Anyone's horse suffer from competition nerves?? Warning this is long!

[annierae]

I have a problem with my lovely 12yr old gelding and would love to hear others opinions. I have owned Jack since he was a yearling and we have competed in dressage and BE with pretty good levels of success.
A couple of years ago Jack was diagnosed with bone spavin and was duly treated by my excellent vet with steroids and Tildren and is now on Cosequin supplement daily and feels great.
I had been competing at unaffiliated novice/elementary level and doing well, winning regularly and always being placed, so decided last year to affiliate.
It all started well, getting good results (mid 60s) at prelim and novice level and I was really enjoying it.
Then a few months ago our results started to go downhill. Nothing felt majorly different, but I did have the comment 'needs more suppleness and impulsion' quite regularly, so I worked on these things with my instructor and at home.
I don't compete that often, perhaps once a month, twice at the most and I hack and jump regularly too so I am assuming it's not because he's bored, but I'm now finding that although Jack works well and feels good at home and in my lessons and training sessions, when I go to a competition, he works in nicely and then as soon as I go to ride around the outside of the arena just before beginning the test, he drops off my leg and goes 'wooden' giving me a horrible feel and this is reflected in the marks.
I thought that perhaps he was just being a bit lazy and realising that he could 'get away with it' in the test so I did a few unaffiliated tests and worked on keeping him sharper and off my leg and we got good marks but it still doesn't feel great and I know I wouldn't get away with such good scores at affiliated level.
I have talked to various people about the possible reasons for this and have chatted to my vet and we have decided to do a 'pain trial' by putting him on Bute for a short period and taking him to a competition to see if he feels any better in the arena while on the Bute, just to try to rule out physical reasons for this change in his way of going.
I find it hard to accept that it's a physical thing as he is feeling so good at all other times, but I'm willing to try anything.
A friend has suggested that it could be a mental reaction to the pressure of competing now that we have stepped things up and that maybe he is finding it difficult and this is how he copes? She suggested trying some kind of relaxer/calmer, but he is so laid back at a competition that I'm worried this is going to send him to sleep!!
I would love to hear some other opinions on this as I'm really feeling frustrated. Jack is such a lovely, trainable character and I'd hate to think that this is going to be a permenant problem.
Sorry for such a long and rambling post!!

 

[Supanova]

Yes I think certain horses can suffer from competition nerves. My mare sounds similiar to this - she can go beautifully at home but can freeze up and be very dead to the leg when we go out competing. I have put her on Winning Edge Gold (or cool calm and collected is the same without the additional joint supplements etc) Magnesium free in the past few months and she has been a million times better. She is also laid back and lazy and this has made her much sharper.

You are doing the right thing re the bute trial though as it does sound slightly odd if its only just started!

 

[claracanter]

I recently read about a trial they did on high level competition dressage horses to test for nerves. (Can't for the life of me remember where I read it though). Anyway,they found out that the horses didn't react much to the different atmosphere, crowd etc.They tested heart rate, adrenaline etc. They also tested the riders and found that their adrenaline increased much more than the horses and conclusion was that the riders nerves are transmitted to the horse and not the fear of competition. Don't know if this helps but I thought it was interesting stuff.

 

[humblepie]

Claracanter - that was in Horse and Hound recently. Have hidden it from my OH as he always tells me I look worried when I am competing. I maintain I am not although I think it is more than likely that I do tense up and affect the horse even though I do not conciously feel that I am.

OP - sorry no help!

 

[TarrSteps]

I do not think horses suffer from 'nerves' in terms of performing in public, although they can learn that the competition arena is a place to go differently, for any number of reasons.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know anyone who rides completely the same in the ring/high pressure situations. This CAN be a bonus, pushing the envelope for a greater performance, but it also doesn't take much to negatively affect the horse.

Do you compete other horses? Is he ever competed by another rider?

