Spooky showjumper

[QueenT]

My daughter’s (19) showjumper (he’s 10) has always been a sensitive personality (honestly, if he were a person he’d be diagnosed with a spectrum variable, so sensitive to sensory stimuli - fly rug, no sprays, ear muffs at shows - and big shadows are scary) He jumps 125 clear in lessons, so we went to show yesterday at 110, first indoor of season. Last show was three weeks ago, outdoors, just a pole down, he was really good - before then long break due to exams. Warm up was pretty hefty, and my daughter gets cut off by another horse, so she has to pull the emergency brake, he bucks around a bit, she calms him down, walks a few laps on a long rein, picks up her warm up. For him this is not a lot, just to find the rhythm, but he’s sweating like a pig. When she comes into the arena, she trots around waiting her turn, and he immediately balks at jump no 4 - apparently this looks super dangerous. She passes the spectator side, and he rears, and she gives him one smack with the whip, just a ‘hey, pay attention’ kind of thing. Crosses start line, good pace, good strides over 1 and 2, ok over 3, but hesitating a bit. Already in the landing, he’s refusing to go at no 4, digging in, she uses the whip once and he bucks her off. There’s nothing unusual in terms of decor on that jump, but my daughter notices a big wall fan slowly rotating so the sun rays blink on the no 4 jump. Sounds stupid, but it could be the final straw. I’m thinking a lot of things… I hate watching my daughter getting eliminated again and again, the disappointment - you can never really tell what mood he’s in. There’s also the safety issue, at some point she might get injured! We need to get the vet out, as this behaviour was exaggerated, even for him, but can f.ex ulcer really set in instantaneously/same day? But maybe it was also because it was the first indoor, a lot of horses react to that. We don’t shield him, but try to expose him to many different stimuli in a comfortable environment - at home he will jump christmas decorations, teddy bears etc. But should we show more to normalize the environment, less to avoid the stress, or not at all because he’s not cut out for it? And the rearing and bucking? Obviously he’s learned by now that getting her out of the saddle will get him out of the situation, and at shows you can’t retry that fence. My daughter wants to keep him, she’s decided she’s his rider, come what may, but she also wants to go to shows.

 

[Gloi]

Is he getting as much turnout now the weather is changing? Some horses are get lot more worked up in winter.
I think I'd spend a bit of time doing clinics and school hire to work away from home in a less stressful environment and see how he behaves there before going to another indoor show.

 

[QueenT]

Is he getting as much turnout now the weather is changing? Some horses are get lot more worked up in winter.
I think I'd spend a bit of time doing clinics and school hire to work away from home in a less stressful environment and see how he behaves there before going to another indoor show.

Yeah, same turnout as always. Her trainer arranged for the team to train at other club/arenas over the summer, no problem there either

 

[doodle]

Some horses are just spooky. Mine is. I took him to a place he had been before. This time dressage and it was windy and the school was clattering alot and he just couldn't deal with it all. I decided it's not worth it at that place. I had tried him outdoors there and he was just as bad. He is 16! Getting annoyed at him just makes the issue worse. I'm not surprised he bucked her off, he was scared, she hit him and that is how they respond.

Lots and lots of arena hires and playing at different places and different jumps.

 

[Red-1]

Funny, I usually think I am very practical where horses are concerned but I feel rather sorry for him.

I think many successful show jumpers are spooky, it's why they don't hit the fence.

You say it was the first indoor, is that of this season, or ever? Even so, things were already different.

The horse seems to have been going well until being cut up in a 'hefty' collecting ring, whereby daughter had to out the handbrake on. That has really unsettled the horse to the point that he was sweating. It sounds like he was scared and probably also unsure as to what he'd done to make the rider 'handbrake' to a halt. So, the surroundings are scary and now the rider is seen as unreliable too.

Sounds to me as if the refusal at no 4 actually happened in the collecting ring. If the horse was already unsettled, the rider smacking the horse twice more in the arena would have made it worse not better.

I guess you have to decide weather you wish to take time to familiarise further, in that if the horse has a catastrophic warm-up, you would either ask to drop down the list until he is properly settled and mentally prepared to go in the arena, or decide not to compete in the competition. You could still enter the ring and would have 60 seconds (?) before the clock starts to count up and probs 60 more before elimination. I would use that time to have the horse feeling better without asking much technical of him.

BTW - mine would have spooked at a flashing light on the jump too, especially if already in a heightened state of anxiety.

 

[QueenT]

I was thinking this too… so normally she uses the short whip just as said ‘pay attention, buddy’ but yesterday he was probably too scared already. She always goes into the ring as soon as she’s allowed and spends every second showing him the fences. I can’t figure out if the fan thing really mattered, he might have picked something else, whatever was there, given his frame of mind

 

[Birker2020]

Mine was always like this, would go into the arena and spot the pole not put back quite like the others on the rsck or the shaft of sunlight on the floor, or a sandbag a distance away from the wing. Even the fact that there was a dead piece of grass which was a lighter colour because a portable fence had been moved on a xc course would be enough for her to shoot sideways nearly unseating you.

