Stopping to poo in a test

JulesRules

JulesRules

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Brat Pony won't ? in trot?

He likes to stop to poop, although he will go in walk if I push him on. If I make him trot he simply waits and tries to stop again a few moments later to go.

This isn't a huge issue until he does it in the middle of a dressage test.

On Saturday he did this in both of our tests. ?

I generally try to get him to go twice in the warm up, but if he only goes once you can guarentee he'll try to go during the test.

If he tries to go in the test I generally have 2 options.
1) just let him get it out and get a 4.0 and a comment like "shame about the toilet stop" or
2) push him on through it and get a 5 or 5.5 and a comment like " lost rythmn" or "lacking impulsion", and then get another one or two of the same when he tries again throughout the test.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get him over this? Pushing him on just seems to result in him waiting to go rather than just going in trot.

Thanks ?
 
No idea how to stop him sorry - if you've got to go you've got to go! I'm sure people will have more ideas on that but while you're faced with this issue, I'd let him stop and poo - that way you only lose marks for one movement rather than affecting two or even three movements.

ETA - could you start your warm up a bit earlier so you have more chance of him pooing before he goes in?
 
annagain said:
No idea how to stop him sorry - if you've got to go you've got to go! I'm sure people will have more ideas on that but while you're faced with this issue, I'd let him stop and poo - that way you only lose marks for one movement rather than affecting two or even three movements.

ETA - could you start your warm up a bit earlier so you have more chance of him pooing before he goes in?
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It depends how far through the test we are when he decides he wants to go. If it's at the start it's best to just let him go, if it's nearer the end it's best to push through it.

I actually got on 10 minutes earlier for our 2nd test on Saturday in the hope he'd go twice in warm up, but he just held it in longer. It's worth another try though if nobody comes up with any other suggestions I guess. He was farting lots but not pooping and I was just like " poo damm you "??
 
It is a tricky one, going so often is unusual most will average 1 per hour if not less, a few get tense and do small amounts rather than one full clear out, it is not something I have had an issue with very often, my event horse years ago would not go once he had tack on and that caused minor colic a couple of times if I didn't get the timing right to get him untacked, I find they tend to go enough in the box so they have none left to do by the time they arrive.

My inclination would be to encourage him to stop and be comfortable, ideally he will go properly in the warm up you can make a big fuss and tell him how good he is and he should manage to last another 20 mins to warm up and do the test, I allow this at home as it makes clearing up the school easier but also so it does not create tension by them being forced to continue when they want to stop, they rarely go on the move in the field, if they are lit up and excited they tend to keep moving so jumping has never been an issue as they just keep going on the move.

As he has a history of ulcers I would also be considering whether he needs a little help when out and about, it is not normal to go so frequently, can be a sign of tension so worth looking into what supplements may help him on competition days.
 
Just another thought what tests are you doing? if intro with no cantering, so not cantering in the warm up, it may help move things through if he has a really good canter early on, often they will think after the canter is time for a break and take advantage of that to go, it also engages the core which may encourage him to go.
 
i would ride him to the most scary part of the showground about 15 mins before the test, maybe next to a high hedge or somewhere away from the safety of the other horses. With any luck it will help him to pass things through while he feels a bit anxious, then have time to calm down again ready to concentrate on the test
 
I can relate to everything you say in both of your points ☹️. OK mine is a riding school horse but we’ve been together for almost three years and have done several Intros and a Prelim. I live in constant fear and it’s sheer luck he’s only poo’d once in a test. No chance of me changing him, it’s pretty obvious other riders let him do it, and he sees it as his right to be able to stop. My instructor said just get him going immediately he has dumped so I don’t lose any more points. Good luck!
 
Errin Paddywack said:
My sister had a little welsh pony who used to wait to lift his tail until the starting bell went. This was jumping. By the time he had finished the minute you are given to start was up and you were out. If you pushed him on you had three refusals at the first fence. Too bright by half.
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Pretty sure they stop the clock if your horse starts pooing during your 45 second countdown! Or at least they definitely do in BS.
 
I must be cruel, because mine is not allowed to stop to poo, ever.

IMO, you can't allow them to stop on a day to day basis then not allow it in the ring, that would not be fair.

If I were schooling mine and she ground to a halt I would be none to polite about it. I dare say she would propel forwards at a fair rate if she ignored a reasonable go aid.

What would happen if we were crossing a road? No, if I say go, she goes. As would the others before her.

