Help with Eventing Dressage

[Ambers Echo]

I will definitely look into getting her out to more dressage events. Even if it's to improve things for next year. x

 

[Ambers Echo]

https://kelsallhill.co.uk/list-view-unaffiliated-dressage/

Indoor arena/ outdoor warm up.

That's my plan for 9th June! (Hastily rearranges work diary...) Thanks for the idea MP x

 

[Jango]

I think this is just something that needs practice, get creative and find ways of making her leave the 'herd' and relax. As you mentioned kelsall I assume you're NW, wilmslow riding club show does dressage on grass. For me showing is v v boring, but actually a showing show with a big field (Wilmslow has this) might help; you can warm up in the normal warm up, then take yourself away up the field and don't come back until she's relaxed. Keep repeating until you can leave and keep the relaxation.

Also you mentioned you wouldn't feel comfortable cantering round the outside of the dressage arena, then you are expecting your horse to canter in the test 2m in from there? That's a big flag that your schooling is potentially not quite there to be competing and you could both benefit from more training/exposure. Do you hack much on your own? I find this helps horses to trust you not the 'herd'. Good luck!

 

[Chippers1]

I have exactly the same problem with Buzz so i'm here in solidarity! Eland is a big problem for him. It's the SJ going on the other side of the hedge, he can hear it and spot it through the gaps so he spends most of his time focusing on that instead...
He's also nappy to other horses so he prefers to be in the warm up, but is ok when he's in the dressage arena part as there are still a few around him.
He is much better going from outdoor warm up to an indoor test though so definitely worth a try! I don't think i'd ever be able to settle him in an outdoor to outdoor situation lucky that i'm not really a fan of dressage ha.

 

[Alibear]

Can't help but I wouldn't worry about Lottie seeing it as a win as she's only away from the herd for a few minutes. She's actually done as asked, left the heard done her test and finished. Ok, the style isn't quite there yet but she is doing what you've asked.

 

[Leandy]

When she has warmed up nicely, what do you then do to go down to the arena? If it were me with a horse that is likely to get distracted and worry, I would not go down on a loose rein and allow it to gawp about and lose the feeling I had in the warm up. I would insist that we stayed on the bit, between hand and leg, round and soft straight from the warm up down to the arena and then around it and in. I would do a lot of transitions, lateral work etc in proper "work mode" on the way so that their attention needs to firmly stay on you rather than on what else is going on. Hopefully this would keep them occupied and in work mode and so not able to get distracted. You may need to be quite firm about it the first time or so until they get that that is the routine, but if she works in well there isn't really a reason to lose that on the way to the arena.

 

[oldie48]

Our pc does an evening outdoor dressage competition series on the XC course that they own. It's just like eventing in that there is a big grass warm up area and then you go over to one of the dressage arenas which are a little way away. Lots of eventers bring their youngsters along as the series runs quite early in the season. I don't know if any of the RCs or PCs in your area do anything like this but my daughter found it was a great way of preparing for the dressage when she was eventing. One of ours was a nightmare to get into the start box and with that we just warned the starter that the horse would appear and go straight in and straight out so we needed to be on time please. We always found them to be really helpful and he did get better the more he did it.