Competing/Training Indoors - my horse hates it

[BigRed]

I have owned my horse for nearly 2 years. He does not like working indoors. I can get him going nicely outside, but when I have a lesson indoors he tenses up, stiffens his back, trips, stumbles and is generally difficult to ride. I have a pukka trainer with very good indoor and outdoor facilities with immaculate surfaces.

He is a nappy and difficult horse at times, but his hacking has improved immeasureably over the last 2 years and he is now a good(ish) hack, with only the occasional difficult moment. Out hacking he has open, bouncy paces and is very comfortable to sit on. Indoors he just won't, or cannot move properly because he gets so tense.

He has never taken a lame step, has had physio, his saddles re-flocked etc etc, so I do not believe this is a physical problem.

On Monday I had to retire from a competition as he threw all the toys out of his pram when asked to do a simple Prelim indoors. He had been working beautifully in the outside arena. He refused to go near the walls, he was so tense, he could not canter and finally went into reverse gear, he was so unhappy.

How can I get him to accept working indoors ? I have got to the point where I feel it's pointless to have a lesson if it's indoors - due to weather etc, as we never achieve anything.

 

[milliepops]

Ahhh, I feel your pain. I also retired in a test a few weeks ago! My sec D is like this - also generally a difficult nappy sort but she is very willing when she knows the score. She's now OK at my trainer's place, where she goes in the same indoor roughly every 3 weeks or so. But anywhere new results in her closing down and shrinking within herself.

I'm tackling it with arena hire. There are several show centres with indoor schools around me - not sure where you are? Most hire out their indoor regularly. I find that after about 15 mins or so she has relaxed enough to start to show the kind of work I can produce outdoors. I can't get it in a test yet because there isn't enough time to work through the demons.

I think this will work eventually - mine was the same about any new outdoor school for a while but that is more or less better now, not perfect but on the way. I took her to a new outdoor on Sunday and she knuckled down straight away which I was delighted about.

 

[smja]

I'd be taking him into an indoor to just mooch about, no expectation of work. Long rein, wandering about, no rush, keep going until he starts to relax. Up to you whether ridden or in hand - whichever way you feel more comfortable. If he's better with company, bring a confident horse with you that he can follow.

Once you have some relaxation, end there. Then go back and do it again the next day. You should find him relaxing more quickly each time.
Then start asking for a little bit of work, away from the walls, and increase gradually from there.

If they shut down/retreat into themselves, sometimes softly softly catchy monkey works better than trying to push them through it.


The other thing to consider is your riding - apologies, I don't know you nor your level of experience but you'd be surprised at the number of riders who start becoming more defensive in their riding once they're indoors, with walls inside of fencing. is he the same if your trainer is riding?

 

[LadySam]

All good advice from smja.

My initial thoughts were that as a prey animal, I was wondering if his 'not being able to escape' instincts were kicking in. If that's the case, desensitizing work and making him feel safe indoors should help. I'd also be interested to know if he's the same when your trainer is riding.

 

[paddi22]

i had one that was a loon in indoors, would never relax. what really helped was hiring the arena he found scariest and letting him loose to wander around it at his own pace. it was fascinating as he went straight up to all the banners and sponsor signs and started to pull at them and look behind them. And generally had a good sniff and look around at everything. Rode him in it the next day and he has been 100% better in arenas since. I think he just needed to have a better look at what was scaring him. Since then i've always let horses loose and just stood back and looked at what they reacted to, is it sounds, light changes, banners etc?

 

[BigRed]

He is still difficult when my trainer rides him, she is however a much stronger rider than me, so she gets a better tune out of him. When we have a lesson in her indoor school he doesn't spook or leap around, but he doesn't work as well as he can outside. The competition venue he has been to three times now. Each time he has been very unhappy. He is clearly very frightened and won't relax.

I am an experienced rider and I have ridden and competed for many years. I am aware I ride defensively once he starts being silly, but it's easier said than done when your horse is leaping around, to sit in a relaxed manner and ride fwd. At that point in time, he just isn't listening to anything I am asking of him. The judges don't much like it when you abandon the test and just try to get your horse to relax and trot in a simple circle.

 

[milliepops]

He is still difficult when my trainer rides him, she is however a much stronger rider than me, so she gets a better tune out of him. When we have a lesson in her indoor school he doesn't spook or leap around, but he doesn't work as well as he can outside. The competition venue he has been to three times now. Each time he has been very unhappy. He is clearly very frightened and won't relax.

I am an experienced rider and I have ridden and competed for many years. I am aware I ride defensively once he starts being silly, but it's easier said than done when your horse is leaping around, to sit in a relaxed manner and ride fwd. At that point in time, he just isn't listening to anything I am asking of him. The judges don't much like it when you abandon the test and just try to get your horse to relax and trot in a simple circle.

In that case hiring the arena could be really helpful. 5 mins to ride a test is one thing, having half an hour to an hour doing your own thing is quite another. You can ride without being defensive, because you aren't having to deliver a floorplan and it doesn't matter if you do 30 circles or one. He can have time to get used to his surroundings rather than being asked to just get on with it.

Is yours generally tricky in other indoor spaces? Mine seems to be claustrophobic in general though getting better. She didn't accept being stabled initially, didn't like the horsebox and even finds tall hedges challenging. All of that is getting better with practice so I'm hoping she will get more used to indoor schools with lots of practice too.