Horse fairs provide many different learning opportunities, such as being introduced to different breeds, like this Gypsy horse. Photo by Betsy Lynch.
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Winter is a good time to condition your tack, give your horse
a vacation, and put up your feet by the fire. But frigid weather and bad footing
don’t mean you can’t improve your horsemanship and horse-management skills
during the non-riding months. Use your downtime to brush up your equine
knowledge, learn new things, or get a head start on next show season. The horse
industry is year-round, at least in heated indoor arenas, so what are you
waiting for?
1. Go To an Expo
Many states host their own equine expos and bring nationally
and internationally known professionals to your local fairgrounds or show
facility—for a very reasonable price. Watch the horse training demos, shop the
vendor booths and tack sales, or sit in on seminars about equine liability, bits
and bitting, and rider psychology.
Even during the winter months, top training talents are doing
symposiums and seminars. Want to see some of the clinicians you’re curious about
demonstrate their own personal brand of horsemanship? Use the Internet to find
out when they are coming to your area and go audit for a modest fee. Better yet,
see if you can ride in a session.
2. Watch a Show
Think you’ve seen it all? Perhaps you have in your discipline
of choice, but why not branch out and explore what other areas of the horse
industry are doing? Go to a specialty breed show, watch a reining competition,
or take in a ranch rodeo. Get on the Internet and find out what else is
happening within a day’s drive of your home.
Big hunter-jumper shows often have a grand prix jumping event
on Saturday nights. The sport is exciting and easy to follow, especially with
friendly folks in the stands ready to explain what they know to newcomers. A
musical freestyle at a higher level dressage competition is breath-taking. And
watching five-gaited Saddlebreds show rack for a cheering audience gets the
blood pumping.
3. Play Ring Crew
Spectating is fun, but being an active participant behind the
scenes is really rewarding. Call the show chair of a competition and ask to
volunteer. With a little coaching, you could ring steward, scribe for the judge,
or assist the announcer. If you want a low-key task, offer to man the gate or
give out awards. Show committees are always short-staffed, and this is a great
way to see a new type of competition from the inside or to make new horse
friends. Be sure to ask about the time commitment and duties up front.
4. Take a Class
Equine science and equestrian programs
have sprung up in
community colleges and universities across
the
country, making continuing
education for the horse owner
both
accessible and affordable. Some schools
streamline the
application
process for non-traditional students and offer night
and weekend
courses. At Rochester Community and Technical
College in Rochester,
Minnesota, the new two-year equine
science program’s enrollment is
nearly 50
percent people who
have day jobs and take a class or two each
semester.
You can learn whatever the college kids do: horse judging,
nutrition, stable management, and even colt starting. Worried
about
making the
grade? Pay your tuition and audit, so you can
focus on
learning instead of
stressing over tests.
5. Sign Up for a Short Course
These accredited offerings are common at larger state
universities. Often cosponsored by the animal science department and the state
extension program, they provide concentrated weekend courses for area horsemen.
At North Carolina State University, short courses span the spectrum from pasture
management and reproduction to horse-protection officers training.
Local and regional extension offices also team up with 4-H
programs, breed associations, veterinarians and local stables to offer seminars,
workshops, and classes during the winter months. Specialty topics like horse and
tack theft prevention, saddle fitting, and equine dentistry are taught by
professionals and allow you to stay abreast of industry trends. Call your area
extension educator and ask what is available for horse owners.
6. Attend a
Judges’ Seminar
Ever wonder what criteria judges use, or how they rank horses
in a halter or performance class? Audit a judges’ seminar and learn how to
evaluate horses in a variety of competitions. Many state horse councils, 4-H
programs, saddle club associations, and breed registries offer annual horse
judging clinics and seminars designed to train and assess the judges they
certify. Many accept spectators, so you can audit inexpensively and learn
alongside the pros. If you have a knack for it, you may consider working toward
a judge’s card yourself.
Most people start with 4-H or open show cards provided by
state horse councils, then work toward regional or nationally recognized cards.
Although some breed association clinics are by invitation only, others are open
to the public. The American Paint Horse Association hosts a learner judges’
school twice each winter, in warm locales, for people who are applying for an
APHA card or just want to understand how Paint Horses are evaluated.
7. Take an Education Vacation
Turn your time-off into time well spent by learning a new
skill on vacation. Ranches in the southwestern states offer cattle-driving
lessons, farrier schools hold short courses in trimming, and top trainers hold
one or two-week clinics at their home facilities. Many even provide horses.
Companies that specialize in riding vacations can outfit you
for the week of your dreams, horse, tack, and care included. If you just want to
unwind, try trail riding in southern California or Arizona. Planning a family
vacation around a major equestrian event is another good way to get your horse
fix. Go see the Denver Stock Show, attend Equine Affaire, or spectate at the
spectacular Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.
8. Mentor Horsy Youth
Are you brimming with good information and looking for a way
to share it? Invest in the education of our future horse trainers, breeders and
instructors by volunteering with Pony Club, 4-H, FFA, or a youth breed
association. Their horse judging, hippology, and horse bowl teams need coaches.
Kids’ clubs also look for clinicians to coach riders, helping hands for
competitions and contests, and adult program leadership. The best way to find
out if you understand an idea is to try to explain it to someone else.
Winter only lasts a few months in many parts of the country, so what are you waiting
for? Get moving and make your downtime count. Your horse will thank
you, but
most of all, you’ll thank yourself.
Stumble It!
