Dressage stress?!?!

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Grey.mare

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Hi :) was just wondering if anyone has experienced the same thing I have been dealing with and how they have worked around it!
I have an eventing mare who can warm up really well but gets in to her dressage test and has some sort of nervous break down! Doesn't even have to be in a competition environment anymore as she is now prone to doing it in practice at home. Used to be able to make it through and get High 30's but have now dropped down to mid 40's! Any advice greatly appreciated! Doesn't only do it with me but with others too!
 
what level is she competing at? would she have a physical issue that is hurting her when asked for certain moves. I've one who had a back issue, but it took ages to discover as he was still going clear jumping as the adrenaline masked the pain. But he struggled in arenas and in turns.

Other than that is it a mental issue with her personality? I've another one who is the ultimate people pleaser and just MELTS if he thinks he's made a wrong move.

When does the issue start when you are schooling at home?
 
She's competing at prelim level and at be100 but working at novice level at home. We've had her checked for any physical issues and she has her saddles back and teeth done regularly.

She can be a little tense schooling when asked to do something more difficult but in general you can school it out of her and as you go on she will relax again however as soon as you try to practice a test or even try and link a couple of movements from
A test together her Brain blows 😕

We were starting to think it may be psychological but weren't sure what routes to take to find out what's going through her head, don't want to stop eventing as she loves it but just can't cope with the dressage!
 
What about booking onto some Test Riding days at your local BD competition yard - I think you can even do these if you aren't BD registered. I've written for a few days now and they seen really helpful to the riders/horses.
 
If she was mine i'd try and break down what the base issue is and what pushed her over the edge from comfortable to melt down.

If she has ompeted fine before and now is acting up then it's probably not the competition environment. Do you ride differently in a test? Do you tense up and not know? If you got a completely relaxed rider on her and let her do a sloppy-no-pressure-don't care-about-the-results test would she still act up do you think?

I've two with the same issue yours has and both have completely different reasons for it. One knows he is going eventing and just couldn't be arsed with the dressage patience-wise. He's a perfectionist and if he thinks he's messed it up he gets fussed. He constantly has to get little scratches during a test to reassure him he is ok.

Another is a sensitive soul and you have to ride him without giving him to many thing to correct at once or else he just gets upset. So in every dressage test i aim to be aware of fixing his worst faults in just one or two areas, but give him an easier ride on the rest of the stuff. It's a juggling act of keeping him schooling very, very simple for him, so he understand exactly what he's to learn.

I love getting horsey projects in to see how they tick psychologically, so it would be really interesting to breakdown your mares issues and see exactly what sets her off.For example, if another really relaxed rider schools her when does she act up? Does she only act up at tests cause she knows she will be jumping after? Did she get a fright from the competition environment before? Is she being rewarded enough when she makes an effort? is she being asked for two many corrections for the stage of education she is at?

as well as that with mine - with the eventer I can never practise the test at all, as he just works himself into a frenzy anticipating the next move. Even if he recognises bits of the tests he's anticipating it. With the other who is an exracer he relaxes knowing what exactly what the next move is, so i can just drill and drill the test again and he gets comfier and comfier with it.

If the issue is stringing bits of a test together, maybe thats where the core issue is arising?.
 
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Could it be you subconsciously getting stressed about tests/flatwork and tensing up, even if only slightly? Has anyone else schooled her recently
 
my instructor helps school her regularly to help with how she goes and she has also done a dressage test recently with someone else who was very relaxed and had the same problem unfortunately 😕
 
We have no clue what could have caused this as she used to be a little tense but could manage but just seems to be unable to cope now. She was taken in to a test recently with a completely relaxed rider with long reins and no pressure yet still acted the same way 😕

She acts the same way whether it is just dressage or whether she is eventing or not. She can be A little tense but only in an excited after having a canter way wheras in a test or test practice she is so tense to the point that she is nearly unridable.

She is generally quite a chilled out pony who is as bombproof as they come, she gets lots of cuddles and treats when she's good and hasn't had a fright in a competition environment. We focus on straightness and Suppleness in training and try to continue that forward in to our tests but she seems to become unridable and can't cope with the corrections made 😕

There seems to be no difference whether I practice the test or not so not sure that anticipation would be causing it either.
She's a little mystery 😂
 
My gelding was like this as a youngster - he just froze up due to the change of scenery from warm up to dressage arena! It sounds completely irrational, but if you have a horse who works nicely from the word go then try going into the arena cold - it worked miracles for my dressage, I went from high thirties to high to mid twenties!
 
Connielove123 said:
My gelding was like this as a youngster - he just froze up due to the change of scenery from warm up to dressage arena! It sounds completely irrational, but if you have a horse who works nicely from the word go then try going into the arena cold - it worked miracles for my dressage, I went from high thirties to high to mid twenties!
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This does sound like what happens! I shall give it a go! Thankyou!
 
Grey.mare said:
I have an eventing mare who can warm up really well but gets in to her dressage test and has some sort of nervous break down! Doesn't even have to be in a competition environment anymore as she is now prone to doing it in practice at home.!
Click to expand...

What comments are you getting from the judges?

To be honest if she is working at prelim/novice level I don't see the difference between schooling and test riding - you are talking only working paces, 20m and 15m circles, loops and simple transitions assuming you are talking of the lower end novice tests

If you are working at home how does she know whether you are stringing one or two movements together (as you say in a further post)?
For instance, I will quite regularly ride down the centre line, track left or right and then ride a 20m circle at either B or E.

Am confused by your posts. Probably me being thick.

Do you always work in the school at home? What about in the field or if out on a hack?
 
gunnergundog said:
What comments are you getting from the judges?

To be honest if she is working at prelim/novice level I don't see the difference between schooling and test riding - you are talking only working paces, 20m and 15m circles, loops and simple transitions assuming you are talking of the lower end novice tests

If you are working at home how does she know whether you are stringing one or two movements together (as you say in a further post)?
For instance, I will quite regularly ride down the centre line, track left or right and then ride a 20m circle at either B or E.

Am confused by your posts. Probably me being thick.

Do you always work in the school at home? What about in the field or if out on a hack?
Click to expand...

Judges generally pick up on the tension from her causing her suppleness to completely disappear.

At home we can string some movements together but work on getting the movements smooth and nice before moving on to the next, however obviously in a test situation you just have to keep flowing from one to the other meaning the tension continues with you.



She's fine out hacking and normal schooling in the field until we try to run through a test again. It's very frustrating and starting to think it's either a mental block from me and/or her causing the issue.

(I think this makes sense)
 
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