She has got this down to a T, she now always has a 'precautionary wee' when leaving the stable, and I can't remember the last time she had a poo when schooling. She either pushes one out before we start or waits until we have finished. I guess she would rather not poo and go, and realises that stopping is not allowed, so plans her activities round this unpalatable fact!
 
I have only had one who didnt keep going when pooing, he was a connemara, a manic windsucker prone to colic. He also farted a lot for the first 10 mins of a ride.
I dont know if any of this was connected but he really ground to a halt despite my encouragement to keep going!
 
Very rare that any of mine go while they are working, they all get into a routine to go while I'm tacking up ;) but if they do I always let them stop because picking poo shrapnel out of our school surface is a pita. Occasionally one has needed to go in a test and I've just put up with the disruption because it suits me to let them stop at home.

As BP says needing to poo often can be a sign of stress or tension so I think her responses are spot on.
 
milliepops said:
Very rare that any of mine go while they are working, they all get into a routine to go while I'm tacking up ;) but if they do I always let them stop because picking poo shrapnel out of our school surface is a pita. Occasionally one has needed to go in a test and I've just put up with the disruption because it suits me to let them stop at home.

As BP says needing to poo often can be a sign of stress or tension so I think her responses are spot on.
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It is very rare that any of mine go when working, most are happy to go out hacking and keep moving then possibly because they are relaxed in a different way to how they are when schooling and are spending far more time in walk, my eventer took years before he would go out hacking and only then if the hack was a long one, my guess is he was beaten early on for trying to stop and being the sensitive horse he was who always tried to please he never forgot, it took me a while to realise he had to be taken back to the lorry and be untacked before he would go, he had a bout of colic after a clinic and later another minor one at an event when the phases were fairly close together which impacted on his performance and then the penny dropped as to how to manage him and allow him to cope.

I have had a few in over the years that go a lot when they first come in for schooling but once they relax it tends to slow down and I use it as a sign that they are more relaxed and focused on the job, an hour or so between going is about normal for most, if not a fair bit longer, so a decent schooling session should be possible.
 
be positive said:
I have had a few in over the years that go a lot when they first come in for schooling but once they relax it tends to slow down and I use it as a sign that they are more relaxed and focused on the job, an hour or so between going is about normal for most, if not a fair bit longer, so a decent schooling session should be possible.
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Yeah Darcy would poo once or twice in a session when he first arrived which was definitely a tension thing, he stopped that after a little while which showed me he was getting used to his new life :)
 
JulesRules said:
Brat Pony won't ? in trot?

He likes to stop to poop, although he will go in walk if I push him on. If I make him trot he simply waits and tries to stop again a few moments later to go.

This isn't a huge issue until he does it in the middle of a dressage test.

On Saturday he did this in both of our tests. ?

I generally try to get him to go twice in the warm up, but if he only goes once you can guarentee he'll try to go during the test.

If he tries to go in the test I generally have 2 options.
1) just let him get it out and get a 4.0 and a comment like "shame about the toilet stop" or
2) push him on through it and get a 5 or 5.5 and a comment like " lost rythmn" or "lacking impulsion", and then get another one or two of the same when he tries again throughout the test.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get him over this? Pushing him on just seems to result in him waiting to go rather than just going in trot.

Thanks ?
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Lovely post. Gave me some smiles.

I think your pony is very sensible and in my opinion (I've had a bit of coffee and am sparked up) the rules -- if there are rules about this sort of thing -- need to be looked at.

What on earth is wrong with a horse stopping to relieve itself during a test?? I'm not asking this of you JR, but of the system. It annoys me that some people think that just because a horse can poo and move at the same time (as could we), then it should. Anyone who lets a horse stand still is apparently allowing their horse to be precious.

A friend of mine once pulled me up (no pun intended) for allowing my gelding to stop to relieve himself while on his way from the paddock to the feed-yards. I said I didn't mind waiting.

In competition, I think a little understanding would go a long way. Do the organisers poo while travelling from this spot to that spot? No, they take their time and do as they prefer. Why not the horse?
 
Jules Rules I have the exact same issue! He just stops dead from any pace and if I ride him forcibly forward the subsequent movements are tense and choppy and he will usually try the same again. Last time he ground to a halt in the middle of a 20m canter circle resulting in a justified 4 but shortly after he got an 8!!! I do think its partly nerves as its getting less frequent and he no longer does it in lessons or while jumping so Im trying to "go with the flow". Just praying the next flow isnt a ginormous wee in front of the judges box (yes he is well capable of that too....) You are not alone and I feel your frustration...o_O Its also pretty embarassing as he doesnt rush the toilet break and Im stuck there silently cursing and liable to forget the rest of the test as a result. :eek:
 
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Red-1 said:
If I were schooling mine and she ground to a halt I would be none to polite about it. I dare say she would propel forwards at a fair rate if she ignored a reasonable go aid.

