Your First Hunter Show- Turn Out

  Hello, all! Today, I'm going to make a quickie list of things you will want for turn out in a Hunter show- mind you, this is only your horse's requirements. I'll make up a human checklist later.
  For the greys:
-Quicksilver
This stuff is amazing. I've helped a girl show her grey pony before, and we go through this stuff like there's no tomorrow- it gets her so white (that didn't sound racist!). Also, Wonder Blue works well too- I used it on my snowflake pattern Appy's white areas, and it really made her spots stand out
-Baby powder
This is great for final touch-ups on their legs. As you well know, horses with any kind of white on their legs are notorious for getting stains. If you don't want to clip their legs to get the staining off, baby powder or corn starch work wonders. Just pour some in your hands, and rub it in all over the white. You will want to rub it in well, and walk or trot the horse some- few things are more embarrassing than having your horse leave a white trail across the arena!
-White chalk
After you braid (if you braid, you may choose to just leave the sides of the tail clipped), you can take the body and end of the tail in one hand, and rub the chalk all through it. It gives it a nice, even white color. 
-Hoof polish
I've never been a fan of black hoof polish on greys, just because I think it looks unnatural, but if you can put it on well, without getting any on the hair, it can look nice. I would recommend sticking with clear if your horse has light hooves, though, or if you have a hard time keeping the polish away from the hair.
For the bays, chestnuts, blacks, etc:
-Purple Power
This stuff is incredible for darker horses. It brings out the colors of the coat better than any other shampoo I've tried. It's a wee bit pricier, but the shine lasts for days after, and it intensifies the coat color insanely well.
-Baby powder
Same as above, use it on any white markings on the legs. You can put some on the face too, just to brighten up any snips, stars, whatever- just keep away from the eyes!
-Hoof polish
With horses lacking leg markings, you can usually get away with black polish. If they have white or pinkish hooves, leave them clear. 
 In regards to braiding:
If you're at a rated, braid it, if you're not, pull it, if it's a Halflinger, Arab, or other typically long haired breed, leave it be, or do a running braid. For a rated, you will pull your horse's mane, and do hunter braids, like:

If you're not showing rated, you can opt to braid, but it won't cost you a placing if you don't. I always do, just because it looks more professional, and gives me something to do while I'm waiting, but this is perfectly acceptable (usually about 4 inches long, though- this is rather short):

If you have a long maned breed, you can choose to do a running braid, like this:

(Why did I end up using all greys? Odd.)As for tails, never braid the tail unless you braid the mane. Usually you only see braided tails at "A" or above rated shows (not really "on trend" at the moment), but again, if you braid the mane, you can braid the tail at any level. You can also opt to pull the hairs on either side of the dock, to give the same effect (the whole point of braiding the tail is to show off the horse's hind quarters)

  Knowing how to properly turn your horse out holds extreme importance in the Hunter world. Attached are some superb links about preparing, braiding, etc:
Tail braiding:
http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/horse-tail-braiding.aspx
Mane:
Pulling-
http://www.newrider.com/Library/Horse_Care/pulling_a_mane.html
http://www.alphahorse.com/how-to-pull-a-mane.html
Hunter braids-
http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/horse-mane-braiding.aspx
http://www.hunterjumperconnection.com/how-to-braid-a-horse.html
Running braids-
http://equestrianhow2.com/2009/12/09/how-to-braid-a-horses-mane-with-a-spanish-braid/
http://www.exhibitorlabs.com/article_02c.cfm
Other sites:
http://showringready.blogspot.com/

Event Horse Critique

  When you're looking for an event horse, what do you look for? What are the lines supposed to be, and the proportions? Well, I've drawn up a visual using Logan, her faults and good attributes, and how they relate to eventing.

 

