Why do they do it

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samp

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Took my mare to dressage yesterday - brilliant to load, great at travelling, was fantastic to warm up - off my leg round, soft, listening - to good to be true! I thought at this rate we could easily win it. Time for my test - dad had to lead me into the arena and basically it went down hill. Why do they always warm up so badly and go bad in the test?

To me she needed 2 x smacks up the bum to get her going forward and she had become dead lazy and wouldn't stay straight - swinging quarters. Needless to say it was our worse score yet.

Why do they do it to us?
 
I have this all the time! But I know its because I get so stressed about it. I'll merrily gallop round a XC course or SJ but give me a little dressage test and Im shaking! So its my problem which obviously rubs off on the horse. My aim this winter was to do more dressage to try to learn to calm down but I feel guilty doing it because my poor horses have to suffer with a useless nervous mummy! They dont call it stress-age for nothing!
 
I have exactly the same problem - it is a nightmare - the more I worry about it and the harder I try the worse it gets!

I do find mine goes better if I ride how she feels she needs to be ridden rather than worry too much about what the judge thinks. If she messes around at home she gets a smack so same rules apply in the arena (especially unaff where it doesn't matter a bit).
 
I was nto sure if it would be frowned upon to give her a smack? God did she need it! I don't even get worried about it but could be the fact she can be so lazy and I cant always use my legs effectively and having issues with long boots slipping donw.
 
I think you may get frowned at, but I work on the basis that I would rather have the horse going well and loose a few marks for my riding than have the horse messing around. You will loose the marks anyway if they are misbehaving.

Actually I find it helped me psychologically a bit - once I gave myself permission to fall out with her if need be I think I started to ride her more assertively.

Lex is much better than she was (we had a black patch this summer - managed to get 52 at a BE event!!) but we still have big problems with dressage. Like yours though, she always warms up nicely so clearly rider-related tension!!
 
I'm afraid if she was warming up well and went strange in the dressage arena - its probably you, not her.

Imagine if you were working well with your rider who was relaxed and giving clear aids, only to go into a different space and then your rider to tense up and start acting very oddly.

I definitely get more stressed during a test and stiffen up, which does not help my horses at all!
 
Ok, so I need to relax more, may be breathe. Guess I worry we are going to make a tit of ourselves. I do kick myself always after a bad test. Silly thing was although she was lazy I thought she went better overall than the last test, yet we managed to come back 1% down
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My lad used to do this - until I realised it was me!
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I tend to over ride when I get in the arena and he blacks on me - make sure you're not trying too hard
 
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