Piggy March (née French), a top British eventer, is very involved in bringing along young horses, as well as competing the most advanced ones in her program. In a new interview on Noelle Floyd’s Equestrian Voices, she discusses her approach to starting young horses, what she’s looking for, and what her priorities are.
One of the things she likes to do with her youngsters is hacking out in the countryside, so they get used to the terrain, and what the world is like. “It’s important they see as much of life… as possible, in a happy, confident way….”
Piggy tries to give her young horses a variety of experiences – positive and confidence-building ones – so that they “learn to trust us, as humans; I think that is the most important part of young horses developing.”
What should a trainer bring to the training of the young horse?
“It’s having a respect for them, being as fair and as positive as possible. …Young horses make a lot of mistakes. I think it’s mentally getting your head ‘round: there’s no pressure.”
Listen to the podcast here:
