Horse who doesn't perform well in a competition arena.

[nictech24]

My horse schools beautifully in both dressage and show jumping but as soon as I try to do anything competitive in dressage his head is up and he's desperate to get the test finished and in SJ he charges at the jumps. He always warms up well but as soon as the starting bell/whistle/horn goes he is like a different horse. I wondered as he used to hunt if it might be that he associates the bell or horn as the start of a hunt and this is getting him over excited? Probably grasping at straws! Any advice on how to deal with this issue? I bought him for competing BE but this season has crashed and burned!

 

[AmyMay]

What does your trainer think?

 

[Shay]

Its not likely to be a hunt connection - there is a massive difference between the sound of a horn (and the atmosphere of a hunt) and a starting bell! When we've had competition horses like this it has usually been because they have been produced very young and over competed. It isn't excitement so much as stress / fear. Its a difficult one to address because the rider also changes in subtle ways when the test is real - communicating itself to the horse. How you deal with it will depend a bit on your age and experience, a bit on your goals and funds. And a bit on the horse!

If it is a young horse and you have both the time and funds I would suggest turn away for a decent period of time and re-start. Don't even think about competing for 12 months and re-start as if it were a youngster. Possibly also switch disciplines to begin with - do some showing instead.

Presuming this isn't an option - go down several levels and go out as often as you can. Compete HC so there is no pressure. Or change discipline for a bit. Just work on getting the horse calm in a competitive situation. It can take loads of time and some never settle well.

I suppose the third way is to accept the horse as it is and get lessons to learn to force the best from them.

 

[millikins]

Are you transmitting your nerves to him?

 

[nictech24]

I don't have a specific trainer but go to various instructors who don't believe it when I tell them he falls apart when we are competing!

 

[nictech24]

Thankyou for the advice lots of options to consider! He is 9 so I'm not sure if this is young enough for a 'restart'?

 

[nictech24]

It's possible although I feel that I am probably as nervous in the warm up so wouldn't he play up then too?

 

[ycbm]

I'm a hopeless competitor myself. It all goes to pot once it matters. I expect it's you he's picking up on, but you could check it by getting someone else to ride him and see what happens then when the bell goes.

 

[nictech24]

I had a different rider for one competition and although it wasn't brilliant it was better than when I ride him!

 

[Shay]

That does suggest there is at least an element of your nerves impacting him. How about getting an instructor to come with you to several shows to observe what is actually happening? Some horses do just decide they don't want to compete anymore and once they work out that things like three refusals means they get to stop it is very hard to teach them otherwise.

 

[be positive]

I would take a long hard look at myself and the horse to decide whether to continue with trying to compete and all the work involved preparing to BE or whether it may be best to get out now and sell him as a hunter although it seems you may not know his history so that may not be a realistic option if he doesn't settle out hunting either.

If I decided to stick with it I would spend the next few months finding a proper trainer who will believe you when you say he is tricky and that will go to a few outings to help, I would forget about competing as such and do loads of arena hires, clear round jumping until he is settled and a few dressage comps at low key venues where you take part but use it more as a schooling exercise than anything else it may take months of work to get him more relaxed and ready to compete properly and he may still be unreliable if he has a history that comes back into his mind when under pressure.

Not every horse is suited to competing and if something has gone wrong in the past it can be really difficult to overcome without a lot of work and money invested in them, if he were mine I would want to dig into his past a bit and see what he has done, I would have done that before buying a 9 year old as I like to know what I am taking on.

 

[nictech24]

I would take a long hard look at myself and the horse to decide whether to continue with trying to compete and all the work involved preparing to BE or whether it may be best to get out now and sell him as a hunter although it seems you may not know his history so that may not be a realistic option if he doesn't settle out hunting either.

If I decided to stick with it I would spend the next few months finding a proper trainer who will believe you when you say he is tricky and that will go to a few outings to help, I would forget about competing as such and do loads of arena hires, clear round jumping until he is settled and a few dressage comps at low key venues where you take part but use it more as a schooling exercise than anything else it may take months of work to get him more relaxed and ready to compete properly and he may still be unreliable if he has a history that comes back into his mind when under pressure.

Not every horse is suited to competing and if something has gone wrong in the past it can be really difficult to overcome without a lot of work and money invested in them, if he were mine I would want to dig into his past a bit and see what he has done, I would have done that before buying a 9 year old as I like to know what I am taking on.

Thanks for your advice. We know he hunted in the past and did some BE. We have a lot of history from his previous owner but not the one before that....

 

[paddi22]

With a horse like that in the past I picked tiny, tiny local shows and totally ignore being competitive and just let the horse have fun with absolutely no pressure. So for the dressage i'd go in the ring nearly AIMING to do badly, but praising the horse and giving them a rub any time they relaxed. And when they come out, big fuss as if they are the best thing in the world and loads of carrots.

