Sucess stories for anxious horse out competiting?

[Acobandawelsh]

Anyone else turned it around with a super sharp sensitive horse?
First outing in well over 4 years today for us both. Had a few years of serious health issues with my child over the past few years so horses where on the back burner! Anyway child is thankfully all good now. I really want to pursue dressage with my boy, goals are to register BD and aim.for championships at novice level. He is 11 this year and he is a section D, very talented and very clever! went into an indoor arena for the test and he went horribly. Really stiff,anxious, spooky etc a far cry from the usual soft and swingy horse he is at home! worked hard with weekely lessons since last summer with a fab trainer, hiring a trailer currently for transport, he has regular saddle checks etc and i have invested lots of time and money into him, we have come so far and going really nicely at home, to be fair he warmed up beautifully after 20 mins he settled nicely in the arena despite it being a really busy warm up! About 85% of how he goes at home. As soon as we went into the indoor arena for the test everything went out the window! The white boards, the judges box, the people around etc ? we didn't even manage 60% in the prelim his anxious nature gets the better of him. Hes fed a calmer which has helped lots and he had caming cookies.

I really wanted to register him with BD this year and trainer thinks we are more than capable at going straight in at novice. At home we are currently working on things like travers, half pass, counter canter etc which i say he does with ease.
I think getting him out to different venues will help alot and maybe lessons at said venue with my instructor in their indoor arena (could work out expensive though so could do this probably 1 x per month)

So my question is has anyone got any success stories/tips on how to get what we have at home when it comes to the test?
Sorry its long!

 

[oldie48]

tbh I think you've answered your own question, he just needs to get out and about. It's his first outing for four years and yours too so it was to be expected, especially as he's a sharp sensitive horse. I'd forget BD for now and just get him to as many unaffiliated comps as possible, keep him well within his comfort zone with regard to level and just aim for relaxation. Lots of horses get tense in a competition environment but most do get better over time.

 

[GreyDot]

As above, I think you have pretty much already nailed what you have to do. I would also add, that a couple of outings as HC will also take the pressure. Maybe a cheeky approach, but the entry fee for a competition is a lot less than arena hire, but you get the added 'bonus' of practice in a 'real life' scenario, with a busy warm-up, whiteboards, being taken away from other horses for the actual test, and to top it off, a scoresheet at the end with points on which to work.

Take the pressure off yourself and go out there thinking of it as a very well dressed schooling session. A couple of outings like that will give you a better idea of where you are.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Your description sums up a lot of Welsh D's. I had one years ago when they were tall and sporty types, he was such a kind and biddable chap, but mad as a box of frogs right through to his last year in retirement at 28.

In his younger years I simply took him out time and time again, all sorts of parties, pleasure rides, working hunter showing, low level stuff but out very frequently. He was foremost a hunter. He never lost his excitable nature but the lid did stay on the more he saw apart from the hunting, where he frightened me witless on a regular basis because he would take on any fence without consultation from me. Despite his excitability he never bucked/span/spooked or anything else remotely rude or dangerous, he just bounced around like a huge welsh dragon with a smile on his face. One hunter judge got off him and said - hmmm, shaken not stirred. That certainly summed him up very well. He had downsides though, the excitability always kept him on the lean side and he was a terrible traveller, always boiling over in the lorry.

Getting your D to that level of dressage is a real achievement, good luck with him this year.

 

[Upthecreek]

How many times before today has the horse been ridden in an indoor arena?

 

[scats]

I have a registered part bred welsh who was a nightmare to take out when I got her. It took two people to manage her (she’s 15hh!) and she was a spooky, daft mess in new arenas. I had to be lead in to the arena because she just lost her head.
I just got her out and about as much as possible. She’s still on edge in new arenas, but she’s much better now, though I’m not sure I’ll ever get the feeling I get at home with her as she’s naturally just very suspicious of places.

 

[TPO]

Sensitive Ds are @milliepops speciality. Hopefully she'll be along soon

 

[Acobandawelsh]

How many times before today has the horse been ridden in an indoor arena?

About 3 x in all!

 

[Acobandawelsh]

As above, I think you have pretty much already nailed what you have to do. I would also add, that a couple of outings as HC will also take the pressure. Maybe a cheeky approach, but the entry fee for a competition is a lot less than arena hire, but you get the added 'bonus' of practice in a 'real life' scenario, with a busy warm-up, whiteboards, being taken away from other horses for the actual test, and to top it off, a scoresheet at the end with points on which to work.

Take the pressure off yourself and go out there thinking of it as a very well dressed schooling session. A couple of outings like that will give you a better idea of where you are.

I love this idea
Thank you. ?
I have another i am tempted to book at another venue with an indoor school in a couple of weeks, if i think of it as a schooling session then that def takes the pressure off me too

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Can you book arena hire indoors?
My B Fuzzy is on high alert indoors, we have to work v hard to contain things. She is now much better but was still tense this morning as warm up was indoors.
One local arena I've booked a good number of times for off peak hire as B gets very wired there, however I haven't entered a comp there yet as they get very very busy on comp days, far better for us to be outdoors in arena or on grass.

 

[Acobandawelsh]

Can you book arena hire indoors?
My B Fuzzy is on high alert indoors, we have to work v hard to contain things. She is now much better but was still tense this morning as warm up was indoors.
One local arena I've booked a good number of times for off peak hire as B gets very wired there, however I haven't entered a comp there yet as they get very very busy on comp days, far better for us to be outdoors in arena or on grass.

Yes, he's much better outdoors. Its a shame that 2 if the venues within an hour are indoor. There is one a bit further away that is outdoor.

