standing still / how to stop whinnying

[showjumpergirl]

I have a pony who can and does stand beautifully at home - square, still and with his nose on the vertical, but as he is very "go go go" and excitable (if he sees jumps he just wants to get on with the job and as we BSJA this is acceptableish), but at shows he WILL NOT stand still! This is dropping me marks and is hell for my mum to hold while I'm riding the other one because he barges and neighs, and pulls/yanks while pawing at the ground (but he's perfectly mannered at home).

How can I teach him to stand still at shows then because I want to do some low level eventing and county level WHP (which I did the other day but he embarassed me totally with this issue - we were pulled in second, the judge was complimentary, but he wouldn't stand for her to assess his conformation, or in line with the other ponies. He was going backwards, forwards, sideways, in circles, and the only time he stood still was when he was trying to nuzzle my foot, so we dropped four places (last out of the clears). )

So has anyone any exercises to teach him to stand? I think a lot of it stems not only from excitement, but his over-attachment to my other pony, who he constantly whinnies at, so any suggestions? As he's only 5, I want to break this habit sooner rather than later

Tea and biscuits if you have got this far and thanks.

 

[Sol]

How is he at home when your other pony isn't near?
I haven't got a lot of experience with the issue, but I'd work on making sure he was confident working away from your other pony, which might involve a lot of groundwork to get him really trusting you. Then just a lot of desensitizing at shows, letting him just chill out in hand (without the pressure of competing) until he realises that it's all ok and not stressful

 

[TarrSteps]

Horses, being prey animals, are hardwired to move when they're anxious. So getting agitated at him for not standing - while perfectly understandable - is likely only going to make the situation worse, at least in the moment. It's not a "habit" it's intrinsic and young horses have to be taught to not give in to their instincts, rather than trained to do a specific thing.

That said, of course bad behaviour should be corrected, of course. It can't be "okay" to barge or bite or otherwise do things he wouldn't be allowed to do at home. But you have to correct only that behaviour, not get mad at him because he's irritating you.

I know you say he's perfect at home but are his ground manners spot on? Does he stay out of your space etc in any situation? Horses "lose" their training when they're excited so if a horse is inclined to slip, everything has to be that much better the rest of the time.

After that, it's mileage. He needs to be exposed to stressful situations, preferably ones you can manage, and learn to accept them before he will settle enough to stay calm under pressure. Some horses get this very easily, some take longer. When I take young horses out I don't really expect them to stand still initially (although some do) so I make sure they have a job to do the whole time they're out, even if it's just walking. Getting them tired helps so a bit of longing if it's possible, or maybe coming early so they can have a ride first thing then I get off while they get ready for the ring - this works very well for some horses. Sometimes they just have to walk around and see things - I've walked young stallions for hours sometimes, until they stop thinking there's something exciting around every corner. You can't force a horse to relax, but you can direct the tension into doing things he knows how to do, so that he starts to see that showing is just like training at home.

It doesn't seem to be so common here but where I'm from it's very common to take young horses out to "hack around" at shows, riding them a couple of times during the day, doing a bit of schooling, having a mooch around, stopping to chat etc., but not putting pressure on them to show. I find this is the quickest method of teaching them it's no big deal. Sometimes even one day of this, with you really focused on the goal of relaxing him, can make a HUGE difference. And as he starts to relax, you'll relax about him relaxing.

You say that he's generally "go go", which doesn't bother you, but it may be you have to change his management a bit to make him slightly less so until he's a bit more established in his showing. It sounds like his "acceptable" level of tension is quite high, then the pressure of the show ground on top blows his mind a bit.

The important thing to remember is his behaviour is not at all unusual for a young horse. It's a stage and you have to help him through it.

 

[showjumpergirl]

Thank you both for the replies!

Sol

How is he at home when your other pony isn't near?

He is generally very good, he doesn't nap or anything, but will nicker every 10-15 minutes or so, and will always reply to any whinnies from other horses.
What kind of groundwork do you mean?

TarrSteps: I try not to get angry or frustrated with him, but it's annoying when they behave well at home but take them out to a show, and it's all gone to pot. At home he's lovely on the ground, you can muck out (with him in the stable) with the door open, when you put his feed in the bucket, he won't eat it until you pat him and step back (same with haylage and the manger), and before shows you can wash/groom him without being tied up, and he's good to lead, but he's not scared of me, it's more respectful. He is very nuzzly though (I hardly even titbit), and this comes out at shows. I think that he's insecure really, so when he's in a new situation without the other pony he gets worried, I don't think he gets anxious because of what he has to do competing wise.

So essentially, I should take him to shows with no intention of doing anything so that he relaxes (when I say he's "go go", I just mean that he's very forward off the leg, and as soon as you've mounted and asked him to move on, he bounces off tail held high - he's just really enthusiastic ).

Thanks for all the advice and helping me understand the instinct behind this! I'm hoping then that he will just grow out of it

 

[Bert&Maud]

If he were mine I would probably take him to some outings without his friend - in my experience when they know their stable mate is at the show too they become fixed on keeping in touch with them. I'd take him to some really low key local things like riding club dressage etc, and if you only have him to worry about and no stress of competition you can concentrate on spending time with him patiently letting him settle and realise that parties are nothing to get anxious about. Work him quietly until he starts to relax and then reward him with taking him home. At 5 mine was a pain to take to shows, becoming tense, inattentive and whinnying, but with a little patience he was soon much better. He still paws the ground by the trailer when he's being tacked up, although he's 8 now and has had numerous outings, and I think we should always remember that to a lot of horses shows etc will always be quite stressful.

 

[TarrSteps]

It does sound like he's just being a real baby and you're doing all the right things, as he's looking to you for confidence and reassurance. So yes, I think you might just have to keep taking him places and being firm but kind, until he learns it all okay.

When he does call at home, maybe try giving him something else to think about, such as riding a transition or smaller circle or similar. So he learns to focus completely on you and not "check in" with his buddies. Again, not punishing him, just reminding him that when you're riding YOU are his herd and he only needs to look to you for direction.

By ground work, I just meant make really sure he understands the aid to get out of your space, yield his shoulders and quarters etc. REALLY well, so when you ask at shows you have some chance he might remember some of it when his brain is full of other stuff. It might be a plan to make time to take him for a short walk when you first get there and "run through" his ground work in the lorry park or similar out of the way place to get his focus on you. This works well for some horses, less so for others so you might have to experiment.

They can be like kids - you get one that's all confident and grown up at home, but loses some of that out in the world. He sounds a cutie and it's just a case of helping him grow up a bit. Again, lots of good horses go through this phase.

 

[showjumpergirl]

Thank you all so much for the advice - it's given me a lot to think about I'll just have to be more patient then, and take some pressure off. Tarrsteps: I love the idea of running through his groundwork at shows, I'd never thought of that, and giving myself time to do this will mean less rushing in the preparation, so thanks!