Why do we bother? (long)

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not_with_it

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After having a very unsuccesful outing yesterday I am starting to wonder why I put myself through some of the things I do
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Went to a dressage comp yesterday to do the 2 novices, got there and there was no where to park and was made to park on a soggy grass verge. I was so suprised that we managed to get out. The warm up was so busy and if any of you read my post a couple of weeks ago you will know about my horse being petrified in the warm up. Got into the warm up and was walking round staying out of everyones way when 2 people came cantering towadrs me with the smallest gap for me to get through and nowhere else for me to go. I shouted at them to stop but they kept coming, at which point Gin reared up, spun round and bolted in the opsite direction crashing into someone who was riding up my arse and another person who was standing on the outside track talking to people outside the warm up. Eventually got her to stop and tried to calm her down whilst people were shouting all sorts. You know who you are and it wouldnt hurt to have a little more respect next time!
People were riding so close even after they had seen what had happened and so the same thing happened again. At this point I was seriously losing my temper and I couldnt warm up properly.

Went in to do my test and Gin was so tense, I really felt for her. We made 1 mistake and for some reason we got 6 marks knocked off and 2 errors of course!
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When I got my score sheet I was fuming. So we came last
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Went in the warmup again for 10 mins before my next test but again Gin was so tense again. Went in to do the test and I hadnt read the test properly so we changed the rein from S to F and again from R to K instead of EF and BK! We got an error for the second one but not the first
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So we were 2nd to last.

So all in all not a very good weekend. I will try and put the pics up in the gallery soon. And the reason it was so busy..........................




They were running affiliated and unaffiliated at the same time!
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How annoying - Lex tends to do that too when the collecting ring is busy - makes it feel like such a wasted day! Affiliated competitions are definitely worse (no offence to all the proper dressage people on here).

Think positive, she coped, you are both OK and it sound as though your second test was better than your first. As long as she wasn't too traumatised by the whole thing she has probably benefitted from the experience.

Would it be an option next time just to take her for a hack up the road to loosen up and then going straight into the ring (avoiding the collecting ring completely)?

Or working her at home in the morning so you don't need to do much when you get there?

Around here I find the weekday competitions much better - worth taking the day off work from time to time for us.
 
Hacking is not really an option for us, shes very sensitive and spooky.

We seem to take 1 step forward and 3 steps back with the warming up situation. I just about get her so that she can cope and then something like this happens and it sets us back. We will try a quieter venue next time as we certainly wont be going back there again. I have heard of other people complaining about that venue so its not just me thats fussy
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I just cant believe they were running affil and unaffil at the same time!
 
I get same problem, so i pick quieter venues as much as possible
But i know what you feel like, and normally there's no ring steward anyway to control warm-up
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But also there is a bit of games manship going on in warm-up
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People will do stuff cos they know your unsettled..... and then you can't get best out of gg - wrong but they do
so i really would stick to queiter venues and build up to busy ones
 
My horse used to do similar things he would rear, buck, spin I used to have to work him on the lunge at home first and then at the venue find somewhere quiet to work him. Sometimes I would enter jumping class without even practising a single fence but I was better off for it rather than losing confidence in horse and rider. I hate arrogant riders.
 
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But also there is a bit of games manship going on in warm-up People will do stuff cos they know your unsettled..... and then you can't get best out of gg - wrong but they do


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They must of all thought my horsie was so wonderfull then
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Well I considered not warming up for the second test, I even asked the steward if there was anywhere else to warm up as it was just getting dangerous, It wouldnt be fair on my horse though to not warm her up. I also use the warm up to let her see things and take in the surroundings as she is such a wimp!
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I had a similar problem with a previous horse.
Cured it by taking her to local riding stables and joining in there group lessons but doing my onw thing.
Obviously only the more advanced classes but it got her out working with other horses without the huge costs of competing.
 
That could be a possibility. I used to teach at a riding school so Im sure they would let me go and work her there. We have been working at home with on eof the YO's horses and she isnt bothered by him at all, he is the only horse she will go near whilst being ridden. He is her boyf though
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I have the same problem with my mare and we nearly lept over a fence at the side when someone cantered toward me on the inside track and bucked when alongside me. Not ideal really.

The only solution I'm afraid is to become better at using the school - changing the rein, using circles and keeping yourself aware of where the other horses are. That way you can keep your horse away from confrontational situations until he/she settles a bit.

Two people cantering towards you is a bit much though - were you in the middle of the school?
 
