SaffronWelshDragon
Well-Known Member
Not sure if I'm alone here, but I have an older pony (22 approx) who until 2012 did nothing other than hacking. Since then we've been out to quite a few competitions over the years, a bit of everything before settling on dressage. The problem I have is I don't have any transport, so our outings are sporadic. Last year we were doing BD and at one point went twice a month (with a 3 mile hack each way). She is always tense at competitions, very nosy and I find it difficult to keep her attention. She gradually improved last year but it still wasn't great. To be fair she struggles a bit at home, but is much better than she used to be. At the weekend we went to a new venue to do an unaff, we've not been out since September last year. It was a 4 mile hack there and her eyes were on stalks when we got there. I don't feel nervous about competitions any more, and think that I'm a pretty chilled person. Once I got into the warm up, and later went in for the test, she just kind of tensed the underside of her neck and fixed it, and I just can't move it.
I'm not sure if anyone else has problems like this, I guess I must be unusual in that I have an older mare who has basically zero experience of competitions before the age of 18, so I wonder if this is just the way things are going to be? She's fit as a fiddle and I'm so happy continuing her work but I just feel like she must be set in her ways now I won't be able to change her. She's also a handful on the ground, yet at home she's an angel. Any thoughts?
I'm not sure if anyone else has problems like this, I guess I must be unusual in that I have an older mare who has basically zero experience of competitions before the age of 18, so I wonder if this is just the way things are going to be? She's fit as a fiddle and I'm so happy continuing her work but I just feel like she must be set in her ways now I won't be able to change her. She's also a handful on the ground, yet at home she's an angel. Any thoughts?