 

[1life]

It does seem odd that he would suddenly, just before the point of entering an arena, change his way of going - especially if no other elememt had been changed. That would tend to make me think that he could be reacting to a subtle change in you (I always feel that horses pick up on soooo much more than we give them credit for). Know of horse and rider combinations that have to work through nerves (from horse and rider) at competitions due to pressure and change of atmosphere but not just at the precise point you describe.

Just a thought...do you work in a 20 x 40 size arena at home? And, do they have white marker boards at the comps?

 

[showjumpingfilly]

I showjump, but one of mine is similar.

She rides at home like an angel, hacks out alone etc, and warms up like a dream - on her own or with others - and jumps unreal.
Go through the gates to the main arena and she is tense, completely refuses to soften her neck, and will not go forward. So she stands still or reverses in canter and we don't get over number one. am considering changing her feed and introducing winning edge.

 

[amage]

Is it always the same place where you compete? What is the surface like?

 

[annierae]

No it's not always the same place that I compete, although I do compete at one local place fairly regularly. I do school in a 20 X 40m arena as well as a larger one, but I probably don't practice doing precise movements at precise points in the arena as much as I probably should. I agree it seems strange that it only seems to happen just as I enter the arena and if I were anyone else reading this I would assume it is rider nerves transmitting to horse, but I can honestly say I don't get at all nervous doing dressage. Mind you, I suppose it's possible that I am feeling tense these days as I'm worried that he's going to go badly again?! I don't feel it but who knows what goes on subconciously.
I have a friend who is a professional rider and she has said that if the Bute makes no difference she is happy to do a test on him, so I guess that is the next thing to try.

 

[chels]

My guy will occasionally blow in his tests in the canter, resulting in a very tense rest of test (probably because of me). He is, without fail, beautiful to warm up. He has done it with another rider as well.
I think it's a combination of him and me, so I use panic med (herbal stress reliever) and he gets a scoop of calmer in the morning. Quite possibly a placebo effect for me, but it has sorted the problem. He's not a hugely sharp type to ride, and I did worry about him going to sleep, but in fact it has just seemed to take the tense edge off. Good luck!
ETS the occasional became pretty frequent for awhile, which is why, after checking back, teeth and saddle, I chose to follow the calmer route

 

[Gracie21]

have you tried someone else riding him in the test? Sorry don't really have anything else to add! It might make a difference, probably won't, but atleast if nothing else you could watch him do it yourself! xx

 

[LopingBill]

I believe that half the time these problems are caused by our own nerves/excitement.

I compete in Western Versatility and I guarantee my boy can sense it when I'm keyed up.

This usually happens with the speed classes. He'll be as quiet as a lamb while we're waiting to go into the arena but as soon as we get to the gate, he starts dancing. And I'm convinced it's the excitement I'm anticipating at letting him loose around a barrel racing course or whatever. Of course, I don't have a real problem with this because it's what I want of him, anyway.

But, if it's a showing class (Reining, Western Pleasure etc.), I'm in any case more subdued and he gets that. Same when he's working cows - he seems to catch my mood and work accordingly.

And I think that's all part of the joy of having a horse - so much passes between you without it needing to be said. You've just got to make sure he's getting the right vibe...

 

[TarrSteps]

As an example of how subtle it can be,.when I am even mildly anxious I turn my right hand over and lower it, which makes the horse tight in the neck and impedes my ability to ride it out in front of me. This is the riding version of my inclination to draw my right elbow in and my arm across my body when I'm tense, and my more general tenancy to carry tension in the front of my shoulder joint. If I stand relaxed and then think of something stressful I can feel it happening and I know I have to consciously over ride it under pressure.

You may not be anxious as such when you go in the ring but you would be extraordinary if you didn't change at all, even if just from the pressure of having to be exact. And you will have trained your horse to expect this change and understand you want something different from.him in the ring, even if you don't really!

Of course this may have nothing to do with the change - there are other factors in play and horses have brains of their own, too - but it is true of competitors in all sports.

Dressage is so much about these subtle effects. That's why natural born showmen often make such good dressage riders, because they LOVE being the centre of attention so they have less anxiety to manage and are more likely to manifest the anxiety they do feel in big actions, rather than by folding up.