Preparation for Competition

By Cathy Hanson

Copyright©2014

 

Lesson Five

One Month/One Week Prior

 

          The show is one month away.  It’s time to take care of last minute details.

 

You have probably received an entry form by this time.  If you are stabling at the show, you will need to send in for your stall and tack room reservations as soon as possible.  The entry form will have due dates listed, and submitting entries promptly will be helpful to the show secretary.

 

Most breed shows require horse registration papers and copies of membership cards.  Keep several copies in your office so they are available when mailing in entries.

 

Of course you will have registration paper copies in your horse trailer at all times.  This will save a lot of time the morning of the show.  All you will need to do is pick up your numbers.

 

If stabling at the show, check the horse show premium for information about bedding and feed.  Many times a form is included and you can order early; if you order ahead, bedding and feed should be waiting for you when you arrive.  That’s one less thing to worry about on move-in day.

 

 

The First Aid Kit

                    A first aid kit is a must at any show.  Most of the time you won’t need it; but when you do, you do!

 

                    Plastic toolboxes work well for first aid kits, and they can be locked as well.

 

                    The first aid kit should include the following:

1.    Thermometer                    

2.    Ace Promozine                  

3.    Banamine                         

4.    Betadine scrub                 

5.    Cotton Roll                       

6.    7% iodine                         

7.    Epsom salts

8.    Note book with vet phone numbers

9.    Over the counter antacid – Maalox

10. SMZ tablets

11. Roll of gauze  

12. Antiseptic topical dressing

13. Horse liniment

14. Butazolidin Paste or tablets

15. Syringes and needles

16. Sterile cleaning pads

     

          If you will be traveling a lot, keeping a vet phone book is handy.  As I have traveled around the country, I jot down the vets we have had to occasionally call over the years, as well as horse hotels and vet clinics.  Copy the pages of your rulebook stating the use of drugs.  Keep it in the first aid kit.  Many drugs cannot be used when a horse is showing.  Some can be used, but in low quantities.  Some have restrictions as to when they can be administered.  Read and know these rules.

 

 

Organizing Your Own Closet

          Buy a few garment bags to keep your clothes protected.

 

A wooden hanger is great for chaps, since their weight causes the wire hangers to bend.  A plastic hatbox is worth the cost.  Hats, especially felt hats are expensive.  If protected in a hat box and carefully handled, your hat will last a long time.  Label the outside of the hatbox with name and color of the hat.

 

The horse show world has designed a bag for almost everything.  If it is in your budget – go for it.  With equipment living in a trailer and tack rooms and in all kinds of weather outside – protect all that you can. It will last longer and stay cleaner.

 

If you have many bags, start labeling.  Not having to look inside each bag will save a lot of time and trouble.  Example – Dawson’s Show Halter, Dawson’s show bridle, Taylor’s black chaps etc.

 

          Put together a cosmetic case for all the little things needed.  Even the men will find this useful.  It should include items such as: safety pins, bobby pins, aspirin, thread and needle, lipstick, makeup, sun screen, lip balm, the rule book for your association, money, scissors, hair brush, comb, hair spray, hair nets, hair ribbons, hat cover, hat brush, (a different hat brush is needed for each color felt hat.  Brushing a tan or white had with a brush previously used on a black hat is a big “no, no.”)

 

 

Tack Cleaning Tray

 

          A tote-tray for cleaning supplies will be needed.

 

Leather cleaner and silver polish, a toothbrush and clean towels will be a few required items for the cleaning tote.

 

There are many different products on the market today.  Check the cleaning products on your leather by cleaning a small hidden piece first.  Some leather cleaners will darken light leather.

 

 

Grooming Tote Tray

          If possible, having a couple of grooming totes is useful.

 

One grooming box is kept at the tack room or horse trailer, and one is carried to the arena.

 

Recommended items for the grooming tray:

Stiff brush, soft brush, medium brush, hoof pick, towels, mane and tail brush, scissors, fly spray, coat spray, chalk, hoof oil, baby oil, disposable razor, and a copy of the class list.

 

 

       Tack Room Hardware

          When attending a show away from home, several days in length, you need to be prepared to “build your tack room.”

 

You already have a toolbox, which has many needed items in it, but there is going to be a lot more “necessities.”

 

There are a number of catalog stores which offer portable tack room hardware.  Here is what you will need:

 

Saddle and bridle racks.  Freestanding saddle racks are nice, but they are bulky and use up a lot of storage space. Depending on how many horses you have and the length of stay will determine the tack room supplies you will want to take with you.

 

“S” hooks can be used for bridles and halters, hanging saddle racks, blankets, jackets, etc.  “S” hooks come in different lengths and I recommend having several different sizes.

 

Everything from blanket racks to hat racks to clothing racks are available.  It is up to you how much is required in your tack room.  Of course, good old nails will work for hanging many items. However, there are many new facilities being built which don’t allow nails in the walls.

 

          It is nice to have some sort of matting on the floor.  Rice mats are popular, as is indoor-outdoor carpeting.

 

I always take a few card tables to set up for odds and ends – like food, numbers etc.

 

Folding chairs are great to have, for those few moments of relaxing.

 

          If your horse is under lights at home, keep lights, electrical cords, bulbs, timers and spare plugs in a trunk.  They will be needed at the show.  If you do not keep the horse under the lights at the show, it is possible he’ll start to grow that winter coat you’ve worked so hard to eliminate.

 

          Be sure to take along buckets for the horse’s water.  I like to hang two buckets in each stall.  The buckets provide my horse with plenty of water, and I can easily monitor how much water the horse is drinking.    Some people give the horse a large tub.  This is nice because you don’t have to fill it often, however they can get dirty quite easily from the horse rolling and kicking shavings and manure into the bucket.  Rubber trash cans work well also.

 

          Be sure to put the water hoses in the trailer; a long hose to water the horses, and a short hose for bathing at the wash rack.

 

You must have a wash bucket with sponge, scraper, shampoo and conditioner.

 

Stall cleaning tools will be needed.  Apple picker, wheelbarrow are a must.  It’s nice to have a broom and a leaf rake.  Keeping your barn area neat and clean is the sign of a professional.

 

          Keep some extra plastic in the trailer.  It will come in handy for covering hay or even draping along a stall wall to protect it if the weather turns bad.

 

 

     Training the Horse

     Your horse’s training should by this time feel like it is all coming together.  The foundation is solid.  All of the maneuvers required in the horse’s class have been taught.

 

Determine the weak areas and continue to teach and build your horse’s confidence.  During this time training equipment may still be used, but be sure to start adding the show equipment to the work sessions.

 

Your horse is in good condition. He has the stamina to make it through a full day at the show.  He is in good health.  His feet are in good condition and up to date on trimming or shoeing.  The horse’s hair coat is healthy and shiny.  You both are communicating and understand each other.

 

The big day is coming and you are READY!

 

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