Erratic behaviour but only in ring

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Useless Mum

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Hi all! I’m looking for some advice on how I can help my horse during eventing competitions. He is very erratic, sometimes being an absolute machine and other days it’s as if he has never competed before! He is 10yo and has competed up to 2*. He works beautifully at home, in clinics and training away but is always a bit spooky to start. He has always been a hot hack prone to rear and spin if he’s spooked and can be a bit nappy. In competitions he always warms up beautifully for the dressage phase but as soon as he goes in between the white boards he falls behind my leg, becomes tense and is erratic in the contact. During the SJ phase again he warms up well but then bolts at and hollows over the fences losing the rhythm he knows so well at home and in the warm up. He gets faster as the round goes on. XC he is always bouncy in the score box, starts well but sometimes seems to run blindly at things so I retire as I don’t want him to scare himself. Other times he is foot perfect at events. I can’t work out what’s triggering this and why. He’s been vet checked, saddle checked etc and receives regular physio and chiropractic. We’ve tried various calmers (syringes for event use only) which sometimes seem to work and other times don’t! It’s as if he gets a surge of adrenaline out of nowhere but it’s so huge he can’t cope. He’s a loving boy and is super athletic, I’d just like to help him be more consistent when competing. Not sure if this is relevant but he was cut when he was 5. He had a year of standing at stud but being around mares doesn’t phase him at all. Many thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Didn't want to read and run, but unfortunately I'm not an Eventer.

A few things that came to mind.

Do you think you may ride differently in different environments?

Do you get nerves that he might be feeding off?

Is he different at quieter/smaller events?

Do you go with a buddy horse or on your own? does he always travel alone or with company sometimes.
 
dorsetladette said:
Didn't want to read and run, but unfortunately I'm not an Eventer.

A few things that came to mind.

Do you think you may ride differently in different environments?

Do you get nerves that he might be feeding off?

Is he different at quieter/smaller events?

Do you go with a buddy horse or on your own? does he always travel alone or with company sometimes.
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Thank you for the ideas. That’s really useful. I’ve owned him for 18 months and we’ve taken things slowly to build a partnership. Our travel and comp day routine is always the same. I think my nerves could definitely be a thing to assess as I always pressure myself to perform but can keep a lid on it in warmups. My coach agrees he is a complicated character whose default is to panic so we need to try and reduce the triggers for him. I’ve spoken to several of his old owners who have all described him as temperamental . I hadn’t realised however how many of them were men so am wondering if he’s still adjusting to a different style of riding. I’m 6ft but ride with a very light seat and contact whenever possible. I will definitely examine the nerves thing though!
 
AmyMay Again said:
Have you reviewed his eventing career at 2 star to see if this could be something that's always affected him?
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Yes, I’ve spoken to his former riders and they’ve all said he’s either brilliant or a nightmare. We’ve taken things slowly to build a relationship. He’s a lovely boy and I want to help him relax and enjoy it if possible!
 
I’d probably take him to some quiet dressage shows and practice tests in a less pressurised environment. At the same time I’d take him round a few training events at 80/90, or whatever height you’re super comfortable at and think you can both do with your eyes closed. If he’s consistently well behaved then you know it’s stress/adrenaline causing his inconsistency when the height goes up. If he’s not, then you’re able to trot and pop round that height and work on his relaxation and control.
Other thing would be to scope for ulcers. I’ve had a couple with ulcers where they just weren’t able to cope with additional stress because they were already stressed/sore.
 
Useless Mum said:
Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll look into it. He shows no signs of being girthy - are there always signs or should I scope anyway?
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There are usually some signs but not always the obvious girthiness/poor condition.
I’ve had 3 positive scopes over the years, only one was girthy. The one who sounds most like yours was an eventer, he was very polite, never grumpy or girthy but he couldn’t cope with any additional stressors. So when ridden in the school he’d gradually get hotter and more worked up. After we solved the ulcers he’s pretty chilled in the school and much quieter to ride (comparatively, anyway!). Not sure what he would’ve been like to compete in that state but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d behaved similarly to yours.
ETA as just seen your last post, sorry - yes it’s worth asking your vets, it wouldn’t necessarily come up in a poor performance workup as perhaps they focused more on lameness then. Depends on the vets.
 
Maybe work on yourself to keep very calm , your boy may just be very sensitive and reacts to you as it seems that he changes when he gets in the dressage arena and if he has worked well in the warm up it might just be that you take a deep breath just before entering , I know I used to as I was always wanting to do well. Sometimes Riding Clubs do training days which would be worth going to. If he has ulcers I would have thought it would affect the warm up as well but it might be a good idea to check just in case… Hope you can find a good outcome but also remember it can take a long while to form a strong partnership especially with a sensitive horse. Good luck
 
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