Showjumping Horses spooking at things outside the ring, ideas?

[fornema]

I have a mostly lovely 6yr old , she has done a lot of clinics/ non-home based training and is usually spooky but settles down when she is focusing. Now this horse has a fantastic jump and happily goes XC schooling over some big rider scarer fences, BUT she spooks at everything outside the showjumping ring (at this point the focus is simply to get her round as it causes an issue), to the point I struggle to keep her doing the job. When I mean everything, it includes people, jump bits, gates, dressage letters, you get the idea, if those items were in the middle of the school they would not be an issue.

The horse itself is a strapping 17.3, with myself being 5'5" I am not in the position to stop her spooking and at present just want to reduce it. She is not like this when out at clinics or in a warm up arena, although she will give the gate a death stare guaranteed, so the question, does anyone else have a horse like this who is very backwards in their thinking and any ideas are very welcomed regarding only spooking at items outside the direct showjumping area.

 

[Lillian_paddington]

Have you tried a noise-cancelling ear bonnet? No experience of them yet but we’re trying them next time we go indoor showjumping, apparently they have good results with spooky/distracted horses. Lemieux do some I’m pretty sure.

 

[J&S]

Have you tried sheepskin cheek pieces for focus?

 

[greenbean10]

My horse is very similar to this, she will spook at things outside the arena but all the jumps fillers etc are fine. In BS classes you can usually go in early - I try to go into the arena when the other person is still jumping as then she can get used to the arena while another horse is in there. Aware this won't work for every horse but could for yours!

How is she if you jump more than one class? You could always do a sacrificial first round (or on a ticket so not on her record?) just to get her used to the arena - then she may be a little more settled for the next class.

Only other thing is mine is extra spooky and nappy if she's behind my leg, so I try to make sure I have a really good canter and I also wear spurs in the ring but not at home. All this may not help but I am dealing with the exact same issue! x

 

[Wheels]

It is frustrating, how long have you been competing her?

It is not only the horse that needs to focus but also the rider and I don't just mean ignoring whatever it is she is spooking at but I mean really focus on something, something like your next turn - how many strides through the corner? What rhythm do you want? What line will you take, is it a half circle or bending line, how much bend will you ask for, do you need more outside or inside leg? Can you feel even contact in both reins, both thighs, both calves, both seat bones- it's a matter of mindfulness, practise it at home often

 

[Leandy]

How experienced are you? I'm not sure why both you and the horse are focussed on anything outside the ring when you are competing? If it is just baby spookiness in new enviroments then you need to go out as often as possible until the horse is used to it and focusses like they do at home. If it is a case of nervousness in new environments for both of you, then you need to focus at home, clinics etc until you are both confident and focussed on the job in hand to the exclusion of other distractions, then you need to get out competing with the same aim. Good luck!

"The horse itself is a strapping 17.3, with myself being 5'5" I am not in the position to stop her spooking" - it does sound from this as though the horse may be too much for you at the moment in the competition environment and is not yet established enough, in front of the leg and on the aids. If he were, and you are confident in the ring, then a few outings should get you there.

 

[fornema]

Have you tried a noise-cancelling ear bonnet? No experience of them yet but we’re trying them next time we go indoor showjumping, apparently they have good results with spooky/distracted horses. Lemieux do some I’m pretty sure.

I already have these as she has always been extremely sound sensitive to things like birds flapping wings and the like - drive a HGV past her and she is fine.

Have you tried sheepskin cheek pieces for focus?

I was thinking about this - having never had to use them are they legal - I am sure they used to have to be of a certain diameter - short of me looking in the rule book.

My horse is very similar to this, she will spook at things outside the arena but all the jumps fillers etc are fine. In BS classes you can usually go in early - I try to go into the arena when the other person is still jumping as then she can get used to the arena while another horse is in there. Aware this won't work for every horse but could for yours!

How is she if you jump more than one class? You could always do a sacrificial first round (or on a ticket so not on her record?) just to get her used to the arena - then she may be a little more settled for the next class.

Only other thing is mine is extra spooky and nappy if she's behind my leg, so I try to make sure I have a really good canter and I also wear spurs in the ring but not at home. All this may not help but I am dealing with the exact same issue! x

I think that could be a good idea, depending on the venue, she is the sort who once she is seen it will at least be a tad less reactive. I do exactly that she is not ridden in spurs at home but has to at a show to keep her in front of the leg, as she is so big it is impossible to get her back if she drops behind and spooks.

Great minds think alike she will stay on tickets and frequent some of the bigger unaffiliated venues until we can get this spookiness dealt with.

 

[TheMule]

I think it is just building up experience and learning it's ok. I have one a bit similar, she is great on grass but finds arena SJ quite daunting and my tactic is just to keep going and doing courses well within her comfort zone so she learns it's ok.

 

[fornema]

It is frustrating, how long have you been competing her?

It is not only the horse that needs to focus but also the rider and I don't just mean ignoring whatever it is she is spooking at but I mean really focus on something, something like your next turn - how many strides through the corner? What rhythm do you want? What line will you take, is it a half circle or bending line, how much bend will you ask for, do you need more outside or inside leg? Can you feel even contact in both reins, both thighs, both calves, both seat bones- it's a matter of mindfulness, practise it at home often

She is very much at the beginning of her competition career, she has always been backwards and has taken a lot of time to mature and enjoy what she does. She is now 6 and has been to many lessons/camp and arena hires. She simply would not have coped with a warm up arena until this year, as while she is fine with other horses, she would likely have had a meltdown if someone had run into her - she is that sort.

It for me is the matter of her dropping behind my leg when spooking like this, as she is incredibly fast in doing so, which makes it incredibly difficult as she loses concentration in a split second - she is incredibly reactive. I can get her thinking and bending quite easily, but if she sees something out of the corner of her eye she can just as quickly drop off.

