World of Showjumping
World of ShowjumpingWorld of Showjumping
Menu

Show Trunk Secrets – with Linn Edvardsson

Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Show Trunk Secrets

Photo (c) Nanna Nieminen Olivier Philippaerts' Swedish show groom Linn Edvardsson shares her routines with World of Showjumping. Photo (c) Nanna Nieminen.

In the next part of our Show Trunk Secrets-series, Olivier Philippaerts' Swedish show groom Linn Edvardsson shares her routines – and highlights how important it is to stick to a system: “Don’t cause stress to the horses by changing everything you do at the show; stay in the system your horse knows.”

Travelling

“Normally my horses all travel with four bandages as well as bell boots on the front feet, we have a few horses that don’t like bandages behind so then they just have to travel without them.

I prefer to have more air in the truck, and more blankets on – fresh air is so important for the horses. I have the Horseware fleece blankets with the girths under the belly that I really like to use for the travelling. I prefer fleece blankets that breathe a lot and that are easy to take on and off, in case that is needed when the temperatures change while we travel. Our horses travel in Kentucky Horsewear sheepskin head collars.

I prefer not to give the horses hay when we travel, because the hay easily makes the air in the truck really bad. But this depends on when and where we are going. For example, if we have a boat connection, I like to give them hay while they are on the boat so that they have something to do. I also feed them mash and carrots when we travel to keep them hydrated.

For flying, they have the same protection as when driving. I try to keep the system the same, and not change too much. The first thing I put in the flight bag is loads of carrots!

When I drive myself, it is loud music and lots of coffee that keeps me going – and many phone calls. The first thing I do when I arrive at a show is looking at how the boxes are situated – if I have a stallion with I need to make sure everyone stays safe. I put the bedding in the boxes before I unload the horses, then when the horses are in their boxes I give them hay and water.”

Ring refinement and tack

“For the ring, the stallions are always plaited. Horses that get stressed easily I prefer not to plait on the first days if they are only doing training rounds – this way the whole experience gets a bit more relaxed for them. If I have time I love to plait, but I don’t want to stress the horses. I like to give them their own time, so if the schedule is really tight I prioritize with giving them more time alone and leaving the mane open.

As to our tack, all our bridles, breastplates and saddles are from CWD. Most of our horses have their own saddle and bridle made to fit them perfectly. CWD has great quality on their leather which makes it's easy for me to keep it clean and shiny, and their stuff lasts for a lifetime without breaking.

All our horses wear saddle pads, fly hats and blankets with our sponsor H&M on them – I like the look, and it is complete with the cool jackets from H&M that Olivier wears! 

As to the boots we use the ones from Kentucky Horsewear.”

Feeding and keeping fit

“At home the horses get out 2-3 times a day. We try to put them out on the fields every day when the weather allows it; the fields we have at home are really nice.

We do not have a walker – Ludo wants the horses to have a lot of connection with us people and that we take our time with them.

All the horses get ridden once a day and then they get lunged, hand walked or we put them in the aqua trainer. The aqua trainer we use about three times per week for every horse. It is a good option, it is a different way to exercise them and they use their back a lot when they are in it. It is so limited how you can get the horses out, so in this way the aqua trainer is a great option: you get the horses out again without sitting on them. And the horses seem to enjoy it, too! We also hack the horses out in the forest, we have nice mountains around our stables.

We feed our horses with the products from Lannoo, and supplements from Cavalor. I really like a new product from Cavalor called Muscle Liquid, which helps the muscles to recover after hard work. Cavalor Energy Boost is a good way to give the horses some extra power between rounds or before a jump-off and of course the Cavalor Sweeties is the horses’ favorite –  it also has a picture of Cabrio on the box!”

All horses are stabled on shavings. We feed hay two times every day and the muesli three times. We also give them linen seed, it is good for the coat and for the stomach. In the evening we give them mash and lots of carrots; this way they it is easy for us to mix in the supplements and the horses eat the supplements better when the food is a bit wet.“ 

 


As told to World of Showjumping by Linn Edvardsson // Text and pictures © World of Showjumping by Nanna Nieminen



This photo has been added to your cart !

Your shopping cart »
This website is using cookies for statistics, site optimization and retargeting purposes. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website. Read more here.