First Horse Show: Prepare Your Young Horse for Success

If you’ve competed at lots of horse shows, the drill is pretty routine. You know what will happen at the show, whom you will probably see there, and how long you’ll be gone. Assuming your horse is a show veteran also, there shouldn’t be many surprises. However, at the first few shows with your young, inexperienced horse, EVERYTHING is a surprise that can stress your equine partner.

To make sure your young horse’s show career gets off to a good start, consider preparing him with these steps.

• Before there is any thought of showing, young horses should be accustomed to standing quietly for grooming, bathing, braiding, clipping, and hoof care. This isn’t something owners necessarily train for specifically, but whenever you work with your young horse, keep obedience in mind and reinforce his good behavior. If he isn’t dependable about standing quietly to be handled, stay home until this is established.
• Think about all the preparations you must make just before a show: pulling or trimming your horse’s mane, having his hooves trimmed and/or shoes reset, getting fetlocks tidied up and fluffy ears tamed. The day before the show should not be the first time these things have been done to the young horse. Three or four weeks ahead of time, familiarize the horse with each of these procedures, preferably more than once. A certain amount of preparation has to be done at the last minute, but if he’s experienced some of the steps one at a time, it will keep stress at a lower level.
• Your show outfit probably looks, smells, and even sounds different than schooling apparel. If you will be wearing special clothes, hats, boots, or spurs at the show, introduce these to the young horse several times before the big day. Include both ridden and ground time while you are wearing your show outfit. If your horse is spooked by a big hat and sparkly sequins that he’s never seen before, he probably won’t stand up very well for the showmanship judge.
• The horse’s clothes need to be familiar also. If you use a special halter, bridle, saddle pad, or other tack just for showing, handle and ride the young horse in these several times in the weeks leading up to the show.
• If your horse will show with a braided mane, do some practice braiding and leave the braids in while you ride. Braids annoy some horses, and if your horse stiffens his neck or tosses his head when he’s braided, you need to know that and accustom the horse gradually to tolerating the strange feeling.
• If you use shipping boots or bandages, don’t forget to put them on your horse several times before show day. Start with one or two boots and be ready for some antics when you lead him out the first time. Let your horse wear his shipping boots in the stall for an hour or two just to get used to the feel. Has the horse ever heard Velcro being ripped apart? Introduce this sound before you have to get the boots off.
• Think about simulating show conditions before you leave home. Practice riding at different times of the day, riding more than once a day, and riding with other horses moving with him or in the opposite direction in the ring. If possible, ride with a show number attached to the bridle. Try to come up with flower boxes, banners, people sitting in chairs near the ring, and something that sounds like a loudspeaker, complete with squealing feedback noise. The more commonplace these sights and sounds are, the more relaxed your horse will be.
• Most importantly, allow plenty of time on show day for loading,trailering, and walking the horse around the grounds after you arrive. Some people leave protective boots on the horse and use a chain shank (or a bit) for leading until it is clear that the horse is calm. You may want to longe the horse, with or without tack, before getting on.
• If the warm-up is not going well, there is no disgrace in scratching out of your classes and simply letting your horse experience the new sights and sounds. If this is the case, remember that your goal is to bring home a calmer horse in the evening than he was in the morning. Your next show will probably go better if you haven’t forced the issue the first time out.