Long wait between tests

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Bubblewrap

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So I'm taking my boy out on Sunday and we are doing two tests for the first time. The times are up and there is a 2 1/2 hour gap between our tests!
My old horse who is a been there and done it type, had a routine of un tack, hay net, re tack and short warm up and off we would go. He knew his job well!
What would you do for an inexperienced horse?
I don't want to wear him out/not warm up enough second time/lose interest and go flat on me.
With 1 test I've been doing 30 mins warm up with 20 mins of that in walk and getting him supple and relaxed. This has worked well and we have been getting good results.
Do you do the whole warm up again after a long break or do you do a shortened version?
I know it's trial and error but would like to hear others peoples routines.
Thanks
 
I would ask the organisers if there was any chance of having the time of one test moved if there was a no-show. If that wasn't possible I would be tempted to do my first test and then play it by ear and see how your horse copes. I would be prepared to ditch the second test and take the horse home if necessary.

The good news with a young horse is that they normally are not as stiff as an older horse and so don't need as much warm-up. With one of my horses I would give him a 5 minute walk and then no more than 10 minutes of work before doing my test when he was young.
 
On my current horse with that sort of gap then I'd do 2 full warm ups of 30+ minutes.
BUT she is older and a complete Duracell bunny with never ending energy.

For a young horse I'd play it by ear, if the horse comes out relaxed for the first test then I'd shorten the second warm up to as little as you dare.
 
With a 2 hour + gap I go through the complete warm up sequence twice. Less than 2 hours and I will shorten the second warm up based on how the first test went.

If you approach the secretary on the day they may be happy to slot you in to an earlier slot if there is a no show. but if you do that you may only get 15 or 20 mins warning. If your second warm up goes well and you are happy to ride before your time always let the ring steward know. There will always be someone not quite where they want to be who would be happy to switch with you.
 
I think it also depends on what your horse needs from the warm up.
Before the first test, my little horse needs to settle, become supple and most importantly, acquaint herself with the venue - get the spooking and worrying out of her system, and then get cracking.

For the second test, regardless of the gap in between them, I find she has remembered the settling and the familiarisation that we did before the first test, so we can do a much shorter warm up, just getting her quick on the aids.

So for me, I'd do a normal warm up for the first test and then assuming there had been no disasters, a shorter one for the second. If I do too much, she runs out of steam.
 
Thank you for the replies/ideas. He's not very young but very new to dressage. We have been doing 1 test and it's going well, so feel this is the next step. He's fit but has come from a jumping background so trying not to over face him with all the new stuff. He's working well at home and I'm really pleased with his work ethic and his learning curve. He loves to please which is great!
I've been working on relaxation and rhythm, new venue on Sunday so expecting some spooking, so thought 2nd test might help with that.
 
Just a quick update! 2 nice tests both nearly the same mark 66% and 67% but felt the first was more relaxed and he was more switched on but we got the higher mark in the second test! Same judge! I followed Milliepops advice and did a shorter warm up in the middle, mainly walk and little trot and just a short canter on each rein. Thanks for the tips!
 
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