What do you do to your Halter horse to get it ready to show

[minimomNC]

This is my now sr stallion as a yearling, RHA Mercury Rising. He was 2009 AMHA World Champion Am Jr stallion Level 1 30 & under and 2010 AMHR National Champion 2 year old stallion 31 & under. He was top ten in Model stallions and amateur jr stallions at the 2010 AMHR Nationals.

This is a now sr mare over, Unos Carlina Showgirl of LTF, at the 2010 AMHR Nationals where she was Res Champion Youth mare 7 & under, Res Champion 2 Year old mare 35 - 37 and Res Champion solid color mare over, she was also 5th in a huge amateur jr mare over class.

We didn't sweat necks to much because both horses have great necks. Again, I am very proud of our horses and especially of my daughter who does all of our fitting and showing. We did ask two different trainers to show our horses in open at Nationals but that was because we wanted them to have every chance possible against other trainers. So a huge thanks to James Walsh of RHA Training for getting the National Title on Mercury and to Emily Conder of Nirvana Training for getting the Res Open Title on Caroline. Samantha showed them in all other classes except of course youth and that cute little child is Donna and Buster Gough's grand daughter, Colbie.

 

[chandab]

Thanks for the reply, Karen. I was just curious how much beet pulp as opposed to water they are getting.

I feed anywhere from 2 ozs to 4 ozs dry shred weight per horse depending on the size of horse (34" & under). Curious as to how much beet pulp others were actually feeding.

I'm not feeding it to fit a show horse, I mostly use beet pulp to help with hydration in winter. My B-size minis get 1 cup dry measure (about 1/3#) beet pulp pellets, then soaked it comes to almost 4 cups each. My A stallion gets about 1/2 that. [i haven't actually measured individually dry in awhile. I take a 3-quart scoop plus 1 cup of pellets, put it in a 3 gallon bucket and add water til about 3/4 full. Ok, so that is what I was doing til about 3 days ago, when I noticed two girls were looking a little thin, so now I divide my daily beet pulp into two buckets. The main group gets a scoop less 2 cups, then soaked (they each still get 4 cups soaked). The two girls plus the A-stallion, get 3.5 cups beet pulp plus 2 cups timothy pellets and 1/2 cup alfalfa pellets, mixed then soaked; the stallion gets 4 cups soaked, the mares gets 6 cups each soaked (the one mare already seems to be showing signs of filling out with the extra).]

 

[LAminiatures]

I will feed 2 cups soaked beet pulp along with grain. I adjust the feed as to how much work and how they are looking. I jog with my horses threw the woods on trails and dirt roads close by. People point and laugh but I really enjoy running with my horses and they do too. I will set up jumps and tie those white shopping bags to some trees ect. Kind of keep it interesting for them and at the same time expose them to as much as possible because you never know what you will come across at a show.

Enjoy you will have a blast!

 

[Raine Ranch Minis]

Thank You EVERYONE who responded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have helped sooooooo much!

 

[ruffian]

I don't actually have a reply; I have an additional question because I think the answer can depend on the part of the country you live in and what your accomadations are. Ok, I live in northern Illinois (Brrrr!) :shockedand I have no indoor and no arena and no round pen (ouch!)

. I know some of you know where I'm coming from! I not a novice; just facility handicapped (LOL!)!:OKinterestingWhat do those of you in this type of situation do to start spring conditioning, etc.?

A lunge line works great when you don't have a round pen. I used one for years and still use one occasionally when it's too wet where I want to free lunge. I will be using one early spring to start working horses in the barn where I don't currently have a round pen. I'm in Michigan, and we only have the 2 seasons - winter and construction - so we have to do what we can with what we have.