EVENTING NATION

After I made the decision to move to England, I asked everyone I knew who had been here what to expect. Along with many different pieces of advice I was given, the one thing everyone said was to be prepared for rain, rain, and more rain. Check, got it - I came prepared for rain. I got a new super duper never going to leak no matter what rain coat for Christmas. What I wasn't prepared for was snow! When I got here everyone said the snow must make me feel right at home. Not quite. I haven't spent a winter in Canada in about 5 years. Even though the snow put a bit of a damper on most people's activities here, there was no shortage of action here at Waren Farm. Even with 10 of us working in the yard, there is always something that needs to be done. This makes me feel at home much more than the snow, as it is true of any place I have ever been that involved horses. 

Here are some photos that readers have sent in from the blizzard that has much of the eastern US shut down.  From the reports I have heard, electricity has been off in many regions and the snow is very deep, but the horses are doing well and have a positive attitude despite the conditions, as always.  

 

Do you ever stare in awe at the sleek shiny horses, the glistening brass, perfect braids, and dazzling white marks at a CCI trot up?  Do you ever wonder how they get that way?  (LOTS of hard work is the correct answer!)  Each Sunday morning we will bring you a little insider info on how the big-time grooms manage an upper level event horse.  Feel free to email or comment with specific grooming questions if you have a topic in mind!

Previous entries:

Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

A Close Shave

Get those white legs white!

                          Hoofcare

                          

 

What About Tack?

Now THAT'S a shiny browband!  Hugh Knows at Rolex
www.useventing.com photo

 

So your horse looks beautiful: now make sure nothing detracts from that picture.  Your tack should be spotlessly clean-- the leather should glow and the metal should gleam.  Often, less is more in the tack department: unless you have a specific need for added equipment, don't use it!  It's just one more thing you have to clean at the end of the day. ;-)

For trot-ups, a plain caveson noseband and simple snaffle bit is traditional attire.  Some people prefer a newmarket shank instead of reins.  Flash nosebands, while not as "classic," are quite common...mostly because it's already on the dressage bridle, and why buy a plain noseband purely for jogs unless you do a lot of FEI events?  You see a few figure-8s in the jogs, but it's generally less-preferred; it is not flattering to many horses' heads, and it's a more purpose-oriented tool (whereas the flash noseband has become almost "standard" for everyday riding).  To be most correct, make sure your reins do not have rein stops-- there's no "rule" about it, but plain reins give a nice clean look.  I have a set of "dressage reins" without stops, and "jumping reins" with stops.  I use my dressage set for jogs. 

Browbands.  This is your opportunity for a little added style.  Brass clinchers were all the rage in the late 90s through the 00's...but plain browbands are starting to come back in popularity.  Beads and rhinestones have set the dressage world ablaze, but thankfully (!!!) most eventers tend to pass on the sparklies.  I personally love the classic look of a brass browband-- traditional clinchers, or a moderate variation (wider, thinner, round, square, etc) to suit the horse.  It is most appropriate for grays to wear silver-toned metal instead of brass.  I'm not sure who came up with that "rule," but I agree with it; something about yellow-toned brass and a white horse just doesn't look as good.  Whatever accessorized browband you choose, be sure that it is absolutely, positively, radiantly shiny.  Nothing looks worse than a grungy, dull brass clincher.  It just screams, "I don't care about my appearance!"  Get the metal polish and get to work; even the most hopelessly greenish brass can usually be restored to a bright finish.

This idea of gleaming metal also applies to every other buckle on your horse.  Brass buckles on your bridle?  Congrats, you have more polishing to do!  Brass on the breastplate?  Yup, that too!  Of course, stainless steel should also be cleaned and buffed, but requires far less maintenance than its brass counterpart-- keep this in mind when tack shopping.  That brass-buckled bridle looks so pretty in the store...but not so much when it's been sitting in the trailer and the buckles turned green.  Brass IS beautiful, but it comes with the responsibility of keeping it polished!  [As an aside: I was "raised" to believe that excessive brass usage on flashy horse faces is tacky.  If your horse has a loud face, a big wide blaze and lots of white, he probably doesn't need the added pizazz of brass buckles everywhere.  He has enough to look at without artificial enhancement.  True, it really doesn't make a lick of difference...but that's ye olde traditionalist in me.]

