Preparing for Showing In Hand

[4_white_socks]

I have a 2 year old Canadian Sport Horse mare (my first baby horse) who I would like to show in hand this summer. I am 100% an amateur and have no intentions to sell this horse (although I recognize that plans can always change). My rationale for wanting to get her out to a show is purely for early exposure to her life as a show horse and good life experience - I’m not looking to win, but I would like it to be a positive experience for her (and me!)

For those who are familiar with the line showing world, any advice on preparing her for a show? She is handled a few times a week but for the most part lives out with a herd of other young horses and just gets to be a baby horse. I’m worried she is perhaps not as handled as many of the other horses who are shown on the line and receive daily handling.

She trailers well (I have trailered her twice since I’ve had her, with no issues). She leads well and I have practiced trotting her in hand. She stands well to be groomed and I will enlist some help to get her accustomed to being braided before the big day. Any other advice or things I should consider to ensure she has a positive experience? As I have a career outside of horses and family responsibilities, and she lives a fair distance from my house, daily handling is not an option. However working with her 2-3 times a week in preparation for a show is certainly feasible.

Thanks in advance

[LilRanger]

You should ask @clanter, I believe his family has been successful showing horses in hand.

[c0608524]

Are you in Ontario by any chance? Occasionally I’ve seen postings for “in hand” clinics to prepare horses for showing on the line. Fairly certain the clinics were in the London area. Might be a nice opportunity to get the little one off property and pick up some useful knowledge.

[MHM]

There is a video that is specifically designed for kids showing ponies in the model classes, but the same basic concepts apply to young horses.

Is there any way you could get a couple of other people to participate in your practice sessions at home holding other horses a few times so your youngster figures out the routine? It’s one thing to behave when they are alone, but it can get a little more exciting when there is a group dynamic involved. Lol.

Balmoral 2021 Pony Model Clinic

[DiamondJubilee]

It sounds like you have an amazing start already! I just make sure they are used to wearing a bridle and working in hand out in the ring as well. I start with putting a bridle on and putting their halter back on top and attach cross ties to the halter, let them sit on the cross ties as I groom them for 5-10 mins. They mouth the bit and try to figure it out. I do this a few times before I work them in hand.

I’m not sure if you’ve done this already, but I’ll break down how I start to have them trotting in hand beside me and setting them up. I then bring them out to the ring and bring a dressage whip with me, and a few treats in my pocket. I like to start them with their bodies to the fence side of the ring (me to the inside as its safest) to keep them straight as it takes bit for them to understand straight and to even run beside you (especially if you have to tap them with the whip to go forward, the fence will keep them straight at first). I really start with cluck, “walk on”, walk around for a bit and then brrrr to halt and I do this many times. “walk on”, “brrrrr”, “cluck, walk on”, “brrrr” and repeat. I will tap at the hindquarters for a “walk on” if needed so they get the idea. Then I work up to the trot. “cluck cluck”, start to run, tap hindquarters if needed (or even better to have someone a bit behind them with a lunge whip to encourage forward - but not touch them if not needed). I will cluck and ask for a trot and start to slowly jog beside them. They usually look at you like ? and they are quite unsure at first. Its even better if you have someone else with you with a lunge whip to slowly encourage them forward to trot beside you (I’m almost always alone here, so I do it on my own with a dressage whip and tap). Try not to hit them in the mouth if they go suddenly forward. Have good running shoes!

I find it doesn’t take too long for them to get the idea of cluck means trot, but some tend to be unsure of trotting beside you and can back off or be silly as in try to play with you. Be careful and aware, and no silliness allowed (especially as a 2 year old. I tend to start my guys as yearlings as I start line showing them then). Just repeat this, cluck, trot, then use a voice command for walk (I brrrr for a walk) and keep practicing. Then I go the other way doing the same thing, with them in the inside and you on the rail (this is how most shows are run).

I do practice setting up in the middle of the ring, feet straight, not camped out, neck arched (will use treats to encourage if needed) but I don’t do a lot of this as youngsters can get bored.

I plan on taking my 2 year old off property to just walk around at a friends place. Then I can see if I can work him in hand with distractions around, just like I would at a show. My guy has not been off property much or shown as a yearling as he had club surgery last August. He has a bump on his leg from it so is not a good in hand candidate, but its so good for them to get off property, getting braided and just hanging out and getting bored lol! I find line showing boring as well, but its soooo good for the young ones I’m always out every year showing something.

I will be at a few Sport Horse line shows with my 2 year old as well (hopefully!!) but have to go in the Open division so plan on Ancastor in August. I hope to take a pony to RCRA for the Sport Pony this year though. But he is 4 years old and not been handled much or backed as I just got him.

[Demerara_Stables]

You sound like you have a great start and have gotten excellent advice here already.

I’d add that if it’s at all possible, get her out to some busier situations before you show. If there’s a busy boarding/training barn that will let you bring her in, that’s a great start, or if there’s a schooling show around that’s good too. Getting her exposed to traveling plus the chaotic environment at a show will help ensure you don’t have a totally different horse when you want her to actually stand still in the class. When you haul to a busy place, expect the first few times to just be letting her walk around, see and hear everything, have some grass or hay, then go home. If you can get her out enough times, then you can start to do some in hand work once she’s accustomed to the environment.

Have fun!

