Dressage despair!

[Marigold4]

UPDATE: today silly horse did his first test WITHOUT a meltdown! After the last disaster, we found a useful instructor and followed her tactics. I have to ride him in a lower frame and ride him forward. In this frame, it's quite difficult for him to get his head up, look around, spook and stop. I have to be quick to anticipate and ask him to lower his head if he starts wobbling. It worked a treat today. He went round like normal horse! He was behind the vertical some of the time but it certainly worked in terms of stopping the silliness. We can work on a better frame once we've got round a few more tests without the drama. Scored 68 and 2nd. Very happy.

 

[Barton Bounty]

UPDATE: today silly horse did his first test WITHOUT a meltdown! After the last disaster, we found a useful instructor and followed her tactics. I have to ride him in a lower frame and ride him forward. In this frame, it's quite difficult for him to get his head up, look around, spook and stop. I have to be quick to anticipate and ask him to lower his head if he starts wobbling. It worked a treat today. He went round like normal horse! He was behind the vertical some of the time but it certainly worked in terms of stopping the silliness. We can work on a better frame once we've got round a few more tests without the drama. Scored 68 and 2nd. Very happy.

Well done!!! Many many congratulations

 

[paddi22]

ah brilliant!!

 

[Marigold4]

Well done!!! Many many congratulations

Thank you!

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Well done for sticking to the plan. Glad it worked.

 

[splashgirl45]

That’s great news, I’ve read the thread but others had suggested what I would have, he is such a good looking boy and sounds like you’ve found an instructor that understands him… well done and good luck for the future

 

[Marigold4]

That’s great news, I’ve read the thread but others had suggested what I would have, he is such a good looking boy and sounds like you’ve found an instructor that understands him… well done and good luck for the future

Thank you! I feel more optimistic now that he might be able to do things. It may not last, but it feels good today!

 

[Goldenstar]

Good, Just him out as much as you can.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Great news sounds like you have nailed it well done.

It is all about knowing when they are looking at stuff and getting them back to focus on you, Louis is the same it gets a bit tedious but it definitely works.

 

[Birker2020]

Took young silly horse to his 10th dressage test this weekend. He's been to this venue before a number of times and I hired the indoor school a few days beforehand, put out white boards etc but still he was a disaster in the test. Test was perfect at home but in the competition we achieved our lowest score ever. Perfect in the warm-up with no spooking but a nightmare in the indoor school. Now I know that I'm not riding that well, I've kind of frozen and am not riding him forward enough, my lower leg has come forward and I need more contact when he's got his head in the air but even so ...

So here are some photos from our test:

Half the time he had his head in the air

Occasionally he would sort himself out

Massive spook cause by a slight change in the colour of the sand by the door then froze (would move AT ALL) for what seemed like a minute as he stared at the photographer pointing a big zoom lens

Half pass every time in front of the judge

I'm not quite sure what the point of this post is except to vent my despair that after all this effort he is getting worse. I love him to bits though. We are not going to do any more tests for a year and just do light-hearted clinics. Anyone else got a horse that is a lunatic in an indoor school?

I'd be tempted to get after him a bit and ride him forwards more from behind.
Practice lots of transitions as you first go into the indoor school in the few minutes before your test so you can get his attention.
Start by hiring the indoor school if you can and desensitise him to different things, shafts of sunlight (I actually fell of jumping when we were part way through a double due to a shaft of sunlight and Bailey stopping dead!) so I'm a fine one to talk!