horses with "stage fright"...

W

wench

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 December 2005
Messages
10,260
Visit site
my horse works well at home, and in the warm up arena at dressage competitions. However, when he gets in the dressage arena, he seems to get "stage fright", wont work properly, wont do his circles etc properly, doesnt listen to me, and tries to nap towards "A" where he entered. We only compete at prelim level.

Is there any reason for him doing this/anything i can do to help stop it.

I ride him firmly, and have someone calling out the test so its one less thing to worry about. The horse has been to competitions on a regular basis, but I try and do a variety of things ie sj, dressage, xc etc, so hes not bored of it.
 
Yes, I'm sure some horses do get stage fright.

Concentrate on YOUR breathing (as well as trying to do the test!)

About 4 horse steps to one breath in, and 6 steps to to the out breath, or even slower if you can.
4 steps/breath in trot and canter. Practice this at home. Breathe out when you want a transition. You will find you don't have to use the reins to halt, or hardly at all.

I have been told that when this is really fined tuned you can get changes of leg just by breathing in the direction of which rein you want - but I;ve never done that!

The horse will pick up on your changes of breathing, so if you are a bit tense and nervous, which we all are to some extent at a competition, it is going to make him nervous. This breathing exercise will also loosen up your back, only don't hyper ventilate and get dizzy. Long, deep breathing. Obviously he is the senstive type, so you are perhaps giving him slight signals you don't realise. When we concentrate we tend to hold our breath.
 
My mare has stage fright - it is nothing to do with me, she just gets phased by the whole thing. She is brilliant at home, but I struggle to get her to flow over the tiniest courses when out and about
frown.gif
Aim for this year is to take her to as many shows as possible, but it is hard to do as I feel such a failure when we are eliminated AGAIN and my pockets are not THAT deep (she always jumps clear and well the second time of asking
smirk.gif
)

So, no solutions from me, other than going out as much as possible, but have a hug as I know EXACTLY how you feel!
 
Is the problem just with dressage, or is he worried about jumping too?
My horse used to get stage fright when he was jumping. The first time I did a little show at our yard I ended up sitting on my bum when he wouldn't jump an 18" fence. It was even the same school as we had our lessons in but he just got in a panic.
With him I found that if I got him going forward straight away and didn't give him time to think about it he was fine. We spent months charging into the arena like maniacs but he eventually settled - probably not a good idea for dressage though!
The thing that really helped us was just repetition. As he became more used to it he got better and he now can go in like a "normal" horse. You don't say how long you've had your horse, but with mine it also helped when we got to know each other better and he had more confidence in me.
Good luck!
 
Mine too. He is 10000% better after lots of "easy" outing and the help of "magic" calmer...took the edge off his nerves and now he is a ifferent horse 90% of the time
smile.gif
 
his jumping is much better than his dressage (although he isnt a paticulary good jumper)... I think probably as there is more to concentrate on in jumping than dressage.

I have had him two years, and have just started to try and get out on a regular basis, but he has been out a few times last year.

The person that had him before me was supposidly meant to have taken him out loads, but doing what I have no idea - think that may have been a lie!
 
Mine gets stage fright too, going to try that breathing exercise, as on one sj lesson had to stop as all sick & dizzy from holding my breath. Last week we got eliminated asI couldn't even get to the first fence sj in the indoor area, then she jumped fab outside, this week came 3rd in Novice 30 in outdoor, though spooky she was rideable. It is repetition, & we have some dreadful days, more eliminations, bitchy comments to contend with, then we have days when she is so good its not true, stick with it & extend your overdraft!!
 
I know exactly how you feel. My horse works fantastically in lessons, goes bit downhill in dressage warm ups then used to fall to pieces in the test. I discovered the problem of his fear of the indoor arena and my tenseness made matters worse. So I hired the local indoor arena (really dark and spooky) last week then took him to indoor dressage comp yesterday and really focused on me keeping relaxed as I tend to tense up through my shoulders and set my wrists. He went better than he has done before
smile.gif
All I can suggest is to get someone to viseo you (if you don't already) to see if you can pick up any changes in your riding that are affecting him. Hope he gets better for you.
 
cheers thanks for all the help. I know he is def not afraid of indoor arenas - we have one at home and hes the same if its indoors or out!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top