[clanter]

@LilRanger

You should ask @clanter, I believe his family has been successful showing horses in hand.

my daughter has done very well showing Sport Horse in Hand at the Morgan Nationals, since 2020 she has won two World Championships (Socrates 2020, Fig 2022) and three Nationals Championships Socrates and Fig were the Stallions Geldings their scores where the highest of all Stallion/Gelding/Mares making them the World Champs and Lexie was the mare National Champ in 2023 missing the Reserve World Championship by 1/10 of point. She was in this class just to see what she would do, she did win her Dressage division World

I have a panoramic photo of Fig’s Stallion Gelding class, he is the center of this long line of fifteen horses looking like a pony in the ring . But he did everything just as if he had been doing it for decades, never was phased by all the doings even though he had just gotten into show world from ranchland a few days earlier.

When she had decided that Socrates as a two year old would start in the Sport Horse in Hand we set up the course true to size even used flowers as the corners, after a short time Socks could run the course on auto pilot.

Fig had never seen anything before he was taken into his class.

What is funny we have photos of both attempting to eat the flowers at the second turn

[JenEM]

@clanter

What is funny we have photos of both attempting to eat the flowers at the second turn

The “second turn” actually makes a very subtle point about differences in showing in-hand. How the class works depends on whether you’re doing hunter breeding–which will work very similarly to the video posted above–or something like a breed/sporthorse/Dressage breeding/Future Event horse classes. Those set up differently, they jog a triangle rather than a straight line, and require a different attire for handler (helmet!). So make sure you know what type of class it’s going to be, and what to prepare for.

I did my 3YO OTTB in the hunter breeding for much the same reason you want to do your young horse–fun and exposure. And it absolutely has been a fantastic foundation for being great about hauling, braiding, seeing new place and things, jogging for the vet, and just general horse show skills like waiting quietly by the ring and on the trailer. I’d done a few model classes before so basically knew what to expect going into those classes. Most shows running HB will have separate age mare and colt/gelding classes, plus a class for amateur handlers, so you can go in that as well for extra experience and to compete against your peers rather than the pros, though some of the ammy handlers who do the HB seriously are every bit as good as the pros

We did also prep for a few of the FEH classes just because they were close and convenient, but she got hurt in the pasture so ended up with the fall off instead of doing any of them–having to trot in a triangle is MUCH harder for both horse and handler than trotting a straight line, so if that’s what you’re going to do, make sure you practice.

[GoodTimes]

The Ontario Chapter of the CSHA just posted that they’re having a Line Showing clinic with Andrea Volasko on July 14th in King.

[Railbird]

One thing I do with young horses is practice the idea of getting braided with them. Even if their mane lays to the right side of the neck, I’ll put in training braids starting loose and then getting a little tighter, to get them accustomed to the sensation, standing while someone is braiding their mane on cross ties and tied in the stall, the ladder, the tugging, etc. A little bit at a time at home and just getting desensitized to having braids in while they’re in the stall and turned out helps a lot with potential shenanigans if you are hiring a braider at the show, many of whom won’t braid for hunter breeding anymore because some of them can be so dangerous about it with no prior exposure.

[Aussie_2020]

I would never have thought a horse could get so violent over braiding but I saw it myself at a dressage show. The mare just about smashed the trainer through the stall wall. They sent a message to the judge that they were unable to braid for their class and it wasn’t a problem. That big mare gave them all the side eye when they were tacking her up. I think one wrong move from the groomer or trainer and she would have blown up!

[4_white_socks]

We’re 2 weeks out from our first line show and have been progressing well, doing lots of work in the ring with other young horses. For those who have done the line show thing before, I’m curious - how did your horses react when they were actually taken off property? Any tips to keep the day as low stress as possible? I’m not entirely sure what to expect!

[vxf111]

Have fun!

My young horse has always been basically the same on and off property, but he also get out A LOT. Some of the young horses are a little lookier off property.

-Get there early so you have plenty of time to get up to the ring and walk/jog in the ring before the class starts. Find out where the judge is going to have you jog and practice jogging there and that direction.
-If you can, bring an extra person/handler in case your horse is jiggy about getting touch up groomed before going into the ring. It’s hard to both groom and hold a moving target at the same time.
-Put the bridle on on the trailer, halter on top of it WITH CHAIN over the nose, and unload like that. Don’t try to put the bridle on with your young horse loose at the show. Walk up to the ring with the halter. Only take it off once you know your horse is settled and is going to be good. My horse is very experienced. Doesn’t matter. We don’t take the halter off until it’s just about time for him to go.
-If you can, park with a decent amount of space around your trailer and/or away from the under saddle horses. Babies can kick and you don’t want to get crowded in if your baby decides to be whiffy about loading and unloading. Also sometimes if babies haven’t seen other horses under saddle yet, that will throw them off a bit (my horse is dead quiet and dead brave but the first time he saw a horse being ridden I though he might fall down from the shock of it all).
-Don’t be shy about telling people to give you space. Babies can be unpredictable.

[MHM]

If you really are unsure of how the youngster will act, you might want to use a lunge line rather than a lead shank at first. It gives you a little more to hang on to, just in case.

If it’s a good enough tactic for the Olympic handlers to use at the jog with those experienced horses, it’s good enough for anyone. Lol.

Good luck!

[Trekkie]

I took my baby with a barn friend to his first off property in hand show when he was two–it gave him confidence and security. Yes to bridle on in the trailer and I used a rope halter over it. I let him chill and graze prior to showing. It was a great experience.