( SCHOOLING Q&A )
MOUNTAIN HORSE AND IMOGEN GLOAG team up to answer your schooling questions
I
nternational event rider Imogen Gloag, 23, is based in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
In 2016, Imogen was the youngest competitor at that year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials riding Brendonhill Doublet and the pair are former Pony Club Champions and British Junior team members.
In 2018 Imogen made her first appearance at the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials on the same horse completing with just one unlucky run out.
Imogen’s ultimate goal is to be selected on to the British teams and to ride at the Olympic Games.
Imogen is sponsored by Mountain Horse which makes stylish, elegant and durable riding gear. Visit
www.mountainhorse.se.
My horse is really lazy. How do I give him a bit more oomph?
Without seeing him, it’s tricky to tell whether he’s lazy by nature or whether its because of
a lack of knowledge about accepting the aids.
A days hunting might perk him up. You could also make sure you vary his routine everyday. When you are out hacking, take different routes, and try and incorporate canter tracks. Go with friends on their horses, and keep it all very jolly.
Cross country jumping might cheer him up. While you are in the school vary between jumping, pole work and flat work. Make sure he’s turned out as often as possible too.
If he’s lazy because he hasn’t learned to accept the leg, all of the above will help him develop a more forward going attitude.
He needs to learn to go forward from the leg aids and a schooling whip might help. He will need to learn to accept the leg and answer a squeeze, which he won’t do if you are constantly kicking him.
How do I teach my horse to perform a perfect halt?
The way to a perfect halt is practise,
Win a Mountain Horse Saddle Pad, Navy Headcollar and Rope, fleece lined with anotmic neckband.
For your chance to win, send a schooling question to Central Horse News that you would like answered, using the entry form on page 78
64 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
practise, practise! Even when you are stopping to get off your horse, collect him and make him stop square as it then becomes second nature.
It helps to have someone on the ground, or mirrors, so that you know if the halt is square, because if you look down to check, you’ve already put the horse off balance.
Make sure you are sitting in the middle of the horse and that your weight and contact are even. You need to have collection and activity to halt squarely. Your horse needs to be on your aids and in self-carriage. He also has to go into the contact!
Have a nice light contact, and use your legs to channel him into a straight halt.
It might take a while for your horse to understand what you want, which is why it is important to keep repeating the exercise.
When you move off from the halt it needs to be immediate and straight, so that you can move into a nice trot.
If your horse doesn’t understand what you mean, never, ever punish him. Just keep practising until you get it right. If you get rough, your horse will anticipate the punishment. For example if you are performing a dressage test and he does something wrong or he feels insecure, he’s going to think he’s going to get a jab in the teeth or a kick in the guts, which is an absolute no no.
How long should I school each day?
Every horse is different so there are no hard and fast rules but 15 minutes of warming in, 20 minutes on the actual lesson and then 10 minutes to cool down is a good outline. Some times it might be less if you have achieved well in a short time, or more if you need a little longer. There are no hard and fast rules and you need to treat each session separately. Always try to finish on a positive note, reward often, and don’t be tempted to school for long period just for the sake of it while achieving nothing. Your horse will just become stale.
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visitwww.centralhorsenews.co.uk
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