B Care Questions 2010

Transcription

1 Questions 2010 The objective of B Test Care is to find a candidate who has practical knowledge of looking after a stabled, or grass kept horse or pony. The objective also covers looking after these equines before, during and after a day s hunting, eventing or endurance. When phrasing any question consideration should be given as to whether the question supports the objectives of the test. There is temptation as an examiner to follow a personal favourite theme, or look back to the questions asked when taking the test years ago, or use questions that have been overheard. These types of questions may penalise the candidates unfairly if they are not true to the objectives of the test. If at any stage of the test you are unsure whether the candidate is at the standard, look at the practical application. Considering whether the horse would thrive under the work shown is more important than whether the candidate offers masses of often unnecessary theoretical detail, for instance, a hose could be loaded safely if the stiff partition is noted, theoretical knowledge of tyre pressure, whilst useful, may not be within the sphere of the candidate if they are not a driver. Throughout the questions horse and pony can be interchanged. Knowledge of the Care and Working a Horse or Pony Off Grass 1. What may upset horse/ponies turned out. 2. How would you hay horses/ponies in the field? 3. When would you feed hard food to a pony living out? 4. Could you tell me whether you think a pony living out should be clipped. 5. What are the disadvantages of working a pony off grass? 6. Could you take part in a hunter trials or local show with a pony living out? 7. What would be your daily routine for looking after a grass fed pony in the winter? Knowledge of the Care and Working of a Stabled Horse 1. Have you looked after a stabled horse? What was your daily routine? 2. What do you do at morning/evening stables, last late night check? 3. How do you know if your horse is warm enough on cold nights? 4. Why is it important to get your horse out of the stable daily? 5. What conditions might arise if your horse does not get daily exercise? 6. Tell me about which sort of bedding you use, and why you chose that bedding? 7. How many times a day do you feed, why did you choose that routine? 1

2 Exercising and Getting the Horse Fit 1. Why do we exercise horses? 2. How do you decide how long it will take you to get a horse fit? 3. What type of horses take a long/short time to get fit? 4. Describe the first fortnight of you fittening programme. 5. Continue to describe your fittening programme. 6. When would you introduce schooling? 7. What might be the dis/advantages of lungeing when fittening? 8. Talk to me about your canter work. 9. How fast do you canter? 10. How do you know what speed and distance to canter? 11. Where do you like to canter? 12. How do you know if your horse is fit enough for his competition/hunting/outing. 13. Have you had any problems crop up during your fittening routine? Interval Training is NOT a requirement of B Test Care. Have Some Knowledge of Stabling 1. How big is your horse? What size of stable would be suitable for him? 2. Tell me the good points of the stable we are standing in? 3. Is there anything you would like changed? 4. Why is good ventilation important, has this stable good ventilation? 5. How could this ventilation be improved? 6. Where should a window be positioned? 7. Are the lights here safe and sufficient? 8. Do you like the positioning of the switches? 9. What are your thoughts on the drainage in this stable? 10. Do you think this stable will be warm in winter? Why? 11. How do you feel about wooden stables? 12. Have you any experience of barn type stables? How did your horse like living in them? Feeding 1. Tell me a couple of rules of feeding and the reasons for those rules? 2. Could you do the same for watering? 3. Why is water an important nutrient? 4. What is the purpose of feeding hard food? 5. Give some examples of hard food and bulk/fibre food. 6. Is it more important to feed fibre or cereals, why? 7. Tell me about the hay in that bag? 8. Have you ever fed haylege? 9. What points do you consider when deciding to feed haylege? 10. If you had a pony/horse in medium work what percentage of hard food to bulk food would you feed? 2

3 11. What type of food are you holding? 12. When and to what sort of horse would you feed that food? 13. Can you feed that food in unlimited quantities? 14. If I had a thin horse what type of hard feed might I give him? 15. My native pony is rather fat, what type of hard food should I give him for extra energy? 16. If you had a naughty horse what type of hard food would you feed in the summer or winter? 17. Tell me what you are feeding your horse? Include quantities. 18. What might I feed to a half bred, pleasant temperament, 16hh doing PC events, both types of food and quantities. 19. How do you know if your horse is not getting enough to eat? Examiners should be conversant with both pounds and kilos and remember that questions on feeding horses in hard work will be reserved for A Care. Stable Bandage Rugs 1. Please put on a stable bandage. 1. Please discuss which type of rug would be suitable to travel this horse in today s weather. 2. Which rug that would be suitable to keep a clipped horse warm when turned out on a very cold day? 3. If your horse gets hot when working, what rug might you put on when you put him back in the stable? 4. Explain how tightly you adjust the crossover or leg straps, what may happen if they are incorrectly adjusted? 5. Are there any rugs here you would take home, why? 6. Which of these rugs do you not like? 7. What type of tail guards do you use, which of the available one would you prefer, can you tell me why? 8. Have you got a favourite type of poll guard? Vehicle Safety 1. Please look around this box/trailer and tell me what points you look at to consider whether it would be safe for travelling your horse. 2. What points made you think the ramp was safe? 3. Did you test whether the ramp went up and done easily? Why is this important? 4. What do you look for when checking the floor? 5. Do you think this rubber floor is safe? 6. Why is that a safe place to tie the horse? 7. Could you operate the partitions easily? 8. Is the ventilation safe/comfortable for the horse? 3

