This is the Top 5 Cross Country Tips used by professional riders.
1. Walk the course at least once - but twice is ideal. Go around the first time with your instructor who can advise you on the best line to take. Then go around a second time and think about what approach will suit your horse best.
2. Don’t take the first fence for granted. Even if it is just an easy bunny hop. Sometimes riders are so distracted by starting that they forget to ride hard at the first fence and get a refusal and twenty faults as a result!
3. If your horse is galloping with a regular, steady stride between fences he will be able to conserve energy on the cross-counry. Don’t forget, you still have the showjumping phase to come!
4. If your horse seems spooked by a fence, don’t charge at it. You’ll just end up falling off when he suddenly stops! The best thing to do is slow down and give the horse a chance to look and gain confidence. You’ll be surprised at how easily your horse will pop over any obstacle at a steady, collected trot!
5. Remember to cool your horse down properly when you’ve finished the course. Put a warm workout rug on him and walk him around to cool him down.
I just want to talk about the three dun pony colours.
Dun ponies
Dun, the most common type of dun, has a tan or gold body with black mane, tail and primitive markings. Genetically, the horse has an underlying bay coat color, acted upon by the dun gene.
Dun is a golden or tan colour coat with black mane, tail and markings. The dun pony has a dorsal stripe (stripe along back).
Dun has a lot of names for it. Not only is it called dun, but it's called Bay dun, classic dun and zebra dun.
The colours to mix to get dun is bay +dun.
Red Dun
Red dun, also called claybank or fox dun, horses do not have black points, as there is no black on the horse to be affected. Instead, the points and primitive markings are a darker shade of red than the coat. Genetically, the horse has an underlying chestnut coat color, acted upon by the dun gene.
I don't know a huge pile on the Red Dun Horse. I do know that you have to mix chestnut and dun to get the Red Dun colour.
Grullo/Grulla
Grullo or grulla,is a smoky, bluish to mouse-brown color and can vary from light to dark. They consistently have black points and they often have a dark or black head, which is an identifying characteristic of this color. The primitive markings are usually all black. Genetically, the horse has an underlying blackcoat color, acted upon by the dun gene. Unlike a blue roan, there are no intermingled black and white hairs, and unlike a true gray, which also intermingles light and dark hairs, the color does not change to a lighter shade as the horse ages. With a dun, the hair color itself is one solid shade.
The Grullo/Grulla pony is also called Blue Dun and Mouse Dun.
Those are the dun pony colours!
