Lack of impulsion in dressage tests

Snowy Celandine

Snowy Celandine

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 April 2010
Messages
24,878
Visit site
I think I need help :( I've done a few Prelim tests this Spring and my scores are getting steadily worse, not better. I am fine in the warm up and don't feel nervous but once I get into the arena my horse just sort of dies underneath me and I feel as though I am riding a block of wood. Everything is an effort. Walk is painfully slow, trot is awful and canter is an excuse to break back into a sluggish trot.

Where could I be going wrong? All week at home my horse has been full of beans and no doubt will continue to be when we are not out. She has just wanted to trot really fast and canter her socks off but all this stops once we get into a dressage arena. Could my nerves (which do kick in badly once the previous competitor has saluted :o ) be making my horse react like this? It really feel as though we are wading through treacle and all the comments on my sheet reflect this.

Any advice would be gratefully received as I am starting to wonder if I should call it a day and stay at home for ever more :confused:
 
I know the feeling!!

how do you warm up? my new instructor has told me to walk, trot and canter round the arena on each rein on a loose rein, really working on getting B thinking forwards and energetic, then to do loads of transitions from pace to pace as well as within the pace.

It's worked wonders for us. Make sure you're thinking about sending the horse forwards and having her off your leg rather than worrying about what her head's doing, that's definitely worked for me.
 
Do you get regular lessons? If so, maybe your instructor could come along one day with you. She might help to recognise the exact problem.

It is possibly your nerves are the cause. I remember once writing at a dressage when a rider at my yard came in. At home she was a beautiful relaxed rider; I remember being really shocked when she was so stiff. Nerves really affected her.

I was recently given a book called 'It's Not Just About the Ribbons' which has made a huge difference to me and my nerves. It might be worth seeing if you can find a copy :)
 
Warming up I just walk, trot and canter on both reins and, if the test includes it and there's room, I canter across both diagonals. I try to warm up on a loose rein first and then ask her to work properly and then let her rest for a few minutes before the test begins. Today was probably a bad day because it was incredibly windy and we didn't warm up properly as everything was very spooky and noisy and neither of us could concentrate on the job in hand :eek:

I forgot to say that she did find enough energy in the arena to spook at the judge's car and our final time up the centre line was done at a million miles per hour which is one of her long-standing habits. I had to turn her head as we got past X or I think we'd just have carried on until we hit the judge's car bonnet!
 
MissSBird - I would love my instructor to come with me but she is too busy with other things at the moment so it wouldn't be fair to ask her, unfortunately. When her circumstances change I will ask her if she can come along though :)

I am not actually good rider at home but I can manage an adequate Prelim test in my lessons. Sadly, I get so tense that I ride like an ironing board when I'm out! I have managed to conquer my nerves until the last minute which may or may not be progress. I used to start getting nervous the night before and by the time I got to the competition venue I was like a limp dishcloth due to nerves :mad: Now I am only getting nervous just before I'm due to go into the arena but I am still getting very worked up and it must be affecting my horse too I think.
 
Right, I'm off to put the dogs to bed but I would be very happy to hear anyone else's experiences/advice when I log on tomorrow. Thanks :)
 
My youngster Monty used to be like this and is generally lazy about everything. He would warm up beautifully but as soon as the bell rung he woudl simply down tools and die. Now i'm not particularly nervous but that may have some bearing.

The advice given to me was to throw away a couple of tests and certainly not beat him into moving forwards but dont be afraid to back my leg up with the stick. Get a bit cross and tell horse that this dying is not acceptable anymore. Also in the space between the competitor before you and the judge ringing the bell for you to start. get in the ring asap and have a good canter or strong trot around the arena to wake them up and keep their minds on the job. monty now goes inot ring has spanking canter around the edge..complete with spooks at judges box/car and what ever else he can find that might eat him. When the bell goes now he comes down that first centre line almost at medium trot!! the diff is amazing. also in warm as said previously, lots of transitions and also some within the paces to keep thier minds energised!!

Hope some of this helps and keep plugging away, scores will get better i promise!!

Sam and Dressage-Supremo Monty (his mother wishes!!)
xx
 
I concur with the comment re thinking forward but also backing off trying to get the control of the head spot on - that is something that has helped me.

As someone pointed out, if you control the neck/head without working the quarters at the same time with your leg (which is a heck of a lot of concentration until you're used to it - well that could just be me!!) you will lock the shoulders and the horse gets "stuck" and struggles to know which way to move to get out of it. This creates the "board" that I felt and you seem to also mention.

Our tests may not look so "pretty" in terms of head carriage all the time but the overall performance has gone up no end. We are now working on putting it all together so, hopefully, we will start to look better too!!

As I say this is just something that has helped me and if this isn't right for you, I'm sure you'll find a way that works from all the comments.