 

[TheHairyOne]

If my horse has a break from going out he turns into a horrible, extremely loud, backwards, tight, stiff tense monster!

Its just how he is. Going out 2-3 times a month = 68% tests, going out once a month, 65%, break for any reason = 60% and deafened for the first one out. I use unaffiliated for a cheap easy way of hiring arena's after a break to get the napping ironed now. Ive been known to go sjing and not actually jump a single fence if there has been nothing dressagey on at a convenient time.

 

[Leandy]

What you describe is completely normal! You know what you need to do, just get into a routine of going out and about to new places, working in new arenas etc etc. So book up some arena hires, clinics, test riding sessions, low key competitions etc etc. Do something every week if you can until both of you are relaxed with the new routine. It is too much to expect that you can both go out for the first time in four years and produce the work you do at home. That is too much expectation for both of you. Take it one step at a time, especially if he is the anxious type. Be careful not to overwhelm him by expecting too much too soon and feeding his anxiety. He needs good confidence giving experiences to realise it is not exciting, it is not scary, this is just work, just like at home. We go out, we go in an arena, we work calmly, we go home. He and you need to be used to doing this to give your best performance. The mark doesn't matter for the moment, just go out, relax, enjoy, no expectations. In no time at all you should find he is more rideable out and about. The horses which win championships are usually competing a good level or two below where they are working at home. To really show your best in the competition arena it needs to feel easy, not a challenge. I'm sure you will get there.

 

[j1ffy]

I had an ex-racehorse on loan for three years and the first show of the season was always hairy (this was in Hong Kong and there were no shows during the summer, so we always had the 're-start' challenge!). I found that a jumping show was often better than dressage to begin with - even if just a 30cm class - as it got him thinking forwards and I could ride more 'effectively' instead of worrying about looking pretty.

Other than that, definitely just getting out more until it becomes routine. I suspect my youngster will be similar and will take many many outings to learn to relax!

 

[Acobandawelsh]

Thank you everyone. Some really good advice here.
Yes will def get him out as much as possible and treat like a schooling session. I feel a bit better today. He was fine in the warm up after he settled, it was the indoor he didnt like which was reflected in our marks. Already looking at booking the next one ?

 

[Birker2020]

tbh I think you've answered your own question, he just needs to get out and about. It's his first outing for four years and yours too so it was to be expected, especially as he's a sharp sensitive horse. I'd forget BD for now and just get him to as many unaffiliated comps as possible, keep him well within his comfort zone with regard to level and just aim for relaxation. Lots of horses get tense in a competition environment but most do get better over time.

Agree with Oldie48. The more you get out and do things the less he will be anxious.

I bought a schoolmaster with this in mind. Been there, seen everything, should hopefully be super cool. Have yet to find out but my previous horse was so used to going out she'd fall asleep between classes, you'd open the top door of the trailer, she'd have a look around to see where she was and would get excited when she realised she was at our favourite jumping venue and then chill once the excitement had worn off.

She was super spooky with the judges box, etc but after a few trips she was fine.
Same with fun rides, would sight a horse 1/4 mile ahead, race to catch up with it, not show any particular desire to be with it when she caught up and would speed past ready for the next sighting. By her fourth fun ride she didn't care anymore.

 

[DonskiWA]

I discovered a lot of my horses tension was coming from tension in my own body as well. I really didn’t think I had competition nerves, but when I rode for a test, I rode differently and tightened up through my hips/thighs/ shoulders. It was only subtle, but that was all it needed.

 

[Orangehorse]

Ride at home first? You have just got to keep going until it is routine.

I think a lot is the rider - sorry! I was at a dressage comp on a very hairy cob looking at all the others in the warm up and wondering why I was bothering they were all so good. My sister was watching indoors. We went in did our test and then I asked how all the others had done. My sister said that they had all fallen apart when they went in the arena, so those doing wonderful work in the warm up turned into different horses in the arena.

So long as I know the test, I don't worry about riding a dressage test, it is just walk, trot and canter after all.

 

[milliepops]

My D was very very anxious about competing to begin with. She was also easier outdoors than indoors, would clam up completely indoors but some of my favourite venues were indoors so i knew i wanted to address that. she was never as good to ride at a show as she was at home but did get much much easier in general and went to regionals, areas etc up to Inter 1.

the key was lots and lots and lots of arena hire, some more arena hire, lessons away from home and then being prepared to ride the horse i had at a show and not the one i had left behind at home.

Work out your best warm up to ease his tension. Mine was better in canter, so cantered until she was relaxed and only then trotted. when we went to the test arena i would canter round rather than trot. (in my freestyle routines i also did all the canterwork first for the same reason).

when hiring arenas, try and do it like you do at a show so warm up somewhere and then go and ride a test, then you can experiment with the best approach.

 

[Goldenstar]

I think anyone who has ever had eventers has had to deal to with this the answer is to get the horse out as much as possible . When I had young horses that where going to compete they where away from home working far more than I rode then at home when I was settling them to the job .
D’s are more usually than not as you describe .
I would go to every unaffiliated dressage show you can do two tests and stay on him in between work him harder in t warm up than you do in tests so being in the area is more relaxing than the warm up .

 

[LEC]

It sounds ridiculous but go and do some showing indoors. It’s a no pressure situation where they spend a lot of time being bored and the time spent moving is with other horses or a simple show. You won’t care about the outcome and both of you will be bored but have some time in an indoor.

 

[Acobandawelsh]

It sounds ridiculous but go and do some showing indoors. It’s a no pressure situation where they spend a lot of time being bored and the time spent moving is with other horses or a simple show. You won’t care about the outcome and both of you will be bored but have some time in an indoor.

This is a really good idea and one i didnt think of. Thank you i shall do that!