A great exercise for Arabians is to do an extended trot down the long sides of the arena, and a collected trot on the corners. This exercise keeps their attention while teaching them to extend and collect.

Finding your horse's pretty Arab headset can kind of be difficult at times. If you keep a forward, flowing motion and a firm contact on the bit she should eventually give it to you. I've found that holding the inside reign and gently tugging on the outside reign usually does the trick. Tugging gently back and forth between your hands helps too.

Teaching your Arab dressage would also be very beneficial to her learning how to carry herself, collect and extend, and bend properly.

If you plan on doing any jumping, I would wait another year before pursuing that. The hardest part of jumping Arabs is getting a smooth consistent pace. They tend to get short strided and hoppy. The extension work at the canter will help with the pace and placement poles and gymnastics will help with getting better distances over the fences.

No, not drugs. Speed as in gymkhana. (i.e. barrel racing, pole bending, two-man relay, etc.)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of those things and you probably will too. Incredibly thrilling. :]

have fun!

(gorgeous horse by the way)

A week before the show, a good bath would be beneficial. I used to use just any shampoo on the body, head and shoulders on the mane and tail to get out dandruff, and Pantene or any other human conditioner on the tail. For the conditioner, apply it on the tail and let it sit for 5 or more minutes, then wash it out. Do not apply conditioner in the mane because at the jumper show, your mane will be too slick to grab on in an emergency, and the braider at the Dressage show will hate you because it will be harder to braid.

If the horse has white spots, use quicksilver or something like it. Make sure you don't leave it in more than 5 min or whatever the bottle says, or else you'll have a blue or purple horse. If he has socks, clip those extra close because it makes them appear whiter. If the tail is white, use quicksilver after every ride because that yellow stain all tails get will not come out in one bath a week before the show. At the show, baby powder works great for whites.

A lot of people like to use show sheen to spray on at the show, but if you live in a part of the country with hot summers, do not use it on the horse's body because it can clog up the pores and make it harder to sweat. I use to spray it on big time on the tail though to help me brush it out and avoid pulling out too many hairs.

As part of your everyday routine, put sun screen on white parts on the horse's face. My trainer mixes 1 ounce of Skin so Soft in with the fly spray. If your horse gets fungus/gunk on his face or pasterns, I suggest any product from this website. http://www.equiderma.com/

***addition***
I get nervous too! It all goes away when you're in the pattern though. It's totally for fun, take a load off and enjoy yourself. I'm excited for you!