Dressage First test on ‘hot’ horse

[AandK]

After some experiences/thoughts please. Hoping to do an intro test on my exracer next month, will be his first ever comp since leaving racing 7yrs ago. He is quite the enthusiastic sort, nothing nasty just forward and loves to get cracking with canter.
Thinking ahead about warm up strategy, as it’s been a long time since I last did a test (6yrs) on my late gelding who was relaxed about life in general so have not had to think this hard in some time
Have decided to do intro as it’s his first test to keep it low key and hopefully not too exciting. Do I crack on a warm up as I would at home, including canter to settle him, or do I just mainly walk with a bit of trot aiming to keep him quiet as no canter in the test? He’s a clever type and has my routine pegged so he decides it’s time to canter after a bit of trot on both reins at home

 

[splashgirl45]

I would do the same as you do at home , mine always needed a good canter during warm up if she wasn’t going to explode in the test, good luck

 

[millitiger]

I would just be aware of others who may be doing the Intro as they are nervous of canter and might be worried about someone having a good canter around the warm up.
Unless you ask to go first in the class and can have a canter before others join you in the warm up?

 

[AandK]

I would just be aware of others who may be doing the Intro as they are nervous of canter and might be worried about someone having a good canter around the warm up.
Unless you ask to go first in the class and can have a canter before others join you in the warm up?

That was a concern, about others in the warm up. I’m going to ask to go first in the class so the warm up should be nice and quiet. Might have to play it by ear on the day tbh and see how many are in the warm up.

 

[Carrottom]

Even if you decide not to canter in the I would try to do a few exercises to get your leg on. Forward and back in trot, spiral in on a circle and leg yield out etc. Practice different things at home so you are confident to get your leg on in the warm up even if you don't want to canter.

 

[AandK]

Even if you decide not to canter in the I would try to do a few exercises to get your leg on. Forward and back in trot, spiral in on a circle and leg yield out etc. Practice different things at home so you are confident to get your leg on in the warm up even if you don't want to canter.

Thank you. Although he’s forward he’s accepting of the leg and we do lots of the things you mention as part of our warm up at home, so will definitely be doing that in the warm up to keep him listening.

 

[ycbm]

My biggest tip for an ex racer at their first outings is don't at any point have him standing still looking at what's going on around him. If he's aerated that will probably make him worse and even if he's quiet, the explosions can come out of nowhere.

Good luck. Have fun!
.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I have warmed up thoroughly at home 1st on a hot one, loaded then done a little more at the venue before going in.
Good luck x

 

[AandK]

My biggest tip for an ex racer at their first outings is don't at any point have him standing still looking at what's going on around him. If he's aerated that will probably make him worse and even if he's quiet, the explosions can come out of nowhere.

Good luck. Have fun!
.

I have warmed up thoroughly at home 1st on a hot one, loaded then done a little more at the venue before going in.
Good luck x

Thanks both!

 

[ihatework]

I’d do a little bit at home before you travel.
If he likes being out and it’s not too disruptive to routine then I’d have him turned out overnight before.
I’d also do a trial run (ideally to the venue) for facility hire, to get an inkling of how he might be and then you can plan the warm up accordingly

PS - good luck, nice to see you getting back out

 

[AandK]

I’d do a little bit at home before you travel.
If he likes being out and it’s not too disruptive to routine then I’d have him turned out overnight before.
I’d also do a trial run (ideally to the venue) for facility hire, to get an inkling of how he might be and then you can plan the warm up accordingly

PS - good luck, nice to see you getting back out

We went to the venue a few weeks ago to hire the arena and he was very good there, and already lives out 24/7. Have a couple more low pressure outings planned in between now and doing the test, he's been out twice this year so far and has been much more relaxed both times compared to previous years.

PS - thank you!

 

[eggs]

Many years ago I took my ex-racer to our first unaffiliated dressage show. In those days you started at Prelim and competed on grass. I took him off to a quieter corner of the field to warm up but even so it was a good 20 minutes before I could get my gloves out of my pocket to put them on. As ycbm mentioned, it is much better to keep moving.

I tended to find that getting into trot with lots of changes of direction early rather than spending ages in walk helped him. I had to canter in the test so did some canter in my warm up. As long as yours is not likely to explode if you canter then I would stick to a similar warm up to what you do at home.

 

[AandK]

Many years ago I took my ex-racer to our first unaffiliated dressage show. In those days you started at Prelim and competed on grass. I took him off to a quieter corner of the field to warm up but even so it was a good 20 minutes before I could get my gloves out of my pocket to put them on. As ycbm mentioned, it is much better to keep moving.

I tended to find that getting into trot with lots of changes of direction early rather than spending ages in walk helped him. I had to canter in the test so did some canter in my warm up. As long as yours is not likely to explode if you canter then I would stick to a similar warm up to what you do at home.

Thank you. No explosions expected, he will just be forward!

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Please be mindful that intro is meant for the nervous (terrified), the young (either horse or rider) and should be a positive, welcoming experience.

Just check how everyone else is looking / feeling. Give people space and ask them politely just in case.

 

[AandK]

Just to clarify, I’m not planning to go cantering around regardless of others. This will be horses first ever test, hence picking the intro class and going to a quiet venue, that we’ve been to before.
I’m not going to be competitive, just to make our first comp together a nice experience. As I said upthread, I’ll see how the warm up is on the day as to how much we do.

PS - I will be nervous too!

 

[SEL]

Just to clarify, I’m not planning to go cantering around regardless of others. This will be horses first ever test, hence picking the intro class and going to a quiet venue, that we’ve been to before.
I’m not going to be competitive, just to make our first comp together a nice experience. As I said upthread, I’ll see how the warm up is on the day as to how much we do.

PS - I will be nervous too!

My first Intro test it was like sitting on a kangaroo so our warm up was walk only! I thought we were doing "ok" in the actual test but you cross X with those two 10m circles at which point his head went between his legs and the crowd was treated to some interesting language from me as he freestyled!!

The judge at that venue is very understanding thankfully.

Just play it by ear. Warm ups were a bit of a nightmare when I first started taking him out but after 12 months of various venues and group clinics the acrobatics are reducing.

 

[AandK]

Definitely going to see how he feels on the day, coupled with how busy the warm up is!

Thanks everyone.