I was walking on the inside track but I was a long way off the fence to make sure that people could pass on the track with plenty of room. Too many people look at their horses head when they are working in, they are not aware of what is happening around them.

I was discussing venues last night with my instructor, she suggested a few places for us to try.
 
I suspect your horse will settle in time but your instructor is probably right - use better venues for a while. Joining your local riding club might help too because they often have group schooling sessions and your horse would get used to working with others.
 
I have the same problem with my horse. I try to anticipate where everyone's going so that I can keep out of the way. It is tricky in a busy warm up though.

I also find that it helps to bring him back to a walk when I feel him getting anxious at another horse approaching. Initially I did try just kicking him on and telling him to get on with it but that just made him more anxious.

If someone gets too close to his back end then I tell them he will kick.

Above all I try to keep as cool and calm as possible even when it's all going horribly wrong! If it gets too dangerous then I forget warming up and just walk around the lorry park. Nice to hear that I'm not alone though!
 
I agree with LoneRanger. Finni is prone to explosions like your horse and I just totally abandon the warm up and go for walk around to lorry park or up a track if I can. You can actually do quite a lot of transistions which is better than freking them out with a hundred horses in the warm up.

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Try putting a very large red ribbon on her tail when warming up.......you would be surprised how many people stay out of your way
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Try red ribbon on your arm too....makes people think and as they are not sure what it means, they too stay well away!!
 
Poor you! Lack of warm up etiquette is one of my bugbears, why do people have to ride so close, as for the person stopping on the outside track - makes me want to bring back hanging! You are not even supposed to bloody walk on the outside track let alone stop and have a chat with your friends. Grrrrrrrrr
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Sorry went off into my own little rant there! Don't let it put you off, keep going - dressage is character building
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......dont forget the trainers who stand at X and work their beloved pupils round them ...grrrr
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I used to work round them but find a bracing medium trot across the diagonal usually shifts them.
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i dont do dressage as a rule but SJ warm up just as rude! Usually get at least one mother who whacks a practice jump up to well over height5 of the class and takes over for half an hour.....I usually deal with it in my nice polite but firm way, ie put jump down and carry on
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Warm ups are bad, but am I the only one thinking you need to get your horse used to being ridden with other horses before going to a competition again as it is obivously a problem? Sometimes near crashes happen in warm ups, its a fact with so many horses and I do not think, IMO that a horse who becomes dangerous when close to others should be put in that situation, better for all concerned
The riding school idea is a good one and hope it works. It would really get her used to it. Or could you get a couple of people at your yard to simulate warm up situations.
 
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......dont forget the trainers who stand at X and work their beloved pupils round them ...grrrr
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I used to work round them but find a bracing medium trot across the diagonal usually shifts them.
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There was one of those there too. He soon shifted when Gin galloped straight for him
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I am the only livery on the yard, the other 2 are the YOs horses. One is not being ridden and the other one Gin is fine with and will go really close to.
The only way she will learn is to keep going. She has a genuine fear of other horses which is not helped by people constantly whacking their horses when they are near me or people riding with 2 whips! Why should I stop taking my horse out just because some people have no manners.

I am not the only person who has had this problem, I was speaking to 2 other people yesterday who also said it was manic.
 
The worst thing about warm ups has got to be those DIMWITS who DO NOT KNOW THE LEFT TO LEFT RULE who then proceed to look at YOU accusingly when they almost collide with you. Sorry this happened several times to me at Duckhurst on Sunday.... surely its not that hard to remember?!!!
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ooops that was actually really ranting! Sorry for that!!

One thing to add.....also there were people the other night jumping the practise fences in BOTH directions i almost could not watch!! Duh red fence on your right when did that change? We had the people who put up the massive jumps in the practise area too, so they can show off and hog the jumps because no-one else wants it that big!
 
I used to have the same problem with my girlie when she was young. She was terrified of anything coming up behind her, beside her or towards her - made warming up horrendous!

Definately a big red ribbon in her tail, and if yours isn't scared of whips I suggest you stay close to the fence and stick your whip out on your inside at right angles to your hip - that gives you about 3ft of space. Anyone who comes close gets a whack! Shout that your horse kicks and bites if anyone gets too close!!

My girl now kicks - and I'm sure that's a follow-on from that fear of lack of personal space (and 2 kids that ran their ponies up her backside in the Sj warm-up) Ensure you take the red ribbon off before the dressage otherwise you get a rollicking from the judge.

Or as someone suggested, do your best walk and trot in the car park.
 
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