Competing during the winter season

Winter is obviously a great time for established show horses to have a rest after a busy season and it’s also a great opportunity to give younger horses and ponies a few outings to give them some experience. Continuing to work through the winter months may also give you a head start against your competition when spring shows arrive!

Just because it’s the winter season, it doesn’t mean you can take your eye off the ball and if you have had problems during the busy summer season, winter can be the time to get them sorted out. This may be in presentation or it may be showmanship or producing the perfect show – winter is the time to practice, practice, practice!

Lots of Home Producers talk about how hard it is to compete against the Professional Producers. When it comes down to it, the Producers do the job 24/7, so it’s often about time, practice and experience and Home Producers often don’t have as much time to do this. Bear this in mind and plan your training regime so that you utilise the winter months to perfect your skills and develop your experience. The Producers aren’t successful because they pull a pony out of a field a week before a big show, they are working through the winter months and have a plan in place for each animal on their yard – try to do the same thing and really plan your ‘campaign.’

Looking after a show horse during the colder season is not necessarily a difficult task, but it is harder work than in the summer months and being organised and having a routine is very important. It's actually more difficult this year, we think, because the weather has been so unsettled and at the moment it almost feels like spring has sprung - but we are always asking ourselves will it be better weather or worse next week? That's the conundrum!

We’ve put together the following guidelines to help you…...

Coat Care

If you are showing throughout the winter or want to be prepared for early qualifiers, make sure your horse is well rugged up throughout the colder months. This is absolutely essential if you want to get a head start on the season with the coat looking and feeling healthy. The importance of this cannot be underestimated, careful rugging will reap benefits when it comes to ‘show time.’

If you are having a short break, in order for your horse or pony to be looking great for those early qualifiers, you will need to clip in plenty of time for the coat to come through. You will know how the coat grows and at what speed, so plan your clipping regime bearing this in mind balanced against the dates of your first shows or events.

A few minutes additional vigorous grooming each week can reap rewards during the winter months and, once again, it can give you a head start when it comes to those early classes! Brushing the coat with a medium body brush gets the juices flowing – both for you and your horse or pony – as it stimulates the blood circulation and produces natural oils in the coat which will give a healthy appearance.

Preserving the Mane and Tail

Rug Rubs are really unsightly and take ages to put right, especially if there is a really obvious section of the mane that has rubbed out! My personal preference is to avoid rugs with neck covers as we get loads of enquiries about what products to use to restore manes after they have been damaged where they have been rubbed by neck covers. Neck covers are a relatively new addition to the wardrobe and, in my experience, often can cause rubbing and damage to the mane.

There are a couple of products that I highly recommend for use during the winter months to help protect and preserve the mane and tail.

Detangle and Shine

The first is Detangle and Shine. If you are turning out, this is a product that can prevent the mane and tail from getting too knotty and also acts as a barrier and reduces the amount of mud sticking to the hair which can subsequently cause problems. A quick spritz of Detangle and Shine 2 – 3 times a week, then a run through the hair with your fingers can be really beneficial to prevent tangling and will help preserve the hair as well as be an aid to grooming.

Moisturise and Condition

The second product is Moisturise and Condition. This is a great product all through the year but is particularly beneficial in the winter months when the hair can become dry and brittle in the cold and damp air. Once again, use this product a couple of times a week as a leave-on conditioner and run your fingers through the hair once sprayed on. You will start to see and feel the benefits of this product very quickly. It can also be used on feather or on rubbed sections of the coat if you have any.

Damaged Manes and Tails

Mane and Tail Builder

We receive lots of calls in to the office about damaged manes and tails – anything from a large section of mane being lost due to rubbing from neck covers to tails being eaten by goats! One of our most popular products is Mane and Tail Builder which is from the Heritage Collection. The Heritage Collection was launched for Natives and Traditionals, but this is a product that can be used on all hair types. Mane and Tail Builder helps to promote hair growth and has proved very popular and very effective.

Mane and Tail Builder can be used on rug rubs, problem skin and damaged sections of the mane, tail and coat. It is a leave-on product and should be used daily for the first 4 – 7 days then can be used every 2 – 3 days after that. Massage the oil on to the skin / hair follicle, work it in to the skin and leave it on.

Mane and Tail Builder smells quite ‘woodsmokey.’ It is quite a strong fragrance and some people love it, whilst others don’t – but it does work really well! You should start to see the benefits of this product within a couple of weeks and if you need to accelerate growth you can use it daily.

Bathing

Stain Remover Spray

Bathing can be a problem throughout the winter months. Unfortunately, we don’t all have the luxury of a portable hot shower, so if you need to shampoo, this should be planned for a warm(ish) dry day where you can get your horse thoroughly dried off before stabling.

Instead of giving a full bath, you could also consider giving ‘spot baths’ to problem areas or to using Stain Remover Spray to specific areas. If you need to wash socks or feathers, make sure you really dry off the legs thoroughly and even use a hair dryer if you have the facilities to do so!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us on info@supremeproducts.co.uk as we really enjoy hearing from you. We also love to see your pictures, so please visit our Facebook page and post them on our wall, making sure you tell us all about you and your horse or pony.

Our office number is not just for people wanting to buy products – if you have a question or would like some advice on how best to use our products or what would be the best product to use in certain situations, then please call us on 01377 229050 – we will be happy to help where we can!

Best wishes,

Sarah