And that was before she'd even seen coloured fillers, or those with patterns.

One day a filler I'd inherited from the local riding club was suddenly hung on the menage fence by the y.o. Took me weeks to be able to walk, trot and canter past it without swerving violently each time but she finally got used to the pattern on it..

The one day we walked into the school on a long rein to start our warm up. And she suddenly whipped round. I was used to sitting her spooks but even that had taken me by surprise. When I looked over i could see that someone had used the filler and hung it back with a different pattern showing to the outside. She whipped round in a nano second! Incredible. I used to joke that she'd spot a flea on an ants back and spook!

She'd frequently spook on hacks on her own too, yet strangely enough would never shy into the path of a car - she only ever span to the right. Then one day I realised she was taking the mick! So I changed my whole way of dealing with her. Used to laugh instead of getting angry or scared and for the last couple of years hacking her never came across her spooking again in such a way.

 

[LEC]

I have had loads that never jump as well indoors. I think it’s a lot more anxiety inducing as outdoors there are horses everywhere then indoors they are suddenly by themselves plus you often warm up outdoors and then move indoors. So a lot of change for some horses which tip them over the edge.

If this was mine, I would do an ulcer test by sticking them on an ulcer supplement for 2 weeks and seeing if their behaviour rapidly improved. I am also very pro a gut supplement as the grass changes this time of year which can be enough for some horses. They both do different jobs. I use gastric comfort from Feedmark for ulcers and MGH for gut supplement. If you see an improvement then I would get the vet as the ulcer supplement won’t solve ulcers but it soothes them to see an improvement.
I would drop down to a seriously easy level at 80/90 to build confidence and really praise the horse when good. Try training a couple of times in different places over a course and see what you have.

 

[Grassy]

I had one that would never jump indoors

 

[QueenT]

Mine was always like this, would go into the arena and spot the pole not put back quite like the others on the side, or the shaft of sunlight on the floor, a sandbags away from the wing. even the fact that a dead piece of grass because a portable fence had been moved on a xc course would be enough for her to shoot sideways nearly unsettling you.

And that was before she'd even seen coloured fillers, or those with patterns.

One day a filler I'd inherited from the local riding club was suddenly hung on the menage fence by the y.o. Took me weeks to be able to walk, trot and canter past it without swerving violently each time.

The one day we walked into the school on a long rein to start our warm up. And she suddenly whipped round. I was used to sitting her spooks but even that had taken me by surprise. When I looked over could see that someone had used the filler with a different pattern showing to the outside. She whipped round in a nano second! Incredible. I used to joke that she'd spot a flea on an ants back and spook!

She'd frequently spook on hacks on her own too, yet strangely enough would never shy into the path of a car. Then one day I realised she was taking the mick! So I changed my whole way of dealing with her. Used to laugh instead of getting angry or scared and for the last couple of years hacking her never came across her spoiling again.

That’s an interesting approach, although I’m fairly sure that’s not the case here

 

[QueenT]

I had one that would never jump indoors

Did you try to train it, or did you quickly accept that the horse wouldn’t jump indoors?

 

[QueenT]

I have had loads that never jump as well indoors. I think it’s a lot more anxiety inducing as outdoors there are horses everywhere then indoors they are suddenly by themselves plus you often warm up outdoors and then move indoors. So a lot of change for some horses which tip them over the edge.

If this was mine, I would do an ulcer test by sticking them on an ulcer supplement for 2 weeks and seeing if their behaviour rapidly improved. I am also very pro a gut supplement as the grass changes this time of year which can be enough for some horses. They both do different jobs. I use gastric comfort from Feedmark for ulcers and MGH for gut supplement. If you see an improvement then I would get the vet as the ulcer supplement won’t solve ulcers but it soothes them to see an improvement.
I would drop down to a seriously easy level at 80/90 to build confidence and really praise the horse when good. Try training a couple of times in different places over a course and see what you have.

He’s already on something that’s supports the gut, but I’ll definitely check it out

 

[MissMay]

I personally would take away all pressure. So jump in local shows all winter 80/90cm. Low enough that she can nearly buny hop the fences if he starts saying no back.

I'd go twice a week to any shows I can find. Think bringing a baby horse out and show the world. Some days all you might do is get into the arena trot around and over one fence and that's fine.
Also I'd consider maybe your daughter is subconsciously making it worse you say arena hires etc were no problem all summer so maybe she is tensing in show environment and making a sensitive horse worse.

You need to over expose both of them to everything and make it boring. Still school your height at home but I'd stop Competing that height until they can both cope with the pressure.

Most riding schools etc have winter shows on Friday evening mini midi maxi type things where you don't have the pressure of elimination and she can use it as a schooling event. Christmas and Halloween shows also.

At the moment the situation your in is horse gets scared, horse says no, gets a slap, says no again and then eliminated and leave the arena. There is no learning experience for anyone as you aren't exposing him and removing the fear

 

[QueenT]

I personally would take away all pressure. So jump in local shows all winter 80/90cm. Low enough that she can nearly buny hop the fences if he starts saying no back.

