Producing your own young horse is tremendously rewarding, and probably the best way of having a horse to compete whose history you know every step of the way, and it is incredibly gratifying when three or four years after your baby horse can hardly work out how to jump a cross pole he can be jumping at international shows.

I usually buy my horses as unbroken three or four year olds in the latter months of the year. I don’t break them myself, I am long past wanting to be the first person up on them, and until recently I have done the horses completely by myself, so I haven’t had enough help on the ground to break them. As I often buy them from their breeders I usually say that I will have them home once they are able to be hacked out safely, as that is how we start their education here. Once the horses are here I would probably give them a quick lunge and then have someone hold the horse while I get on and then go for a quiet hack with an established horse. This way the horse naturally wants to move forward to go with its companion, and will be able to borrow confidence from the more experienced horse to pass any little obstacles on the way. We have lovely hacking in some Forestry Commission just down the road, it’s lovely and quiet and there are a few different loops we can do so that we never actually turn the horses round to face home.

Once the horses are walking and trotting quietly and confidently on a hack we hop them over any little logs, puddles, ditches and banks that we find on the way so that they know that they have to go wherever you ask them to go, and they learn to trust that the things you ask them to do will be safe. I will probably ride them in the school once or twice a week and we introduce them to little jumps about once a week. Keeping everything very small at the beginning means that I am brave enough to make them go and even if they helicopter they still land the other side safely. I am quite firm with them, and they do have to accept the contact with the rein and go forward right from the very beginning. We turn our horses out every day for at least two to three hours. They can have a roll, stretch their necks and have a buck and scamper if they need. It is super important for their minds and bodies. If we have a few breakers at the same time I will sometimes keep them out at night in the summer which makes the biggest difference of all.

Mostly I start the horses in a nathe bit, nosebands are a matter of choice, if they are very quiet in the mouth I’m happy with a cavesson, but I don’t think a comfortably fitted flash, or drop noseband is too draconian, and if they are encouraged not to open their mouths this may well discourage them from putting their tongues over the bit too. I would always use a running martingale: the neckstrap is invaluable, it helps you not to lose your balance and pull on the reins when things don’t go smoothly, and the running martingale itself helps keep the saddle stable, and also to stabilise the reins, keeping everything as quiet and still as possible.

Quietness and consistency are two of the most important tools in doing everything with the young horses. On the ground and when ridden they have to do as they are asked. They have to step back when you come into the stable and respect that you don’t want to be walked all over, they must walk quietly out to the field and back, go quietly in the wash box. We don’t shout at them and we don’t hit them, but you can push them back or away, and speak to them sternly - their mothers and their friends keep them in their place as youngsters, they understand hierarchies, and you need to be at the top of this one. For the same reason if I’m having a bad day, or I’m cross I try really hard not to bring that to the horses. It’s better to go for a hack, or a run first, find your equilibrium again before you bring that tension to your horse.

Once the horses are popping round a few fences at home they are ready to go schooling. I usually go to Felbridge or Pyecombe as they are both so accommodating and let you give them a little lunge in the indoor if they are wild. Make sure you have help, they can be quite amazingly lit up away from home, but they soon tire and calm down. After a few little schooling sessions they are ready for a little training show, and then you’re away, they’ve got their feet firmly on the first rung of the competition ladder. Never worry about doing what you think is a tiny course at the first couple of shows, the young horses are likely to be so distracted that they can hardly remember how to get to the jumps and propel themselves over them, and 90cm can feel like 1.40 on a real baby, so it’s more important that they go round than anything else. If you have a really bad round ask if you can go again, even if you don’t jump the whole course - always try to end on a positive note.

Hurricane Heidi jumping at Hickstead as a 4 year old.

If we have the horses as four year olds I usually take them to a couple of 90 cm classes and then as soon as the weather gets milder and the grass grows I put them in the field for two or three months. They say that if you have a nice four year old you should put him in the field and this is so true. I usually get them back in at the end of June and we start all over again, and they are ready to do three or four more shows in August and September, before they go out again for the whole of October and November. As five year olds they can do a few more shows, but once again I wouldn’t over do it - you want the horse to stay sound and keen on the job for a good long time.

Doonaveeragh Emma at Pyecombe as a Four Year Old

With things like shoeing and clipping we take things very quietly as well. If the horses are very nervous we might give them a little sedative for the farrier, to make everyone’s life easy, and I always hold them to reassure them, and also to make life easier. With clipping I usually observe how they are when I am clipping others in the yard. If they stand at the back of the box I take note of that, but if they are super nosey and don’t mind the noise that’s a great sign. I usually have a go a trimming their beards with the little clippers at some point before I want to clip them, and surprisingly mostly they really don’t mind. Once again if I was worried I would give them a little bit of sedative. Although I like to clip them quietly on my own, I would never clip them if there was nobody around - clipping can be extremely hazardous, I always wear a riding hat as well - it’s not worth dying to get them clipped! With the babies I usually would trace clip them first time - it takes less time, and if they don’t have a cold back they won’t be quite so keen to buck you off. They look perfectly neat and tidy, and they don’t get too hot and sweaty, but it’s not such a massive surprise to them.

Askeaton at her first show at Felbridge as a Five Year Old

Inevitably there are ups and downs with producing young horses. If you get in a muddle just go back a few steps. Horses are very simple creatures and learn by repetition. Even on very good days try to contain your enthusiasm and quit while you’re still ahead. One lesson learned well is a triumph - acknowledge it and praise it and give them time for the knowledge to sink in. There is a very small window of opportunity when teaching young horses, they come out a bit fresh, then they calm down and are sensible enough to learn, and then very suddenly they are too tired to learn. Usually it’s best to quit before they get too tired, and maybe a little bit sore, and then they come to enjoy their lessons and really look forward to their work.

I would also say that if you find you’re not making the progress you would like, always ask for help. Recently I felt I really wasn’t making the best job with Khalissy and have since had help from Duncan Gipson and Brian Cassidy and suddenly I really feel like I’m making progress and that she is quickly turning into my kind of girl.

Obviously my main aim when I’m producing the horses is so that I can compete them. But all my horses do have to be sold, and so I also like them to be as nice for other people to ride as they possibly can be. My greatest help with this was from Jo Marsh-Smith when I was producing ponies for Anna and Sophie to compete, and she was so skillful at teaching this. It’s basically simple, they must respond to the leg and go forward, and they must submit to a light, constant pressure on the reins, and go exactly where you want them to go. Simple, but not always easy to achieve, but I think if you keep these thoughts at the front of your mind they are a good guide to producing the horse you want.

Producing the Young Horse