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NSC Gymkhana
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The Northern Saddle Club is hosting their annual NSC Gymkhana Day on Saturday, July 22, at the Smithers Fairgrounds.
There are a variety of classes, from the standard NSC year end high point qualifying classes (Keyhole, Flags, Barrels, Poles, Scurry, Scud A Ho, Quadrangle Stakes and Trotting Race), to several novelty events including a Water Race.
Changing Pony Stakes is made up of teams of two riders (who pick their own partners), while Double Scurry and Double Quad Stakes are partner events where the partners are drawn by the office. Team of three are also drawn for Pony Express. These classes should prove to be a lot of fun!
Class fees are a reasonable $3 per class or a $30 day rate, and entries will be taken at the show office window before the official start time of 8:30 am.
We encourage spectators to get involved, and anyone wishing to help out and learn more about gymkhana is welcome to show up at the office and offer their services. To run a gymkhana show takes about ten people, but most of the jobs are very simple and just need someone to step forward.
The NSC Gymkhana Day is usually a long day but lots of fun for both volunteers and competitors. This year our judge is Dianne Klick, a certified coach who also judged the gymkhana division at the NSC Spring Show in June.
For more information about the NSC Gymkhana Day, please call Kristi at 250-694-3436 or 694-3320, or email kristi@hiway16.com |
| If you have tips or questions on equipment care, purchases, fit, or anything else to do with equestrian equipment, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com |
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If you are new to Northern B.C. Horse, check out all the previous issues on the Archive page.
Kristi is building a great knowledge base about horses, with the emphasis on our area of the world.
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Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse
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Past articles are all available in the
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Starting out
Starting that skittish two year old can be a whole different prospect than starting the well handled, imprinted one. This time when I took Skip to a friend's to work him, we threw Cody in the trailer as well and started his official training too.
With Cody being so concerned about new things, a proper sacking out was in order long before we progressed to the riding stage. We wanted this colt totally comfortable with ropes moving around him, the saddle blanket flapping, and just new stuff in general before the mounting up. Even though I've been on him in the field, I knew he wasn't ready to just climb on and ride the way Skip was.
First I did a gentle sacking out while my friend was using the round pen (see July 3 and July 10 for sacking out techniques). I used a small saddle blanket and flopped it all around him, under him, between his legs and so on. At first he was very tense and worried, but each time he became resigned to it, I petted him and quit for a minute - teaching him that when he relaxes is when he is rewarded.
Then it was our turn in the round pen. I've never done more than a minute or two of walk and trot on the leadrope with Cody, so this whole lunging thing was new to him. In fact, what we did was more of a John Lyons style of round penning - turning the horse back and forth until he realizes that you are in control of his movement, and that it's okay.
My friend (who just attended the Brian Griffith clinic in Houston) helped me to teach Cody the inside turn, which teaches them to turn their head towards you. That movement then turns into a cue to face up with you, keeping their attention on you. From there you can actually teach a horse to follow you around the pen, and in no time that is what Cody was doing. I was amazed at how quickly he figured things out!
I will note here that round pen work is not simply a matter of chasing a horse around a pen. You need to read your horse's body language! You also need to be consistent with your body language and your cues. When the horse does anything remotely towards the desired response, you need to remove the stimulus. If you were stepping towards him, back off. If you were flapping the rope at him, stop moving it. You must give him a release of pressure in order for him to learn that he did the right thing.
While Cody was still in attentive mode in the round pen, I went ahead and re-sacked him out with the saddle blanket. You'd have thought he'd been doing it all his life - he only flinched a time or two and then relaxed completely. Sure made me feel good - we had gotten somewhere! More next week....
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| If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com |
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Wrapping rules
Last week we discussed the use of shipping wraps for protecting your horse during transport. Here are a few of the bandaging rules I have learned - mainly these rules apply to your average wrap unless it says it is specific to shipping.
Number 1, always wrap the rear tendons of the leg to the inside of the leg. That means wrap counter-clockwise on the left and clockwise on the right. I've never been given a good reason for this, so some people may dispute it, but this is what I was taught.
Number 2, make sure you have it as wrinkle free as possible (I use those Kentucky No-Bows instead of cotton quilts for that reason, they are a sort of spongy foam inside and contour better to the horse's leg). You may find the wrap gets sort of a twist diagonally by the time you reach the bottom and end of the quilt, that's okay if it keeps it from wrinkling or folding.
Number 3, pull your wraps snug across the front of the cannon, not the back where those tendons are (and a friend showed me how to hold your free hand on the front of the leg as you do this so as not to pull it too tight).
Number 4, your wraps should end up with equal pressure (from top to bottom and from leg to leg). This can be gained by keeping the pressure the same as you wrap and also by keeping the amount of overlap on each turn of the wrap the same (for example, 1/2 bandage overlapping on each turn). Another helpful tip is to roll your bandages with some pressure on the material (before putting them on the horse).
Number 5, shipping wraps MUST cover the heel bulbs and coronet or they are not doing the job they were intended for. This means that you will have to struggle past the fetlock joint and over the coronet, and back up again, with as few wrinkles as possible. This also means that the wraps will be subjected (especially hinds) to muck and guck and possible wear of the quilts.
Number 6 , there should be nearly an inch of quilt sticking out at top and bottom (I think this is to prevent the outer bandage from sliding over the edge of the quilt and ending up directly against the leg). This also adds to the guck and muck and wear on the quilts.
Number 7, you can use a short piece of masking tape to secure your velcros on the bandages, but never use a piece of tape all the way around the leg. If for some reason the leg swells (or if the tape itself is too tight), you can cut off circulation.
Well, that's about all I can think of in bandaging at this point. I think if you can practice with a knowledgeable friend or coach you have a better chance of learning correct wrapping procedures than if you try it on your own.
If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com |
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nd softly, and make easy little corrections. By Sunday in Prince George, with that awesome ground, he was already turning around better as he was regaining his confidence in me.
