Maintain That Show Look With Horse Grooming Equipment
When you are preparing for a horse show, you need to make sure that your training
starts much in advance and you put in a lot of time, effort and motivation to sustain your preparation. It also means that you need to have the right horse grooming equipment, awareness of the rules, appearance and other elements critical to the show so that you do not get disqualified for something too elementary or for something basic that is not in place.
The ideal way to go about it is to obviously make a thorough list of items and things to do and through a check list system go about making arrangements. Getting an idea about the facilities and having a backup plan should anything go awry are other things you must take care and be prepared with. You would also do well to pick up information about what judges may be looking for and build those into your dressing plans to make a suitable impression on them.
It goes without saying that appropriate equipment is absolutely necessary for any sportsman to perform at his best - and horse riding is no different. The riding equipment, dressage and shoes must all be clean and must fit well. Uniformity of colour will go a long way in impressing the judges and as far as possible; you must avoid too glaring or bright colours. It is desirable to choose riding equipment as well as apparel that complements the colour of your mount.
Maintaining the horse riding equipment is only one half of the job done. Your mount is the main player of the show and you need to make use of appropriate horse grooming equipment to ensure that the coat is dirt free, has sheen to it and there is no dryness felt by your mount. That can irritate the animal and this might show in the performance. Washing the body, braiding the mane as well as tail, cleaning the hooves and oiling the flanks so that the muscles look well rippled will give you a lot of confidence in your mount.
Before the show, make sure that there is adequate warm up done with the horse to loosen its muscles. This will also provide you with the opportunity to strike a good understanding and sync with the animal. Ensure you are well hydrated and mentally relaxed before the show. You can do that by keeping away from your usual surroundings and just spending time with your horse so that both of you being comfortable with each other would be able to focus on the upcoming event and put other negative thoughts out of your mind.
Performing well at a show can happen only when you and your mount look and feel good and are able to reproduce all the moves so successfully done at practice sessions at the main event as well without faltering. It calls for a high degree of physical and mental preparedness and you must make use of all relevant assistance through the right horse grooming equipment to enable you to reach that state of readiness.