i am taking my stage 1 exam in a few months and am abit worried about doing something in the care section thats not the bhs way.i have worked with horses for 10 years and owned my own.i am always safe around horses and aware of potential dangers should i be o.k? i am hoping to work through to stage 3 in order to have a qualification to back me up.<and learn lots too!>

Thing is, you might be doing something in an unsafe fashion, never having experienced a problem doing it that way.

Can you take a couple of stable management lessons with a BHS Examiner (pref even a chief examiner) or go to somewhere like Talland for a day / couple of days / week?.

Or, use the books and new video to make sure that whaqt you're doing is OK.

As long as you're safe and effective, you'll pass!. There is no set way of doing things.

However, should you happen to fail, or even if you pass, make sure you pin down one of the examiners, and get suggestions for improving yourself for your Stage 2! - they are there to help as well, so make sue you get your money's worth!.

Good luck - and let us know!

thanks for the response am going to have some stable management lessons at local college.will let u know how the exam goes

I've just watched the stage I video and have picked up some useful tips. For example, it is not appreciated if candidates stand with arms folded or hands in pockets whilst the examiner is talking to them! Safety is the BIG thing and we can all be guilty of unsafe practices around horses we know well which wouldn't be acceptable during the exam so do find out what the examiners are looking for!