Let us know how you get on and don't give up
 
Yep been there had exactly the same problem. Forget the front end work the engine ~ it could well be your nerves and if you could well be holding back without realising ~ until the end when you feel its over hence the rushing.
 
Thank you everyone :) I didn't realise that it was acceptable to canter round the outside of the arena :confused: In the last but one test that we did you had to warm up inside the arena (which I hated because it meant that I couldn't enter straight up the centre line) and I was told not to 'do any dressage movements' whilst warming up. Thinking back, I should have asked what that actually meant!

I did wonder about giving her a tap in the arena and throwing the test away, just to make her understand that she can work properly during a test. My instructor suggested this too but I have always been a bit afraid to try it for fear of looking stupid/out of control. I must add that I've never walloped any horse, only tapped it behind my leg if it refuses to listen to my leg :o

Finally, I think it may well be worth trying forget about the pretty outline a bit in order to get her working properly from behind.

I'm going to give her a day off today and think of tomorrow as a fresh start :D I was videoed on Thursday and she went brilliantly so I know we can do it!!!
 
This is my problem too, could be our "catch phrase" as well!!

I think some horses just don't "like" doing dressage and they just tune out when they enter the menage to do their tests. Hacking out Hattie is fine and forward without any leg (canter off with the brush of a leg!), if I schooled jumping all week, she'd still be VERY forward for a jumping comp but dressage, she doesn't find it exciting and gets dead.

Although I don't jump much any more due to dodgey body parts (except for the occasional clear round show), I find if I JUST work on flat work, Hattie gets bored and tunes out when it's test time. I find adding a tiny jump (even one just a few inches high!) or some trotting poles into our dressaging keeps her from tuning out as then she thinks she's going to a clear round show.

Hattie LOVES jumping so the little jump or trotting poles keeps her happy yet isn't too much for me to cope with, lol.

My instructor also has me "telling" with the whip too. Not beating the horse but ask with my leg 1st and if not response, then leg and a firm smack with the schooling whip the 2nd time. After a few times of doing this, the horse starts to learn that it feels nicer to just do it the first time when asked. Don't worry about an outline, this comes by itself when the horse is going forward and listening to your leg during the 1st time you ask.

I find the "whip telling", adding a tiny obstacle/poles into your dressage schooling, cutting down on schooling too (like schooling every 2nd day and alternating with lunging or free schooling) AND going for a hack after schooling (if you have time), helps to keep a horse fresh for the test.

Mints after schooling and after a test also are an extra incentive too ;)
 
Thanks sidesaddlegirl :) I don't jump, unfortunately, as I've got a bad back and as far as I know my horse has never jumped in her life either :o She does actually seem to enjoy schooling. She usually gives her best and is quick off the leg and loves her fast work. We are learning a bit of counter canter and she gets all excited and pings about in lessons but all this just evaporates once we enter a dressage arena :(

I honestly think it must be my nerves which are affecting her so I really need to develop a better strategy for coping with them. I am not scared as such but just freak out at the thought of someone watching me closely and judging everything I do. Stupid really since that is exactly what you sign up for when you do a dressage test :rolleyes:
 
I think what they mean by 'no dressage movements in the arena before the bell' is that you can only go round the edge of the arena - you must not do any circles / cross the arena etc. Some judges are more strict about this than others. I don't think there's anything to stop you trotting / cantering around the edge if you have to start the test from within the arena.
 
Some good advice there, I think the horse is taking the mickey a little bit and needs a bit of a wake up call. Just because it's a test it doesn't mean that you can't discipline her to listen to your leg and you may well get a good mark for reacting to and correcting the problem.

BTW there is no 'no dressage movements in the arena before the bell' rule! In arenas where there is no space to warm up before the bell you can enter the arena and do whatever you like (other than go up the centre line as this may make the judge think you are trying to start the test before the bell goes). You can canter, do circles, cross the arena, do lateral work and practice movements from the test. The only relevant rule is that you need to start the test at least 45 seconds after the bell goes.
 
Thanks booboos :) I will bear in mind what you say about the 'no dressage movements in the arena' if we go to that venue again. I didn't question it at the time because I assumed that it was a well known rule and that I was just ignorant :o
 
Booboos said:
Some good advice there, I think the horse is taking the mickey a little bit and needs a bit of a wake up call. Just because it's a test it doesn't mean that you can't discipline her to listen to your leg and you may well get a good mark for reacting to and correcting the problem.

BTW there is no 'no dressage movements in the arena before the bell' rule! In arenas where there is no space to warm up before the bell you can enter the arena and do whatever you like (other than go up the centre line as this may make the judge think you are trying to start the test before the bell goes). You can canter, do circles, cross the arena, do lateral work and practice movements from the test. The only relevant rule is that you need to start the test at least 45 seconds after the bell goes.
Click to expand...

That reads a bit funny Booboos.....

The rule is that once the bell has been rung you have a maximum of 45secs to start your test, take longer than that and you will be penalised.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top