why is he so unsure on grass??

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nickyb

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i am having trouble competing on the grass for the dressage. particually on a right rein he will rather take an odd short step rather than come all the way through, he competes at novice and still pulls a score of 35 each time but i have had the judge get out twice now to tell me this and its getting very disheartning. they say he's not lame, just this odd step, he doesn't like hard ground anyway and i can almost feel him tighten up going round the corners etc almost like he's waiting for something to happen, i use road studs as anything bigger makes the problem worse. i've had him checked out by the vets and nothing, it's just in the ring this happens. his school work is established, he competes at elementry pure dressage and is working medium at home, all with no problems. does this happen to anyone else or can anyone throw some light on it. i have put pads on the front and the only time this i felt these work was straight after being shod. any suggestions please?
 
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yes road studs only

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That may be your problem. Try some decent studs next time you are on grass. He may just be unsure of his footing.
 
I don't think we should be advising to use 'proper pointy ones', but to use studs that are appropriate for the ground... however you say you've tried bigger studs and it doesn't make a difference.

Mine are schooled on grass quite often at home and touch wood I've never had problems competing on grass... I would try that if you can, would have thought it'd make quite a difference for him.

If you think its more he's being a bit 'touchy' on his feet, speak to your farrier and see what else he can offer. I tried pads but found the same as you, they were effective for a while but it soon wore off. We then tried like a silicone gel which you squeeze onto the foot and leave to set... worked a treat!
 
to be totally honest no i don't school on the grass at home as never had anywhere appropriate, but as it happens i have just finished preparing an area especially for this, had it topped the other day so now ready. i have about 3 weeks now untill purston so will get out there and get in more practise. do you put in studs in when you are schooling at home?
 
If you could actually feel a difference after pads it sounds like concussion from the hard ground affects him.
I would try the gel recommended or whatever else the arrier can suggest, and at home try some small studs to see if he can cope better with them.
We almost always use studs on grass because it's either slippery or hard, and it does seem to help. Why not try the gel at home now you have an area to work in?
 
thank you. i will get out there this week and have a play around, i guess as eveyone has said the more i can do on the grass he will hope fully get a bit more used to it.
 
Just be careful if you have gel pads put in - my horse found it very hard to work on grass without studs.

If your horse isnt used to wearing studs then i would experiment at home with some small studs.

Personally tho, my horse had NEVER done a dressage test in his life nor worn studs, and did his first test at Moreton Morrell BE a month ago and coped fine
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My big horse tho wouldnt stay upright without wearing studs in the dressage arena, unless at Tweseldown.
 
I school on grass at home all the time because we don't have an arena. I only use studs for competition (too lazy to use them all the time).

To be honest, the nastier the ground in the dressage phase, the better for us. I am rubbish at dressage but my horses are used to bad ground so it affects us much less than it does other people. We always do relatively better in the class on really mucky ground!
 
Im the same as SillyMare, I don't have an arena at home so have to hack to one. The majority of our schooling is done on grass and I never stud up at home either.

They always seem to cope well with the ground in the dressage arenas at a competition, probably because we are so used to just 'having to put up with it'!
 
I sympathise, my horse is the same. He'll win dressage on a surface but is generally mid-division on grass (unless there's a bit of give in the ground). Like you, I have no where to school on grass at home. Studs don't really make a difference and I'm reluctant to try pads because they have their drawbacks.

Anyway, I know I'm not being very helpful but just to let you know there are other people in the same boat. Good luck.
 
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