   So, to start at the top, you can see that she has a bit of a dip in her back, which is rather long in comparison to her underline. This has resolved itself as she's gotten older (this pic is as a 2 year old, I believe), but in a fully matured horse this may be a weak point in their conformation, leading to back issues down the road. Ideally, the line from croup to withers should be shorter than the underline.
  Moving to her shoulder, she has a really lovely sloping shoulder. This will help her get more reach in extension work, along with jumping. You can almost think of the shoulder as a wall- the leg cannot extend further than the shoulder will allow. If that line is very steep, you can picture a brick wall impeding the outward reach of the forelegs, whereas the more slope you have to that line will allow for more ground covering strides, and neater jumping form.
  Proportion-wise, she has a very good length of neck. Ideally, the underline of the neck should be about the length of the head (poll to nose). This allows the horse to get more power when moving forward in jumping, and just helps to keep the body balanced. Also, there needs to be enough substance in the neck. If you have a thin Arab neck on a big Warmblood or Draft Cross (like a lot of people are getting with the American Warmbloods), and a huge head at the end of it, you're not going to have a very good mover, they'll have a hard time getting on the bit, and won't have as much front-end power. On the other end of the spectrum, if you've got a bullnecked horse, they won't be able to tuck their head at all without having breathing issues (due to the fat at the throatlatch), and they also won't be able to flex to either side.
    Both her back and front legs are quite straight, as you can tell from the plumb line going from the point of the buttock, through the hock and cannon, and down to the heel of the hoof in the back legs, and the line all the way down the back of the legs in the front. She could use more muscling in her gaskin and hind quarters, but the basic skeletal outline is there.
    The pasterns are a good length and 45 degree slope, which will help to add the strength and stability she needs for jumping. She has incredibly wide pasterns too, to help spread out the shock. If you look at many Thoroughbreds bred for racing today, you can see that they have overly thin, long bones due to race breeding. With time and hard work, these bones will break down considerably faster than, say, a Quarter Horse's, due to the width and density. 
   Overall, with more muscling, she has very nice conformation. As she's gotten older her back has lifted, she's gotten more proportionate, and gotten a more feminine look. All horses have deviations, some in higher degrees than others, but loads of horses that have a bit of a cowhock, sprung knees, etc, do just fine in lower-level eventing. Conformation isn't everything, and the horse's personality has an enormous part in it, but in looking for a good competition horse, the way the horse is put together can be the difference between last place and first.
For more reference, some excellent conformation websites are:
 http://www.jwequine.com/pdf/Conformation-Eventer.pdf
http://www.jwequine.com/pdf/conformation101-dressage.pdf
http://eventing-draft.blogspot.com/2008/06/drafts-as-sport-horses.html
And more that I can't think of right now...

Introduction

  Well, I suppose I should introduce myself and my horses. I am a homeschooled student living somewhere in North America. In summertime I volunteer at the local animal shelter, and will be getting a job at a Hanoverian ranch as an exercise rider. I do freelance graphic design and write novella for fun. I am enthralled by anything horse related and plan on getting a career as an equine specialist once I'm out of school. I am a junior leader in our 4-H club and work with greenies on a regular basis.
  On a more interesting note, my horses are:
Spirit:
My geriatric case American Saddlebred, Spirit is a 15 year old gelding and is the sweetest thing you can imagine. He stands just at 16.3 and, belying the stereotypical ASB high carriage and hot temperament, he was a calm and cool mount for Eventing, until he developed Wobbles, along with some hereditary leg issues. He still plods around the farm and eats a lot, and I plan on using him as a hippotherapy horse at the nearby therapy ranch- just for grooming and such, no riding.
Commander:
Our 10 year old Quarter Horse, Commander, will be going to his new home soon. He stands at about 14.3 (or a bit shorter), and is a lovely dun. However, he just is not cut out for Eventing, and is going to a wonderful home nearby where he can be a trail and parade horse soon.
Milly:
Commander's half sister, Milly is 11 and a very bright chestnut. Unbroken (both her and Commander were rescue horses), she can be rather hot, but she has a very willing temperament. She will either be sold, or trained (probably by me) as a Dressage mount for my mother. She stands around 15 hands.
Bandit:
The old man of the group, Bandit is about 34, give or take a few years. He is a 15.3 hand palomino Quarter Horse, trained for Reining. Currently unsafe to be ridden (rather unstable), he still trots around the place happily and bosses around the other horses.
Sugar:
My old Appy Sporthorse, Sugar is the 30 year old 16.1 hand Appaloosa cross that I learned to ride on. We don't have any information on her linage, but she's built like a Warmblood, with Appy breed traits. She's still sound to give lessons on, and I will be using her as a lesson pony this year for a friend.
Logan:
The newest addition to the group, Limited Edition RS, or Logan for short, is my pride and joy. She is a 4 (coming on 5 this October- weird birthday, eh?) year old Trakehner mare, started in Dressage and bred for Eventing. Her sire is Kobra von C, Moorlands Totilas's half brother. She stands about 17.1+ hands, and has the most uphill, springy conformation you can imagine. She has a stabilized bone chip outside and below her hind hock that has never given her any issues in the past, so we are praying that it stays that way, as the vet thinks it will. She has an incredibly workmanlike attitude, and loves figuring things out.
Pictures coming soon!

Hello,

 and welcome to my blog! I will be documenting my 4 year old Trakehner mare, Logan, as she continues to be trained, with the goal of becoming a competitive event horse. I will post turn out tutorials, tips, basic horse showing information, training, and, best of all, random equine photos.