4 Road Worthiness 1. What do you look for when checking the trailer is correctly hitched up? 2. Why do you look at the tyres? 3. Why is it important to check the lights? Conformation 1. Could you describe this horse to me as though I am talking to you on the telephone? Start with his colour and markings. 2. What type of horse is he? 3. Select two good points of conformation and talk about them. 4. Select two points of conformation you do not like and tell me why? 5. Could you suggest what type of job he might do with this conformation? Shoes and Shoeing 1. Please name the different parts of this of this hunter shoe? 2. Could you identify a hunter shoe, a racing plate, a bar shoe, a heart bar shoe, and a broad webbed shoe. 3. What are the two different methods of shoeing? 4. Does either method have any advantage over the other? 5. Which tool does the farrier use first? Show me how he uses this tool. What tool does he use next etc. Condition and Lameness 1. As your horse trots towards you in the field you notice he is lame, how did you come to that conclusion? 2. How do you tell if your horse is lame behind? 3. Can different going, or work, make a difference to lameness? 4. Where would you find windgalls? 5. What causes windgalls? 6. Could you show me where to find a splint? 7. What might have caused a splint to form? 8. Would you expect a horse to be lame with a splint? 9. Does this horse look healthy, what led you to that conclusion? Worming 1. What might make you suspect that a horse has worms? 2. What can be done about it? 3. How do you worm your horse? 4. How often do you give a wormer? Ailments and First Aid 1. What do you do if you think your horse is off colour? 4

5 2. Describe how you can monitor a horse that is ill or off colour? 3. Can you think of anything that might make a horse off colour? 4. What symptoms may your horse show if it is ill? 5. What might lead you to think your horse has colic? 6. What should you do if you think your horse has colic? 7. Tell me a couple of causes of colic? 8. What do you do if you find your horse with colic? 9. How might you deal with the horse until the vet arrives? 10. Have you ever seen a pony with laminitis, how do you know if a horse or pony has laminitis? 11. What causes laminitis? 12. How do you treat a pony that you think has laminitis? 13. Explain to me why you think a horse may have azoturia/tying up? 14. Is this a serious condition? 15. What may have caused the azoturia? 16. What should you do until the vet arrives? 17. Can anything be done to prevent it happening again? 18. Does a runny nose and a cough always mean your horse has a cold? 19. Show me how to count the respiration rate? 20. Explain how you would take a temperature? 21. If your horse was ill, what might make you ask for a vet to visit? Treatments 1. Describe how you tub a foot? 2. Can you tell me how to put a poultice on a foot? 3. How long should you leave on a poultice? 4. Your horse has some heat in the leg which you want to hose, how would you go about this? 5. What are hot fomentations, when might you need to use them? 6. The vet leaves you some medicine to give in your hors s food, what do you need to consider when doing this? 7. What would you do if your horse did not eat this easily? Organisation and Fitting Of A Tack Room 1. What do like about the way this tack room is laid out? 2. Is there anything you would change? 3. How should a tack room be secured? 4. Are those windows a security threat? 5. What type of storage do you need in a tack room? 6. Would you need to put anything in a locked cupboard? 7. Where should the spare tack be placed? 8. If this were your tack room would you like to add anything? 9. What is the best and worst feature of your tack room? 5

6 Families of Bits 1. What are the three basic types of bit? Are there any of these families on this table? 2. Please explain how a snaffle works on the horse s mouth? 3. What is the action of a snaffle? 4. How does a Pelham work, and when might you put it on a horse? 5. What part of the head does a curb work upon, and how does a horse react? 6. If you ride a horse in a dutch gag what reaction would you expect? 7. Please tell me the name of the bits of a double bridle and tell me how they work on the horse head? Badly Fitting Tack and Soundness of Tack 1. Is this saddle in sound, safe condition to fit onto a horse, what parts did you examine to come to this conclusion? 2. Where do you check a girth to make sure it is safe? 3. Are these stirrup leathers in good condition? 4. Does this saddle fit this horse? 5. How do you know if this bit does not fit this horse? 6. Would you ride cross country in these reins? 7. What might you see if the billets on your cheek pieces were getting unsafe? Care of Saddlery and Rugs 1. What would you do with this bridle if you were not going to use it for six months? 2. Do you clean and store your turn out rugs during the summer months, tell me what you do? 3. How do you clean your bandages after use and where do you keep them? Recognition of Various Types of Tack 1. What type of martingale is this? 2. When would you use it? 3. Is there a dressage/jumping/synthetic saddle here, how did you know it is a dressage/jumping/synthetic saddle? 4. Which of these boots are suitable for everyday wear? 5. Are there any boots that you might want to use cross country? 6. Do any of these boots offer protection if your horse overreaches? 6