as routine, that’d be the routine the metal type youngling would start to expect and depend on. For your own sake as the equestrian coach, keep it simple: like pulling her out of the stall and tying her onto a trailer for an hour every day or a daily mane brushing routine. If you actually enjoy horse riding and can do it everyday , then make that your regular thing.

The less effort it takes, the simpler it is on you. When you introduce new coaching or exercises and your metal type pony shows signs of stress, regress to your routine to help deaden the symptoms, then transition slowly into the new routine.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.

Over Come Your Fear Is EverythingTo Successful Horse Training

If you’ve ever seen Olympic equestrian sport and appreciated the grace and talent with which the riders participating in the events pull off their part, then you need to likewise appreciate the radical coaching and hard work underlying the superb performance. Just how long did the rider train his faithful steed for, and using what techniques, to achieve such fantastic end results? Well, before you start asking such deep questions, you need to begin at the beginning: eliminating fear—whether it’s in the horse, the rider, or both.

When you begin coaching your horse on the way to dressage level routines, it’s all about making her understand what you need her to do. The fundamentals of horse riding are establishing cues and building a cooperative partnership. But before that, she must first be utterly at ease around you. This means that you can go near her, touch her and stroke her, and clean even her sensitive areas (like her feet and ears) without incident. To be well placed to achieve this, you have to 1st dump the fear obstructing your progress. Otherwise, your mare would respond the correct way when doing one thing and react adversely when doing others.

All animals have 2 main reactions to danger or discomfort: fight or run. They either turn hostile toward the danger or stress, or escape it. For horses undergoing equestrian coaching, the trainer and rider is usually the source of both discomfort and danger. Before it’s possible to even dream of working on your dressage routines, you first have to be certain that around you and with what you do together with your mare, she is completely comfortable and she knows she’s safe.

Handling the fears of your studs and mares would entail that you rid yourself of your fears. A rider or tutor often fears those times when she’s stuck, or at a loss, of what to do next. Your partnership with your horse is like the relationship of a herd leader and herd member, and you’d want to be the leader. The thing is, though many horses don’t truly have a dominating leader instinct in them while in such an environment as a training pen, they’ll assume the role if you do not—even if they are mares.

To rid yourself of any fears that will distroy your herd leader role, try doing easy to achieve exercises that help you gain confidence. For your horse, the trick is systematically replacing her reaction with a desired response—from fight or flight to actual equestrian moves and manoeuvres when you cue for it. For you as a tutor and rider, the key is to gain confidence thru gaining greater measures of control over your mare and the situation via being conversant with what to do irrespective of the circumstances… such that what you must do next immediately unfolds.

You first must dispose of the fret that stunts the growth of your partnership—make this the very first step of your horse riding training program. But before you rid your horse of her fear, commence with yours.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.