Top dressage horses stay in the stall all day except when they’re working and are fed three times each day. Right?

Wrong. According to the world’s top three dressage riders, fresh off the freestyle dressage podium at the Alltech Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games (WEG), offering their horses a happy lifestyle is key to success.

“I’m always monitoring how he feels, to make sure he’s in a good mood and feeling happy,” said German rider Helen Langehanenberg, silver medalist in the WEG freestyle dressage and Grand Prix Special competitions and gold medalist in the team dressage competition, of her horse Damon Hill NRW. “When you know him, you can easily tell what mood he’s in. It’s easy to know!”

Langehanenberg said she knows her horse well because she spends so much ground time with him and has developed a real connection with him, which is critical for good performance results. “He needs lots of love and attention—and carrots!” she told The Horse