What would happen if we were crossing a road? No, if I say go, she goes. As would the others before her.

She has got this down to a T, she now always has a 'precautionary wee' when leaving the stable, and I can't remember the last time she had a poo when schooling. She either pushes one out before we start or waits until we have finished. I guess she would rather not poo and go, and realises that stopping is not allowed, so plans her activities round this unpalatable fact!
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I bossed my old pony a time or two in his youth when he stopped for a poo when being ridden> He got the hint because he never did another one in all the years I had him. He stopped to do one on the way to the gate when I went to catch him in and saved them up for when he went back out. The only other time he did them was in the trailer.
 
Gloi said:
I bossed my old pony a time or two in his youth when he stopped for a poo when being ridden> He got the hint because he never did another one in all the years I had him. He stopped to do one on the way to the gate when I went to catch him in and saved them up for when he went back out. The only other time he did them was in the trailer.
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Maybe the difference is that I expect them to respond to the leg and correct them for not doing so, consistently, and in every situation? I suspect that feels very different to being walloped for having a poo.

I have trained many, many horses, and the Police horses especially not only knew to respond to the leg, but also poo'ed freely and whenever they wanted. Usually in front of M&S or Boots on the High Street :rolleyes:. Because I am only reprimanding a lax response to a forward aid, they have not become hung up on it. The response to a 'no go' situation is always the same, regardless if that is because of needing a poo or wanting to stop and snack on a bush, or even when leaving a group of horses on the riding school. Go means go.

They were also trained to wee on command. We were often out for hours, maybe 3 hours on the lorry, then straight onto 4-6 hours riding on concrete and back to the box. I always managed to find a small square of grass for them to wee on, and they did so on command as they realised that this was their golden opportunity. Many a time we have worked a football match, had 8 horses, still in order, all wee-ing in harmony. People have taken photos as it looks so strange, although that does seem a bit weird.
 
Mine is not allowed to stop for pooing. Never. Not at home, not on hacks, just never.

If you don't like to push on while the horse is doing his business, I would look into making it a behavioural response. I have friends who are endurance riders and they train their horses to urinate when they whistle. I guess something similar could be done with pooing. if you whistle the same tune everytime he goes, at some point he will combine that sound with what he is doing and you should be able to make him go in the warm up when you whistle.
 
They should not need to stop to poo! Don't let them ever and it should soon cease to be a problem. In an ideal world you wouldn't let them acquire this habit in the first place but if someone else has let them before you then I can see you may have a problem to fix but have difficulty believing it is that hard if you are completely consistent in your approach.
 
Lois Lame said:
Lovely post. Gave me some smiles.

I think your pony is very sensible and in my opinion (I've had a bit of coffee and am sparked up) the rules -- if there are rules about this sort of thing -- need to be looked at.

What on earth is wrong with a horse stopping to relieve itself during a test?? I'm not asking this of you JR, but of the system. It annoys me that some people think that just because a horse can poo and move at the same time (as could we), then it should. Anyone who lets a horse stand still is apparently allowing their horse to be precious.

A friend of mine once pulled me up (no pun intended) for allowing my gelding to stop to relieve himself while on his way from the paddock to the feed-yards. I said I didn't mind waiting.

In competition, I think a little understanding would go a long way. Do the organisers poo while travelling from this spot to that spot? No, they take their time and do as they prefer. Why not the horse?
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:o_O
 
I have exact the same problem. My issue was when I backed him at 4 and he stopped to poo I never asked him to move, so its learnt behaviour and my own fault.

I'm following with interest as he is 8 now and NOTHING will get mine moving if hes pooing. Smack, pony club click, horse going without him, nothing. If he needs a poo in trot, its emergency stop and refuse to move until finished.
Its a HUGE issue in dressage tests and have no idea how to solve it now..
 
My horse doesnt typically ask to stop when ridden. I often dont notice until I feel the back lift of poo-ing. But strangely led, he thinks stopping is entirely his right. He's very polite to lead, but 14 and fairly convinced stopping is okay. I find it odd as he doesnt expect to stop ridden. I do actually stop him ridden if I am fast enough, in school, as so much easier to pick up. But more leg and all my horses over the years keep going through poo-ing in a test.
 
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