How experienced are you? I'm not sure why both you and the horse are focussed on anything outside the ring when you are competing? If it is just baby spookiness in new enviroments then you need to go out as often as possible until the horse is used to it and focusses like they do at home. If it is a case of nervousness in new environments for both of you, then you need to focus at home, clinics etc until you are both confident and focussed on the job in hand to the exclusion of other distractions, then you need to get out competing with the same aim. Good luck!

"The horse itself is a strapping 17.3, with myself being 5'5" I am not in the position to stop her spooking" - it does sound from this as though the horse may be too much for you at the moment in the competition environment and is not yet established enough, in front of the leg and on the aids. If he were, and you are confident in the ring, then a few outings should get you there.

I would class myself as pretty experienced, I do a lot of schooling work. I have competed/won regularly upto 1.10, that said I have not focused on competition for the past couple of years for one reason or another.

I can assure you I am not focusing on that outside the ring - the horse in question however is very difficult once something just catches her eye she can set her eyes and neck on whatever it may be - I think I am finding it more difficult purely due to her size and great bulk - she weighs in at just under 750kg, compared to my sub 60kg. I believe it is partially babyishness, however she has been exposed to so every public accessible arena i can think of in my area because she is a spooky one, as I am talking about spooking at for example a water tray sitting outside the arena against the fence or her most recent which was a set of dressage letters - banners are fine, unfortunately of course it is difficult to tell if an arena will have stuff stacked outside and short of having lots of stuff propped outside the arena at home it is difficult to get her away from doing this simply because of her size.

 

[JillA]

Try her on magnesium oxide for a couple of weeks. If, as is often the case, your ground or where your forage is grown is short of magnesium she will be deficient and that presents as an excess of adrenaline in the system. It transformed my opinionated gelding who was gobsmacked by stuff he had seen loads of times before, and it will cost a few £££ to eliminate that as a cause

 

[SpringArising]

How experienced are you? I'm not sure why both you and the horse are focussed on anything outside the ring when you are competing?

Eh? The whole point of this post is that OP knows she shouldn't be but she can't stop her horse doing it.

If it was as simple as you're making out then there wouldn't be a problem...

OP, my horse is a bit like this. I flex him a lot to keep him focused. As soon as I catch his outside eye I flex him to the inside, stick him on a circle etc.

 

[ohmissbrittany]

I use those seconds you're in the ring before you start to trot or canter in on a positive pace, then do some kind of "flatwork" whilst cruising around the ring to get the focus up. Take a canter tour of the arena to have a peek at the rail, and do some haunches in or flexing/leg-yields. Earplugs helped mine at her first competitions, but learning what will make her focus on me was a game changer, and then it's just using time wisely to remind them "hey this is a new place, but I'm still up here and we have a job to do, now get on with it and listen."

Also, be patient- this is all new. Shows have a bit more going on than clinics or home, there's a lot to look at.

 

[fornema]

Try her on magnesium oxide for a couple of weeks. If, as is often the case, your ground or where your forage is grown is short of magnesium she will be deficient and that presents as an excess of adrenaline in the system. It transformed my opinionated gelding who was gobsmacked by stuff he had seen loads of times before, and it will cost a few £££ to eliminate that as a cause

This was the first thing I did with her - however calmers in their various forms do not touch the sides - I wish it were that easy as it is not a lack of calmness (she can be absolutely relaxed and a split second later be having an absolute meltdown over a misplaced blade of grass), more a concentration and reaction issue. Her diet thankfully works well for her and leaves her balanced

Eh? The whole point of this post is that OP knows she shouldn't be but she can't stop her horse doing it.

If it was as simple as you're making out then there wouldn't be a problem...

OP, my horse is a bit like this. I flex him a lot to keep him focused. As soon as I catch his outside eye I flex him to the inside, stick him on a circle etc.

Thank you - never had a horse quite so funny to process things - if only all horses had a straightforward mindset.

That is helpful, actually I think you may have it with the circling, she can occasionally be spooky at home to the same but putting her on 5m loops and 10m circles really gets her thinking and forgetting what she was faffing about in the first place. Just need to have the space to do the same, so will have to think about the venues to see if this cracks it and gets her brain a little more in gear.

I use those seconds you're in the ring before you start to trot or canter in on a positive pace, then do some kind of "flatwork" whilst cruising around the ring to get the focus up. Take a canter tour of the arena to have a peek at the rail, and do some haunches in or flexing/leg-yields. Earplugs helped mine at her first competitions, but learning what will make her focus on me was a game changer, and then it's just using time wisely to remind them "hey this is a new place, but I'm still up here and we have a job to do, now get on with it and listen."

Also, be patient- this is all new. Shows have a bit more going on than clinics or home, there's a lot to look at.

I think the brief moment of flatwork may be the key, as while I do ask for some simple pace changes and transitions upwards and downwards, I think I need to ask a little more of her to focus her mind - she loves her lateral work so I will think more about incorporating this and hopefully reduce the fuss to a min.

This horse would just stop dead if you are not patient with her be it on the flat or jumping, made that mistake once at a jumping clinic with her in her very early days and never again, she cannot deal with too much mental pressure, so it is time and repetition with her really once I have figured the trigger or solution. I am in no rush with her, it will take however long it takes and as many small well built competitions/clear rounds/arena hires/trips as it takes, as she is when she wants to be just the sweetest horse.

She took a good six months of walking in hand over poles to be confident to stride over and again the same amount of time to be confident in a small cross pole. She has come on so much in the past year or so and having just taken her off two months of hacking only it has done her the world of good mentally, I think sometimes outside perspective is great as when I wrote this post I felt it a bit disastrous and at a bit of a loss with her novel ways.