I'd go twice a week to any shows I can find. Think bringing a baby horse out and show the world. Some days all you might do is get into the arena trot around and over one fence and that's fine.
Also I'd consider maybe your daughter is subconsciously making it worse you say arena hires etc were no problem all summer so maybe she is tensing in show environment and making a sensitive horse worse.

You need to over expose both of them to everything and make it boring. Still school your height at home but I'd stop Competing that height until they can both cope with the pressure.

Most riding schools etc have winter shows on Friday evening mini midi maxi type things where you don't have the pressure of elimination and she can use it as a schooling event. Christmas and Halloween shows also.

At the moment the situation your in is horse gets scared, horse says no, gets a slap, says no again and then eliminated and leave the arena. There is no learning experience for anyone as you aren't exposing him and removing the fear

I was considering this, but am wondering whether driving out that often would add to the stress? He loads and travels well, so just wondering about the show part…

 

[spacefaer]

Random thought but have you checked his eyes?

 

[AandK]

My late gelding could be a spooky monkey SJ. If he was worse than normal it was usually due to him being uncomfortable somewhere.

Interestingly in his later years we just bimbled round a few 80cm ODEs and he was much better spook wise in the SJ. Perhaps because I was not putting pressure on me/him, and aiming to have a nice day out and just complete...

 

[Grassy]

Did you try to train it, or did you quickly accept that the horse wouldn’t jump indoors?

We tried for a while but she was unhappy about it, so didn’t take her indoors any more

 

[QueenT]

Random thought but have you checked his eyes?

Vet has looked in normal checks, but not more than that. Might be worth it, though…

 

[MagicMelon]

I had a horse who would win a class one day then then grind to a halt half way round and start rearing, getting eliminated the next. 60% of the time we got eliminated, 40% of the time he was amazing and would jump beautifully in training and at home (also 1.25's no problem). If Im honest I never got to the bottom of it and I tried everything (was also the same behaviour XC). In the end I had to call it a day and I sold him to a lovely hacking home. Has yours always been like this or just started it?

 

[Mynstrel]

Google stress buckets. There were a lot of events that day that paid into his bucket and I'd guess when he went into the ring it overflowed, causing the reaction your daughter got at fence 4.

It's a useful thing to know about for everything, horses, dogs, humans. Once you look as a day or event as a whole rather than focussing on the outcome you gain a lot more understanding of why things happen and how people/horses/dogs react as they do.

 

[ihatework]

Sounds like typical trigger stacking to me, culminating in meltdown.
1. Naturally anxious horse
2. Travelling on lorry
3. Being at show
4. warm up incident
5. ramped up anxiety in ring, gets a wallop
(plus there may have been less obvious triggers you were unaware of)

Spooky isn't necessarily an issue, it generally makes for quite a good showjumper. Its how the underlying anxiety is managed.

If this were mine I would first get a proper vet check done. Whilst horses all have different levels of baseline anxiety, time and time again I have seen this escalate when a horse is harbouring low grade pain.

When that's dealt with, scrutinise the management. Enough turnout (enough company?), clear routine, reactivity to feed (strip it right down to basics and go from there), sufficient work? Tack all fit well? Teeth ok?

You need to get the horse at a happy place before adding in travelling and shows.

Then there is huge merit in breaking down the expectations of a horse like this when at a show. I know for a young rider who has a horse capable of jumping a big fence it must be super frustrating and will feel like a massive step backwards, but honestly I would stick to BN/Disco for a while. Go out regularly but with low expectations and if its not feeling right come home without going in the ring. You need to build positive experiences. Completely stage manage the day - choose venues that are organised and have sufficiently large well managed warm ups. If he needs someone he trusts to walk into the competition arena with him to prevent a backwards thought, then do it. Use all your time with the bell and try not to get on his case.

 

[soloequestrian]

I have a very anxious mare and I think that her dietary minerals are critical for her to be able to focus. She's on a magnesium supplement called Nupafeed MAH which made a surprising difference to her. She also gets a more broad spectrum mineral supplement (made up of Progressive Earth's 'pro-mineral', calcium and biotin) and I ran out of that last week. Didn't think it would affect her but good grief she turned into a nightmare. One day back on the full mineral supplement and she was a normal person again. She's not totally consistent - I think her hormones affect her too - but she's much better now than she was a year or so ago.

 

[QueenT]

I had a horse who would win a class one day then then grind to a halt half way round and start rearing, getting eliminated the next. 60% of the time we got eliminated, 40% of the time he was amazing and would jump beautifully in training and at home (also 1.25's no problem). If Im honest I never got to the bottom of it and I tried everything (was also the same behaviour XC). In the end I had to call it a day and I sold him to a lovely hacking home. Has yours always been like this or just started it?

It varies, he can go clear and placed one day, and eliminated the next day in the same arena - especially if sun suddenly comes in through the windows and throws long shadows