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Good foundations – Grand Prix begins in Prelim ~ Brigitte Billings

If you’ve just begun riding in Preliminary and you’re feeling intimidated by the seasoned competitors riding around you, consider this: every great dressage horse begins with good foundations in the lower levels. From the first time your horse was saddled and had a rider on his back, the ground work was being established for his life as an athlete.

With this in mind, the basic work that you do in the Prelim classes will set the tone for the rest of your careers together. In fact, if you don’t get it right in these very early stages, it’s unlikely your horse will have the ability to progress to the top classes.

Contrary to what many might think, it is not always the flashy expensive horses who excel in these classes; dressage literally translates to ‘schooling’ and judges will be looking for the horse who shows correct schooling for this level. They want to see a horse and rider happy to be working together – your personal Valegro could be a 15hh Boerperd.

 Prelim power

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should panic about riding Prelim. The tests are specifically designed to test schooling and abilities without undue pressure on the inexperienced horse (or rider).

There are four Prelim tests – 1, 2, 3 and 4. The horse should be ridden in a snaffle bit and the rider may ride with whip and spurs. Tests include combinations of medium walk, working trot and working canter along with 20m circles, half-20m circles, turns left and right, changes of rein, and halts at the beginning and end of the test (Prelim 1 only has a halt at the end of the test). By Prelim 4, a three loop serpentine is introduced.

Riders will be expected to show that the horse is happy to stretch down when the rein is lengthened at the walk, and then accepts the contact when the rein is taken back again. Transitions give the horse time to adjust, for instance from trot to walk to halt, or from halt to walk to trot. A few strides of lengthened trot may be asked for during changes across the diagonal.

Training technique

These very simple movements may be harder than you’d expect because it’s at this stage that your horse must start learning to use his body correctly under saddle. Imagine your first few sessions at gym in which you’re learning to understand correct form – without it, your movements will lack rhythm and suppleness, and you will not be building muscle correctly. Paradoxically, until those muscles are developed, these new movements will be quite difficult to get right.

About those marks

A judge will give a horse and rider a score out of ten for each movement. Marks are awarded according to how accurately the movement is ridden (so be aware of those markers!), how responsive the horse is, and whether he shows the correct combination of balance, elasticity and rhythm. You will also be marked on your position, seat and correct use of aids.

Next month we’ll look at the Novice classes and how these tests prepare you for the challenges of Elementary level.

Want to try it out? Recreational membership is free! Visit www.dressagesa.com for contact information. 

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When it comes to horse food, being cheap can be expensive! -Hannah Botha (MSC Equine Science, Royal Agricultural College, UK)

When a bag of feed is R10 more expensive than an alternative brand it does raise eyebrows. When the price difference is R20 or more, most horse owners will query whether this is value for money. Interestingly, however, even discrepancies greater than these can become savings!

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When it comes to choosing a concentrate for your horse, opting for the bag with the budget price can turn out to be the expensive decision in the long run!

Not only does it often cost more in terms of Rands per month to feed cheap concentrates, but the negatives

also add up in terms of poor performance, poor condition, the cost of additional supplements, greater quantities fed and the possibility of additional veterinary bills which completely tip the scales.

 

When selecting your horse feed, you should do so in the manner you would select a veterinarian for your horse. Most horse owners choose a veterinarian based on the quality of service provided, not the price charged for this highly professional work. Your horse’s nutrition should be no less important.

There are many different feeds available on the market today and, without exception, cheaper feeds tend to contain a lot more fillers and less of the better quality ingredients. This is possibly even more relevant in todays climate, with raw materials increasing in price, and some companies may even swop out previously used ingredients for cheaper options.

The differences in nutritional value between different feeds are significant and, generally, the aid old adage

“You get what you pay for” is true.

Contrary to popular belief, the most expensive component of horse feed is not protein but rather the total energy value. Other important factors which add to the end price of better quality concentrates are:

 

  • the amount and type of oils used
  • the quality of the vitamins and minerals added
  • the selection of starches incorporated- to provide useable energy sources
  • the addition of a live yeast culture
  • The quality if proteins and amino acids used
  • the quality and quantity of the fibres used in the composition.

 

The correct inclusion of essential Vitamin B and E alone can easily add R4-00 per bag, a live yeast culture up to R8-00/bag and the inclusion of good quality oils can bump the cost up to more than R10-00 per bag. Just these 3 ingredients alone can account for more than R20-00 per bag but in the long run, however, can help you save money, improve performance and ensure that riding, breeding, training or any other equine activity can be fully enjoyed.

Horses are no longer kept for transportation, but rather, because we are passionate about them and equine related sports. Attempting to save R2.00 per day, thus, only to have a horse contract, tying up, laminitis or dangerous colic, all related to the choice of feed, becomes nonsensical.

It must be noted that where a horse is fed, for example, 4kg per day, the difference in feeding costs between a budget feed at R200/40kg compared to a much higher quality product priced at R220/40kg (ie.R20 more per bag) will be R2.00 per day. This becomes a negligible amount when compared to the cost of treating a bad colic, not to mention the costs of adding masses of additional supplements to “make your feed work”, impaired performance and the additional quantity required for feeding which is often required.

 

GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING HORSE FEED COST EFFECTIVELY!

 

Always study the information!

Choice of concentrate has a major cost implication on the upkeep of your horse, hence the importance of studying the bag tag and also of researching all further information provided on the website of any product you use.

Do not make the mistake of stopping your research at the advertised protein level as the protein level per se does not tell the whole story. When comparing products it is important to study factors such as energy value, yeast addition, the amount of fibre, specified vitamin/ mineral levels, the use of organic minerals, fat percentage, the type of oils added and specified amino acids such as lysine.

You will usually notice a vast difference in values across brands, as well as the amount of information offered on the top end products as compared to budget lines which tend to specify only the minimum values as required by law. Keep in mind that this law was passed way back in 1947 and requires the declaration of certain minimum percentages of Protein, Moisture, Fat, Calcium, Phosphorous and Fibre only.

When comparing feeds ensure you are comparing apples with apples. Some companies may display their nutrient values “as added ”, so it will only tell you the amounts put in not what your horse is actually receiving, where as others will give a better picture by detailing “as fed”, this will give a better picture of the actual nutrients your horse is receiving.