Halter person thinking of venturing into showmanship as well?

janda · 10-14-2008, 01:15 PM

I do halter only right now. I can no longer ride much because of a back issue. I am thinking of getting a showmanship horse and doing showmanship either in APHA or AQHA. I have NEVER done it before but I have watched lots of classes. Is it hard to master? Would it be better to find a horse already trained in it? What do judges look for? Does the horse need to be eye appealing?

Any info would be helpful!

DressageGirl16 · 10-14-2008, 01:33 PM

I have done showmanship with my horse, and it can be hard to get them to do the moves such as a haunch turn and forehand turn.
The main thing in showmanship is that it is different from halter, halter (as you probably know) is based on the horse alone. in showmanship, it is based on the way that the horse executes the moves, and how you handle the horse and how smoothly you and the horse handle and execute the set of moves.
When I bought my horse, I was told that he had already had some showmanship experience, so yes you can buy horses that know showmanship.
GOOD LUCK!

PinkHorse · 10-14-2008, 02:27 PM

It's pretty easy to get the basics of showmanship down. Pretty much any horse and handler can learn the "tricks" inside a month.

That being said, if you want to do well, showmanship is also one of the most technical classes available. There are so many details to work on that you are always learning and always trying to put together a better pattern - more precision, more flow, cleaner choreography. All that work can be incredibly frustrating until everything comes together and then it is unbelievably rewarding.

If you're serious about wanting to learn the class, find a trainer close to you who has clients doing well in it. When I first got serious about it, I was lucky enough to have a trainer with access to a multiple Congress Top 10 gelding that I could learn with. That horse taught me tons about what was possible and motivated me to work harder with my mare.

10-14-2008, 01:15 PM	#1
janda Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 688 Images: 182	Halter person thinking of venturing into showmanship as well? I do halter only right now. I can no longer ride much because of a back issue. I am thinking of getting a showmanship horse and doing showmanship either in APHA or AQHA. I have NEVER done it before but I have watched lots of classes. Is it hard to master? Would it be better to find a horse already trained in it? What do judges look for? Does the horse need to be eye appealing? Any info would be helpful! __________________ Have you heard that it was good to gain the day? I also say it is good to fall, battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.-Whitman

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10-14-2008, 01:33 PM	#2
DressageGirl16 Full Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Oregon Posts: 120 Images: 9	I have done showmanship with my horse, and it can be hard to get them to do the moves such as a haunch turn and forehand turn. The main thing in showmanship is that it is different from halter, halter (as you probably know) is based on the horse alone. in showmanship, it is based on the way that the horse executes the moves, and how you handle the horse and how smoothly you and the horse handle and execute the set of moves. When I bought my horse, I was told that he had already had some showmanship experience, so yes you can buy horses that know showmanship. GOOD LUCK!

10-14-2008, 02:27 PM	#3
PinkHorse Full Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: My Desk Posts: 190 Images: 9	It's pretty easy to get the basics of showmanship down. Pretty much any horse and handler can learn the "tricks" inside a month. That being said, if you want to do well, showmanship is also one of the most technical classes available. There are so many details to work on that you are always learning and always trying to put together a better pattern - more precision, more flow, cleaner choreography. All that work can be incredibly frustrating until everything comes together and then it is unbelievably rewarding. If you're serious about wanting to learn the class, find a trainer close to you who has clients doing well in it. When I first got serious about it, I was lucky enough to have a trainer with access to a multiple Congress Top 10 gelding that I could learn with. That horse taught me tons about what was possible and motivated me to work harder with my mare.