Ok, enough with metal.  90% of our tack is LEATHER, which requires its own dedicated care.  I know all you good little Pony Clubbers clean your tack after EVERY RIDE (right guys?), as this is the best way to keep it in great condition.  This is especially important in the summer time ("sweaty season") and if you ride multiple horses a day.  Hopefully, you clean your tack at least weekly, and give it a really throrough detailing before shows. 

Take bridles completely apart; check buckles and bit attachments for signs of wear.  Remove stirrup irons and leathers from saddles, check stitching for safety.  When I was a working student/groom/manager for an Upper Level Rider, we cleaned tack and took it apart EVERY DAY.  One Friday before a local event, I was exhausted-- it had been a very long schooling day, and I *really* did not feel like taking everything apart to clean and put it back together...just as I had done the day before...but I did again it anyway.  And THANK GOODNESS I DID: on one stirrup leather of her jumping saddle, the cross-bar of the buckle had cracked.  The leathers were nearly new; stitching was perfect, leather was beefy; they were perfectly safe (except for the broken buckle!) which was so close to being missed.  My rider was scheduled to go cross-country at 8am the next morning, and my diligence could have saved her life.  [Of course it is the rider's ultimate responsibility to check their tack...but often in the heat of the moment, rider trusts the grooms to have things in order, time is short you gotta get on and go.  So, grooms of the world: THEIR SAFETY RIDES ON YOU, don't forget that!!]  In short: details matter!

I apologize for this column's abrupt ending...I had spent the last hour writing an overview of how I clean tack daily and for the show ring, and the Blogging Editor just ate it.  Apparently the "auto-save" feature was not working properly.   So next week we will probably have more on tack cleaning and polishing methods. 

This winter has had some extraordinarily bad weather for many of our readers, culminating in a blizzard that is currently hitting the northeast and mid-atlantic US.  Click here for video of the storm.  At my home in Virginia, a few inches of snow per winter has been the norm over the last few years, and this winter has already seen several feet of snow.  One reader sent us the following description of the situation at her farm:

Anheuser Busch is the highest paying advertiser during the Super Bowl. Thanks to overwhelming support from horse fans on Facebook, the Budweiser Clydesdales are back in the commercial line-up for Super Bowl Sunday. I like to think Eventing Nation voters had much to do with it. Be sure to watch during the fourth quarter to see the newest commercial featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales. Or you could watch it early here.  This week on Video Saturday: four-legged football.

 

Cross-country with Heather Morris and Slate River: Heather Morris and Slate river hail from Texas and placed 11th at the FHI CCI***.  Before going out to the cross-country course, Heather's team brought a variety of very large bits to US Coach Mark Phillips for his selection.  But Mark asked Heather to show her transitions within the gallop using just a snaffle.  The horse generally ignored Heather and threw its head everywhere.  After a few transitions Mark called Heather in and hopped on slate river himself.

Signs of equine fatigue

On Wednesday morning, we linked to an article in the Horse and Hound announcing Great Britain is unlikely to send a full Driving team to the WEG in Kentucky due to the high cost of transporting the horses and equipment.  Competitors are permitted to raise their own funds for the trip, and Great Britain will be sending full teams to the WEG in all other disciplines. 

Competing in eventing has been a lifelong endeavor I have taken on whole heartedly. I competed in my first recognized horse trial in 1997 and from that moment on I was trapped in the sport. For most people goals are obtained and new ones are set and I have been no different. I have been fortunate enough to compete in two NAYRC competitions, ridden through Intermediate, and have had many special horses. The bond between horse and rider is one that words can not always express. When one losses a great partner for any reason it is hard, but it is inevitable that (for most of us fortunate eventers) a new partnership will come along. I am no different. Three years ago a gifted little mare came into my life, as a special partnership was beginning to wind down for my thoroughbred gelding, Final Score. I had her in training for Claire Latimer and fell into something special. Her name was Tzarina and she was a 15.2 hand, 4 year old, Holsteiner who had an attitude much bigger than her stature. I was lucky enough to purchase her in 2008. Over the last three years we have gone from a green broke mare to trying to move up into the Preliminary ranks.