From: Elaine
Hello Jessica,
I have a 10 year old German warmblood horse "Garfield" who is by nature very excitable and suspicious of his environment. He is and always has been spooky in spite of a 3-year old campaign of mine to ignore and cure most of his fits, some of which are play acting and some are real (I have learned to tell which is which most of the time). He is naturally very forward going, very obedient to the aids when in a quiet environment and thrives on work.
However, this attitude changes as soon as he is in unfamiliar surroundings, and aggravated even more if he is at a show. I have only now started to take him to very small unaffiliated shows where I know that there is very little fuss. If I get nervous he is ten times worse so I have had to work on myself as well. In spite of this gentle program of introducing him back to the competition environment, it is not getting any better! I go to about tiny local show every 2 months and just do one novice dressage class. I make sure he is comfortable and has a good time, nothing too stressful.
The problem: he goes like an angel when schooled at home and in the warm up area . . like a champion. Then as soon as we enter the ring he freezes and goes hollow. Normally so sensitive to the aids he goes as stiff as a board and rushes through the test. This happened on Sunday again! He has been in this competition and the same indoor school four times now, and it is the same every time. I don't think it was my nerves setting him off, as I was quite relaxed. With his jumping there is a similar problem . . he will jump happily at home but breaks out in a sweat at a show and naps constantly if he sees jumps built up e. g. in the working-in area. I have never entered a jump competition with him so he should have no reason to distrust me.
Garfield was upset by his previous owner who had him until he was six years old, who tried to take advantage of his talent (he has lots!) by pushing him too hard in showjumping competitions as a youngster until he was so frightened he refused to jump a matchstick. He also had a very high head carriage when I got him and I was told that he would not let himself be bitted. His previous owner claimed he was unrideable because he had developed other vices such as rearing and bolting, which I have been able to cure. For the first six months I worked him gently in a hackamore. Then I bitted him with a normal snaffle bit with no problem at all. I did not jump him for the first year, instead I took him right back to basics. He has fantastic paces, learns well and finds dressage movements naturally easy. I have made lots of progress with him except for this one point, i. e. his past bad experience in the competition ring ! I was wondering whether aromatherapy or similar would help his nervous disposition. What else can I do to produce a calm dressage test?? Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
Elaine
You're on the right track -- what you are trying to do is give him a set of new experiences that will eventually outweigh the old, bad experiences. You are, effectively, trying to rewire his brain! It's the right thing to do, but it may take a very, very long time. You know enough about Garfield's history to understand WHY he is so terrified of the show environment. There are probably any number of "triggers" for his fear -- noise, crowds, the judge's box, stewards, other horses being anxious. . .
With a normal young horse being introduced to an exciting, stimulating show environment, it might take two or three such shows before he would be calm enough to do well at competitions. In your horse's case, it may take twenty shows or more -- or a year or two! If you have the patience, you may be able to convince him that shows are NOT horrible, but it will take time.
My suggestions: start imposing on your friends and neighbors. Take Garfield to as many different places as you possibly can, not necessarily with the intention of RIDING him. Take him down the road to a friend's farm, unload him, walk him around, hand-graze him, give him treats, hand-graze him some more, and take him home again. Make every experience positive, so that he can build up a set of good experiences that may eventually outweigh the bad ones. Once he is calmer about the process, start riding him as well -- again, schooling must be very calm and positive, with lots of rewards.
After a couple of months, start going to every competition you can find. Not to compete -- just to go there and create a positive experience for your horse. Prepare as though you were going to compete, but once you are at the show, take Garfield for a walk in-hand, take him into a quiet corner and longe him (if you do this at home), hand-graze him, and hack him around. Do what you've been doing elsewhere! Show him the sights, talk to him, and carry a LARGE bag of treats. Make the entire experience pleasant, so that the ONLY things he associates with the process are treats and praise and petting.
After a few such experiences, take him to a competition and enter him in a class or two or three, but with NO intention of competing. I don't mean that you will scratch him from the tests -- just that you will go into the arena and ride your HORSE, not the test. Your only goal will be to keep him calm and happy, and if that means performing a few unscheduled halts and giving him treats -- and using your voice, and patting him -- then DO IT. This is part of the retraining process, NOT a proper competition -- and you should arrange to show "hors concours", so that you won't be tempted to perform instead of doing what you are there to do. If it isn't possible to show "hors concours," have a word with the judge as you pass the stand, and just tell her or him what you are there to do -- so that the judge won't ring the bell constantly, or think that you have lost your mind. Most judges will understand exactly what you are doing and why.
Ride the horse -- and keep your breathing synchronized with his gaits. Don't worry about precision and accuracy and riding the TEST -- do the best you can, but keep your mind on your business, which is helping your horse learn to relax.
If this goes well, do it at the next competition or two -- and if it goes very well indeed, you should be able to enter him in a few classes and take them a bit more seriously. But again, your focus MUST be on the horse, and on his relaxation and calm. Focus on how your horse is feeling and on how you are riding and helping him, NOT on how you are doing. Smile, breathe, and keep thinking that YOU DO IT FOR FUN. When you are thoroughly convinced of this, and acting on it, it will be much easier for you to convince your horse.
At a competition, it isn't YOU he's reacting to, and it isn't YOU he distrusts. He's reacting to things that happened to him before he ever knew you -- pain and fear are hard to overcome.
You will only be able to help him overcome his fears if you are relentlessly calm and positive, and if you pay complete attention to him, and ride each step. He won't rush through a test if you are breathing deeply and slowly and riding "in the moment", constantly ASKING him for something (position, bend, straighten, etc) and then REWARDING him for trying (pat, scratch on the withers, murmer, praise). He can't think about two things at once -- if he is focused on his fear, he can't focus on you. But, on the plus side, if he is focused on YOU, he can't focus on his fear.
It can be desperately hard to reclaim a horse that's been abused at competitions. Garfield is carrying a lot of emotional baggage, and you must do everything you can to help him get rid if it. But you can't do it on a schedule, and you must realize that if there is enough of it, and it is heavy, he may NEVER be able to put it all down.
Still, he sounds a talented horse, and it's certainly worth trying to create a new set of experiences and associations for him. Good luck!
Jessica
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