Bridgette van Sprang

Having the right team of people around you for your riding journey is important. Especially for those who are starting out in their competition journey as beginners or novice riders. Find the right team of people around you for a successful journey.

Having a good warmup before riding in the competition arena is the key aspect to having a successful ride. In this podcast I outline what you can do to improve your warmup and maintain confidence.

Preparing your horse for a successful ride comes from a great warmup. Walking the horse longer in your warmup walking the horse more in your workout and walking the horse more and their cool down is a key aspect for successful performance sound and happy Horse.

Looking me on confirmation of a horse is looking at the personality of the horse. Does the horses personality suit you have you asked yourself the right questions before buying or purchasing this horse.

Often riders feel self-conscious when they want to ask a question about the aid that they meant to be doing or the position of the riding. This podcast goes through and explains how are you can ask the coach the question and it goes through the how what and why.

Establishing the basics depending on the type of horse can be done through ground work or riding. The basics need to be re-visited often so that you build a strong foundation of when you ride and train. Getting the horse through and straight, asking for simple transitions and developing a better connection well enhance your next ride for when you ask for movements.

Communication between you and your horse is the key to a successful ride. What are you Trailride or compete at a high-level communication between you and your horse must be clear and understanding on both parties. Finding the right methods and horsemanship training that suit you and your horse can accelerate your journey to a happier successful competition career.

There are many different products on the market for boots and bandages for the horses. It’s important to know when and what to use. This podcast talks about when I use boots or bandages and the reasons behind my choices. I give my reasons based off my two dressage horses and the protection of their legs

There are many benefits of thoroughly brushing your horse not only do you make them clean and ready for your ride. But also you were going over their body to check for any cuts nicks, swellings and increases circulation for better performance when you write them. Lastly and importantly one of the main reasons why I thoroughly grew my horses as it build a relationship of the mutual grooming between me and my horse

In this podcast I discuss some of the reasons why your horse can shy. During training practising tests and out at the competition. I give reasons and some tips to help you get a better result from your training, test practice and competition

A great trainer once said to me ride the horse that you have on the day what this translates to is you need to make the assessment of your horse whether they feel tired energetic or more subtle than the day before this greatly affects the workout. Your horse is always communicating with you as a writer you need to make the choice of went to push them and when to stop when is best to start something new and when is best to go back to the basics. Always aim towards the horse being happy calm and willing in the workout

Often people get a mixed idea between what feels fast and what feels forward 90% of riders ride a horse fast and not forward. The feeling of Ford is the horse taking you or carrying you within the gait. The feeling of fuss is the horse running often fore hand. In the next episode I’ll be giving you exercises to stop the horse from running and start being more forward in front of the leg.

There are many benefits of cross training your horse. If you do pole work or jumping the crosstraining of your horse build strength stamina and endurance. If you cross train your horse by hacking them out it helps them relax the mind, especially if you have a hot or nervous horse. The idea of cross training your horse is to keep the horse mentally sound and not sour in their work, a happy horse is a horse that you can educate it also keeps the rider confident and the relationship built is on trust

Girth’s are an important part of tack. They can help or hinder your ride. There is an abundance of different gifts on the market and knowing which one suits your horse is often a question you need to ask your saddle fitter. It’s always good to do a bit of research on the good that you currently have and ask yourself is your horse comfortable with it? In this podcast I talk about exploring different girths to make the horse more comfortable whether it is to allow more freedom of the gate or are they sensitive been girthed up. I talk about the use of fluffy girth covers and why I’m using it on a particular horse.

When educating your horse a time frame is never something you should take into consideration some training sessions take 10 minutes some take longer and even up to an hour. When educating your horse never try and think of the insurance or getting the horse fitter always try and think of the productivity that you’re doing with your horse and the quality of your ride. There many different ways to get your horse fitter try and keep the arena only to education. Knowing when to stop the ride is one of the most important things you need to address when building a relationship up with your horse

It’s important to understand your horses personality so that you can educate them correctly and effectively. When riders feel like they’re blocked against the horse it’s often a communication breakdown when you can work with a Horses personality this is less likely to happen because your communication to the horse is quite clear. Personality traits also comes from braids certain breeds will have certain personality traits understand your horses bread and you make a better insight into your horses personality and the reason why the horse reacts in such a way, for example, I thoroughbred is more sensitive to the aid because it has a higher, more sensitive flight response. Therefore the rider should be able to understand that they are more sensitive to the aid and when worried they tend to run away from the question of the riders asked. Why did you try and understand the personalities of the horse so that they can effectively work with them and progress on their journey

In this series series 3 I’ll be addressing issues that come up his challenges as we ride train and coach. In this episode I talk about me reevaluating a horse but I’ve spent time away from and deciding to restart her so that my journey with this young mare is a happier clearer and more successful one. Follow me from the start of the journey right through to her first competition back

The 20 meter circle is the most common use exercise in a basic dressage test. The judge is looking for your rhythm and accuracy in this podcast we talk about the accuracy only and how you should be demonstrating the circle and where the tangent points are. In this podcast it explains where the circle is most commonly conducted in a dressage test also giving an exercise for the listener to take home and practice themselves

It’s important to check your saddle fit regularly. Horses often change shape in the different seasons and how much work they are currently in. Checking the saddle is important for optimum riding. Always ensure the freedom comfort of the horse for any item of gear that you have fitted to the horse regardless of the amount of time you’ve been using it for. Because we work with mainly leather we have to be conscious that leather does stretch overtime. When you clean your saddle it’s a good chance for you to look at any marks that could be contributing to the quality of your ride. When possible always seek guidance from your saddle fitter. A suggestion from Bridgette van Sprang from Sutherland horses is to get a saddle fitter out at least once a year.

Checking the bridle of the horse before you ride is an important start to your session. And ill fitting bridal can affect the horses mood, contact and suppleness. As most bottles are made out of leather over time it does eventually stretch. Make sure you always check the bit fitting and how the headpiece sits behind the horses is. A good way to remind yourself to fit your bridal is every time after you clean your bridal when you refit it to the horse always check the holes have no cracks, the bridle is safe and well fitting for you to start your ride