Training tips and riding advice from the top GB rider and trainer Mary King… 

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Horse Riding Tips from Mary King - Image courtesy of Liz Knowler Three good paces are-important

Here we’ve teamed up with British Eventing legend Mary King, for her top training tips and riding advice to help you prepare for the season ahead.

Mary’s 10 Top Tips

  1. Allow plenty of time to warm up and cool down.
  2. Vary training work so horses stay interested and happy.
  3. Be thorough and methodical during schooling sessions, correcting all mistakes, ending on a positive note.
  4. Reward the horse with a pat and/or your voice when he goes correctly so it is obvious to the horse, like black and white, as to what is right and what is wrong.
  5. Work a lot on transitions between the different gaits to keep your horse listening to you.
  6. All horses are easier on one rein. Work more on the stiffer rein.
  7. Think of yourself as a physio, quietly bending and helping the horse become more supple.
  8. Ask for more angle and bend at times – more than you would need in a test – to check the horse is open to more.
  9. Remember to allow your horse to stretch and relax a number of times during a schooling session.
  10. Be happy as a rider – do not school a horse if you are in a bad mood.

Mary understands the importance of good forage and feeds High Fibre HorseHage to her team of event horses.

Said Mary “I find that HorseHage offers many benefits compared to hay or ordinary haylage – it’s dust-free which is vital for maintaining a healthy respiratory tract and preventing conditions such as RAO (Recurrent Airway Obstruction). This is especially important when your horse has to be stabled for extended periods of time, as most of mine are, and essential for any horse or pony that competes”.

For further advice on feeding your horse or pony, please visit www.horsehage.co.uk

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