As we wish Badminton competitors the best of luck, Carolyn Henderson looks at why horse people are often superstitious. Are you? When Will Furlong makes his four-star debut at Badminton Horse Trials, everyone on the Feedmark team will have their fingers crossed. Will is dedicated, talented and deserves to do well. Like many horse people, he’s also superstitious. Well, we did say we’d have our fingers crossed, even though we know he has prepared himself and his lovely mare, Collien P2, down to the last detail. “I can’t use anything new at a competition - it has to be tried at home or in training first,” says Will. "I also have to touch every fence when walking a course.
“It started with just showjumping, as I thought if I didn’t touch a rail I would then have it down. Sadly, it doesn’t work quite like that! But it’s progressed to having to touch every cross-country fence, too, no matter how many times I walk a course.” Will’s superstitions are perfectly understandable. The one about not using anything new in competition is widespread and rooted in common sense. When you hear the signal to start, you want to know that you and your horse are comfortable and that everything you use has proved itself. This is not the time to discover that a rug fitting has rubbed your horse, or that a new item of clothing is not as comfortable as you anticipated. A psychologist friend who is also a horse owner says there’s also a good reason behind Will needing to touch the fences he’s about to tackle. “He’s literally putting himself in touch with the challenge ahead of him,” she explains. “That probably helps him concentrate and assess the fences.” She says riders who insist on wearing a “lucky” item of clothing are also creating a mindset. “If you were wearing a particular shirt or pair of breeches when you won a competition, it may remind you of how great it felt to perform so well and make you feel more positive,” she says. The problem, of course, is that your lucky shirt will eventually wear out or be damaged. Maybe next time you win, you should rush out and buy half a dozen replicas of another item worn on that successful occasion. Just kidding.
Another common superstition is that riders shouldn’t wear green. Tell that one to Mary King, whose emerald and white cross-country colours are synonymous with success. She adopted them because they were the company colours of one of her most loyal owners, and although she switched to red and black when sponsored by another company for a couple of seasons, soon changed back to her favourites. If you need an excuse to be superstitious, there is a wealth of sayings about horses. Everyone knows a horseshoe symbolises luck; this stems from the days when they were made from iron, which was said to ward off fairies, goblins and other supernatural beings with evil intent. There is also an old belief that seeing a piebald horse means you’ll come into money. Piebalds are seen less frequently than skewbalds; one explanation of this superstition is that true Romanies prized a good one and owning several was a representation of wealth.
All I know is when I owned a piebald, he cost me a fortune in shampoo to keep the white bits sparkling and our lottery tickets were all duds. Even when you try and defy superstition, there are times when you just can’t help yourself. I was taught that there should always be an odd number of plaits along a horse’s neck plus one made from the forelock. I can’t find any logical reason for this – but although I swear I don’t count, I always end up with an even number in total. Different countries have different superstitions. In some, a white grey horse is regarded as unlucky, as it’s associated with death. In others, it represents happiness. Everyone at Feedmark HQ would like to reassure Will that his lovely grey mare definitely represents happiness. We’ll still have our fingers crossed, of course, because a bit of luck never goes amiss. And if you have a superstition, a lucky charm, or a knack for finding four-leaf clovers, do let us know…
