The Horse, he's/ she's very important and has a vital role - to walk, trot, canter or gallop the length of the track! But: -

*  What type of horse? 

*  Get them to except that Bow?

*  What do we do to train them for that track?

 What Horse Can We Use?

Any horse can be used for Horseback Archery! Horses of many different breeds, heights and abilities are involved and used for Horseback Archery.

People's horses rang from Arabs, Heavy Cobs, Shire X, Morgan X, TB, Irish Draught, Andalusian, the humble Native Pony such as Welsh Cob, New Forest X and Dartmoor we even have a Warmblood trying his hooves at it.

Heights vary from rider to rider, ideally a good 15.2h or there about is good and easier for the rider; because of the height of the target, but, small ponies for children or smaller adults of 12.2h - 14.3hh can equally enjoy Horseback Archery, just the same as riders with 16.2h - 17h horses.

The ability of your horse is not an issue, this is not Dressage or Show jumping, your horse does not need to be trained to a very high level of performance for this sport.

The most important aspect of a Archery Horse is his TEMPERMENT!

Your horses cannot be very spooky, flighty, jumpy, nappy or nervous.

Get them to except that Bow?

Many horses accept the bow by their head and neck,

*  A bow never need be any closer than 20inch to the horses face.

*  A moving object or a swing arm next to his neck and face when on the ground and mounted. Often moving a long object next to their side can help with this.  

*  Try getting the bow or a long object by his neck and head; they seem to get along with it very well, a slow introduction is the key. A small branch, jumping stick or a plastic pipe for example is a great alternative if you haven't got a bow at hand. 

*  The slight noise of a twanging string and ping of the arrow. This can be done by snapping your fingers or something similar.

  

The rider should be very confident with the bow and arrow in their hands and be used to archery on the ground before attempting to mount their horse.

What do we do to train them for that track?

Firstly, they must except to following inside a school/ arena safe enclosure: -

*  A rider moving on his back, twisting backward and to the side at halt, walk and then trot and canter. The excises for this are similar to lunge lessons that BHS riding schools practise.

*  And most of all, a horse that can canter along a track with no reins ( although this sounds unachievable its surprising just how many horses get to learn very quickly were to go and when to stop)

    

Most horses will; with the right introductions accept, very willingly, all of the above.

Once again we advise the use of a school/arena or enclosure for this training.

Once the horse is calm and listening you can practise cantering along the length of the arena with a very light contact on the rein, bringing them to trot or walk through a simple voice commanded similar to when the horse is being lunged.

Because of the nature of the sport the horse must be obedient and canter with no reins along the track but for some horses a slight hold on the reins is required when shooting has finished and the end of the track is near. Although NO stipulation has been enforced on the type of bits used, we refrain from using harsh and harmful bits.

This is a very good download for teaching your horse Horseback Archery click this link

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