And i'd do this for a good few shows to get the horse enjoying the experience and having good associations with the dressage ring. Same with the jumping, i bring them to tiny local shows and literally walk them over tiny crosspoles if thats all they are relaxed with. And then massive fuss when they do it.

With some horses you just have to park your competitive side and bring them down to easier schooling shows until they relax (and some never fully do). You have to guage the level of pressure your horse can take at shows, and then grow it gradually without the horse even noticing. The start of the process can take a while - i have one now that i spent a year doing crosspoles with, but once it clicks and they get the cofnidence you can progress quicker. the one i did the year of crosspoles on then jumped from 60's to 90s with no bother in a few months.

With those kidn of horse you always want to keep shows really easy for them and have them coming out feeling that you are proud of them and they have done their job (even if its doing ground crosspoles in a class of 4 year old children!)

 

[mcnaughty]

How long do you warm up for? I allow a good hour for dressage.

 

[SpringArising]

I'm a hopeless competitor myself. It all goes to pot once it matters.

Same here! Is it possible he's picking up on your nerves?

 

[Abbeygale]

I struggled for years with my older mare - she would be working really nicely schooling, in lessons and in the warm up - but as soon as I turned down the centre line, every went out the window! I did a lot of tests (sorry - I don't SJ, so can't comment on that side) where my mare was getting really slated on her paces. She isn't a huge mover, but is correct. It wasn't until I saw a few videos of my tests compared to some video of my lessons that I realised how much I was changing how I ride when I turned onto the centre line.

Before the videos, I just felt like I was doing everything I could, and my horse was letting me down. But after watching the videos, it really became apparent that I was tensing up, over riding everything and generally unsettling my horse.

The answer for me was more training and lots and lots of tests! I'm still not great - but I think I am improving, but an awareness of mindset has been really important to me helping my horse, especially as we moved up the levels.

You may also find picking one trainer and sticking with them will help you. Sometimes, although all the trainers you see may be absolutely fantastic, you can have too much information and too many differing views being given to you. Also - you want a trainer that is going to listen to you when you tell them what has happened in your test / SJ course, take that on board and give you exercises to help you with it - not just ignore it!

 

[claracanter]

I have a horse like this that doesn't like competing either, however he shuts down rather than lights up like yours. I wanted to do eventing, showjumping, riding club etc. I kept going with him for a year, trying all sorts of different things, different trainers, feed, routines etc. Several people said take him hunting to liven him up. I did, he absolutely loved it and was beautifully behaved each time we went out. I then went back to eventing again and he still clammed up in the dressage and got eliminated showjumping. I decided it was time to call it a day, neither of us were enjoying ourselves. I have found him a beautiful loan home where he hunts and does fun rides. It was hard letting him go, hence he's only on loan. I am a senior rider and this probably helps me decide as I am not getting any younger!! Anyway, I now have a new horse thats love competing and jumping a double clear at our first event was brilliant fun!

 

[Red-1]

I sacrifice a good few shows each horse when I get them, so they know that the competition ring is not scary. If you go to a local centre you could even book the arena at the end of the day to warm up then go into the arena for more warm up. I have done that with both dressage and jumping.


A far as the main ring goes, I am easier on them in the arena than in the warm up. I think they view the arena as a nice place to cool down before going back to the box! If a test/round does not go well then we go back to the collecting ring so they don't think that rubbish effort in the competition ring is a way back to the box. Nice work can be, but often as not I will pop back into the collecting ring anyway, just so they are focusing on what I want to do rather than their own plans.


For dressage I thank then for their efforts, for a baby I will sacrifice marks with a good boy, for more experienced ones it is a relax of the rein. I will also ride the whole test with an attitude of making it as easy for the horse as I can do. I ride each test for the next test. As in, I may sacrifice some marks today, but it will mean more marks next time.


For SJ I would hire the arena where the show will take place until they have some relaxation at a show day. I would also make sure we are competent round a whole course before entering a show. By that I mean it is rhythmic and balanced (not rushed, no kicking, no pulling) rather than just that we can get round the course 'somehow'.

I would also make sure that my horse will separate from others with no issues, you can even work on that hacking. We would go play in a stubble field in company then school at wider distances until one or other could hack home first, and the horse was focused on the rider enough to keep on with the work undisturbed.

In the early days, if the horse were to rush, I would transition to walk between the fences to make sure the horse is listening. I would not worry at all if I had to canter a circle to re-balance either. I ride each show for a clear round at the next one, not the one we are at. I pretty much do that at every show, unless it is of some huge significance. I would forget jump off times until you are confident that you are both on the same page, and then I would be prepared to go back and re-install calmness and balance afterwards.