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RE: BIG showing problem...

~ArenaBallerina~ — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:44:52 GMT

Like everyone else, you can take her to a show and just show her around and ride her in the warm up arena. And ride her in the show ring before the classes start, maybe if you know the judge or you can ask a friend to sit in the judges booth. Read the book "Its not just about the ribbons" it helps... a TON!

RE: BIG showing problem...

AQHYA_WP_girl — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:30:00 GMT

Hm..maybe hold off on some of the shows for a while. Just take her to a few and dont show. Just let her get accustomed to the grounds and dont even ride her just lead her around. Thats what I did for my horses' first show. She didnt like the new surroundings so I hopped off and let her sniff the fencing, walls and everything. And have you gotten this months issue?? Theres an article in there about buddy sour horses. Take advantage of that and see the outcome :)

RE: BIG showing problem...

Danie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:40:12 GMT

I would school her away from all the horses and warm up for at least 45 minutes. Also when you get there, take her right off the trailer and walk her around the whole grounds. (showring and everrything) if possible. Thats all I got!

RE: BIG showing problem...

Paints-4-Ever — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:31:12 GMT

I would school her away from other horses A LOT, and if possible warm her up for a very long time at the show, it helped to warm up for a really long time with a nervous mare I used to ride before I got Dallas, also if the show staff will let you try to feed your mare treats from the judges booth it worked REALLY well for me when Dallas used to not want to go by the judges booth. Now Dallas goes by it like it's nothing.

RE: BIG showing problem...

horsie-girll — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:04:28 GMT

If you show up at the show extra early, then you can ask to walk your horse by the judge's booth and also walk her all over the showgrounds without any other horses with her.

RE: BIG showing problem...

horse rider britt — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:10:20 GMT

Also, you should make sure her head is always down. That way she can't do anything.

RE: BIG showing problem...

Buddy24 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:28:22 GMT

i would say get there early and lunge her arround the ring if possible. i don't know what the place looks like (and i'v never been to a dressage show so...) but this happened to my friend at our last show and she shows saddleseat so she just junged him in the ring durring the lunch break and he was fine. just walk her arround too not even in the ring to show her that nothing is going to eat her! you might also want to just go to an open show too and not show just have her there and ride in the warm-up ring to get her used to all the new horses and stuff. hope this helps!good luck!

RE: BIG showing problem...

horseygal207 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:33:41 GMT

sounds like everyone else has covered what i was going to say, a bond between you two (mares are very touchy in this way, and need to have confidence in their rider/handler) schooling her at home away from other horses, and taking her to shows that you don't show in

RE: BIG showing problem...

horse rider britt — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:12:59 GMT

Katie_Cinnabun (7/21/2008)

My advice would be to school her away from other horses, so that she gets used to being ridden in a situation like a show ring. It sounds like you have not fully gained her trust. She needs to rely on you to keep her safe instead of the other horses. Another thing that might help is to take her to a show without entering any classes. This eliminates the stress factor caused by the pressure to do well, and therefore gives you the chance to focus solely on your mare. I hope that this helps, and good luck!

I agree. And when you do show, if you can have a reader, focus less on you and the test and more on soothing her. My horse is a really good show horse, but my first few shows were just like yours. When I finally realized I just needed to talk to him a little to calm him down, we did a lot better. I hope you do well at the next show! Good luck!

RE: BIG showing problem...

Katie_Cinnabun — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:59:56 GMT

RE: BIG showing problem...

~EventSTA~ — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:51:59 GMT

MyHorseThor<<<333 (7/18/2008)

x3_horses_x3 (7/18/2008)

GingerLover<3 (7/18/2008)

Well first of all, make sure you don't get stressed out, cause she can tell and it will only make things worse. Whenever your just schooling her I would start around horses and then go away and make her work byherself. Make her get used to leaving the other horses. We do that at the end of all the lessons... It actually has worked too!

i agree also, when you go to shows away from her stable, get there early and walk her around so she gets used to her surrondings. i'd be a little freaked out too if i was a horse and i was in a new strange place. good luck with her

i completely agree. you can also bring her to shows your not in, just to get her used to a new surrounding. even if she is good up to going in the final ring, getting more used to a show situation can help. try to start out on easier tests if you can, just to get her used to the showing. don't get focused on not getting a good mark on the test, focus on her- keeping her attention, and making her do what you want to do, how you want to do it.

^Righto. But also, some horses just aren't made for showing and it sounds like she is one of those horses.

RE: BIG showing problem...

MyHorseThor<<<333 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:20:51 GMT

x3_horses_x3 (7/18/2008)

GingerLover<3 (7/18/2008)

RE: BIG showing problem...

x3_horses_x3 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

GingerLover<3 (7/18/2008)

RE: BIG showing problem...

GingerLover<3 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:58:37 GMT

Well first of all, make sure you don't get stressed out, cause she can tell and it will only make things worse. Whenever your just schooling her I would start around horses and then go away and make her work byherself. Make her get used to leaving the other horses. We do that at the end of all the lessons... It actually has worked too!

BIG showing problem...

~Her Majesty~ — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:47:33 GMT

Okay well I ride this very spooky mare, a 10 yaer old Friesian, dressage style and I'm showing her First Level dressage this year. Problem is, she can't seem to calm down at shows. At my first show, she would shy and bolt in the warm up ring. When it came time to do my test, she would NOT go near the judge's booth. I had to ride two meters from C the whole time. She was very stressed and I could not get her attention whatsoever. Needless to say, I got a very bad mark on that test. The second test was a little better, I was able to make her go past the booth. She was still very stressed.
The second day, she randomly bolted on the middle of the test. I was excused for "dangerous situation".

At my last show, she was very good in the warm-up ring. But when it came time to leave the warm up ring where all her buddies were and to enter the scary, empty ring, she had a panic attack: she started galloping out of control out of the ring and towards the other horses. I was only able to stop her 200 feet later (and I'm an experienced rider).

So the problem is, she gets lonely and extremely stressed in the ring-- and she has panic attacks. What can I do to calm her down? She is not a young horse, and she has shown two years ago with her owner (and she was really good). She's an excellent dressage horse, and I know we could go far if only she would calm down. Any advice?