Horse falls asleep in the dressage ring - advice?

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equitum

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I have a TB gelding who is rather laid back in general but with a bit of effort on my part, will wake up and work nicely when schooling.

However we have recently started to compete in dressage, he's not new to competing himself and is generally well behaved, although he gets a little distracted by the new horses around him and ends up forgetting why we are there I think!

When warming up he will go forwards and work well (although he gets a bit lazy at the sight of the other horses) however the moment we step in the ring he practically falls asleep and goes completely dead to my aids. I cannot get him moving forward for love nor money. He just completely ignores me, I feel like he would literally just stop if I didn't work hard to keep him moving.

When we SJ he is keen and eager and sensitive to my aids so I am at a loss of what to do (other than give up dressage).

Has anyone got any advice to give me? Maybe there's something else I can try when schooling? Although he already does work well with transitions and has a good amount of impulsion at home.

I just wish he would show what he is capable of in a competition :(
 
Hi I think he will get better with experience, he is probably anxious even if he doesn't make it obvious. With jumps he knows what to expect, dressage-an intimidating empty space and a tense rider (possibly!) can make a horse back off a bit.
 
If you do two tests, is he better or worse in the second one?

One of my boys occasionally does this or what I called introverted and more reliant on me but he usually does it in the warm-up as well. I usually get round it by gee-ing him up with lots of transitions (walk-canter-walk works best for him or transitions within a pace) and really get him responsive and ahead of my leg when he goes like this.
 
He's about the same in both tests. I agree it must be a form of nervousness, perhaps I am more nervous than I think and he's picking up on it. He just shuts down completely. I guess I need to start by trying to be more relaxed myself and maybe he'll feel more confident. It's a good lace to start anyway :)
 
Why not find someone to video your test so you can watch it afterwards and be able to analysis better what is happening, or better still either ask your trainer to come and watch you ride a test or watch the video.
 
I usually do video my test and lessons so I can watch them back but I've found it hard to see the difference, I think it's more to do with the subtle differences, maybe I am more tense or over riding slightly. I get really frustrated when he's being so numb so he's probably picking up on that, he's very sensitive to the way I feel normally.

I am going to have to try and work on these nerves and learn to relax in the ring, I'm determined to get our first dressage rosette! :)
 
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