Heavyweight training
Advice on how to get the best from a heavier breed
IT’S NOT OFTEN that you witness a Clydesdale in the dressage arena, but it can happen. Gharson, a 12-year-old gelding belonging to Hampshire-based Nicola Read, is inspiring the owners of heavy breeds and cob-types everywhere with the good marks he earns between the white boards.
“You wouldn’t expect such a heavy horse to have a natural aptitude for a discipline that requires lightness, impulsion, balance and cadence, but he has certain conformation traits that actually help him,” says Nicola.
“It was clear from the start that he had a natural talent under saddle and so the decision was made to cut his logging career short and focus on ridden work. He is one of the kindest, most generous and most talented horses I’ve ever ridden.”
Assets to utilise
Gharsun is 18hh and weighs 900kg. This means there are conformational assets and drawbacks that Nicola has to work with — as there are with any horse.
“Draught breeds tend to be shorter in the back, which helps them to sit up and carry themselves. Having a powerful back end also gives them that extra strength they need to lift and lighten the front end.
“They tend to be quite close behind, and in my experience, this gives them a huge advantage when it comes to lateral work.”
Nicola asks for a lot of shoulder-in when she is riding to encourage lift in front.
“Gharsun has a great over-track in walk and a naturally rhythmic trot. He always achieves good scores for all his paces,” she explains. “He is very light in the hand and pushes well from behind, so his collective marks are usually very good too — as long as my riding doesn’t let him down.”
Working on suppleness
Suppleness in such a large horse is something that requires time, patience and clever schooling in order to improve it (see box, p46).
“Suppleness is essential for coping with smaller circles and serpentines in novice tests,” says Nicola. “A horse of
Gharsun’s size has considerably less room to move in a dressage arena compared to other horses, due to his overall size and length of stride.
“When we are competing, where some horses may have four strides between a quick succession of movements, Gharsun has only two. For smaller circles he not only finds the suppleness more difficult, but also balance and strength to cope with the tighter turn.”
Regular transitions ensure Gharsun is paying attention and listening to his rider’s leg. They also engage his hindquarters.
“He has a great walk to canter, which is eye-catching in such a big horse,” adds Nicola.
“He used to struggle with lengthening his stride due to his breed type, as he had a tendency to lift his knees higher rather than extend the leg, so it took a while to teach him medium trot.
“I found that doing lots of pole work really helped teach him how to lengthen and shorten his stride, while also maintaining lift through the shoulder.”
Drawbacks
Clydesdales typically don’t find canter easy, due to their build and the closeness of the back legs.
“This can cause them to tilt. It’s a little bit like a reverse trike, with one wheel at the back and two in front. I have to encourage Gharsun to part the back legs to improve his balance and engagement in canter.”
To address the issue, Nicola uses travers and walk pirouettes.
“Doing this followed by a quick canter transition helps with balance and, over time, strengthens the quality of the pace, enabling the horse to cope with corners and have better balance on a circle.”
Every horse is an individual and it’s important to work with that. Nicola adds that Gharsun has a “stubborn streak” that means he goes less well for other riders.
“It feels like the ‘handbrake’ is on,” she says. “This has been challenging when competing in ridden showing classes because he is not as free and easy for the judges to ride compared to how he goes for me.
“That’s why our focus is dressage, where Gharsun is much happier because it is just him and me.”
Small spaces
The height and length of a heavy horse such as Gharsun makes working in a tight arena very hard work.
“Keep schooling sessions short and their frequency to a minimum,” advises Nicola. “I am mindful that because he is much bigger than your typical dressage horse, he will be far more prone to injury.
“It becomes even more important to listen to your horse and ease off if you feel they are starting to show signs of discomfort or struggling with the level of work.”
For similar reasons, Nicola doesn’t jump Gharsun.
“I don’t jump him at all because I think it would put too much load on the front legs when he lands after a fence.”
Gharsun does lateral work when he’s hacking, making the most of long straight lines, which means his movements aren’t interrupted by regular corners. He also has more room to practise lengthening his stride and the change of scenery keeps him interested in his work. He schools in an arena twice a week.
“Draught breeds tend to be shorter in the back, which really helps them to sit up and carry themselves”
“You will frequently find us cantering bareback round the fields in the summer too,” adds Nicola. “It works on my core strength and Gharsun seems to find it more fun without a saddle.”
Looking ahead
Nicola says she wouldn’t hesitate to have another heavy horse to compete in dressage. In fact, she purchased a yearling Clydesdale colt last year who will be aimed at showing and dressage.
“I don’t think these horses should be dismissed as ‘just a cart horse’, which I do hear people say,” she states.
“Clydesdales have the physical and mental ability to compete in many spheres, you just need to be prepared to take extra time in the training process and allow much longer for them to grow and develop, to reduce the risk of injury.
“I have really enjoyed the process of training in a different way and thinking outside the box.”
Nicola adds that the challenges posed by Gharsun’s size have been the most rewarding in the end.
“I think it’s important that enthusiasts such as myself promote the breed to try and ensure their longevity. The modern world may have less need for them as work horses, but they have so much to give in other disciplines and it would be a real shame to see them decline in numbers even more.”
■ Clydesdales are listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as vulnerable, with between 500 and 900 registered breeding mares producing purebred Clydesdales in the UK.