Question Details

User name:
Andrea Watson

Email address:
andrea1981@hotmail.com

Date:
28/03/10 20:26:35
Hi, I have a thoroughbred mare who has 3 lovely paces and works very well on the flat. My problem with her is that at competitons she is silly in the warm up when working around other horses. Because of this i have lost my confidence at shows on her and am thinking about selling her. Apart from this she is a good mare and has produced a couple of really nice dressage tests in the past. I just want to get over this warm up problem with her. I would be willing to pay an experienced trainer to compete her for me to get her confidence.Can anyone help?


User name:
Lisa

Email address:
Lisa@ridewelltraining.com

Date:
28/03/10 23:21:28
Hi Andrea
Firstly where are you based? I may be able to help more if saw your mare. However, I have some suggestions, I assume you have tried calmers before you compete her, either the paste or regulary in here feed? what deos she do exactly? Does she buck rear, kick out, or pull and run? How many shows has she been too?
This is a common probelm and I urge you not to sell her till you have fully explored remedies. it is usually possible to get a horse to warm up calmly over time, and with more experience.
At the shows you have taken her too have you been able to lunger her? I know thats not often possible at dressage but is easy to do an horse trials.

Are you nervous in the warm up? Are you tightening the reins mre than usual? Is she more excitable at certain tims of her cycle?



User name:
Lisa Hamilton

Email address:
Lisa@ridewelltraining.com

Date:
28/03/10 23:27:45
sorry about my appalling typing...i type too fast and badly lol ;-)...do give me more information and i can make better sugestions...;-)


User name:
Andrea Watson

Email address:
andrea1981@hotmail.com

Date:
02/04/10 10:51:02
Thanks for your reply. I have her on a magnesium supplement all the time as i find she is generally ore relaxed on it. She is not a fizzy mare and normally is fine to do things with. The main thing she does in the warm up is to leap in the air and spin around when other horses trot or canter past her/towards her or behind her. It was ok to start with but when there are 5 or 6 other horses cantering around you and she is flying through the air it becomes a bit dangerous! Once she has worked in and relaxed she is normally fine but i have just lost my confidence before i get to this point now and tense up when other horses come near which i know she picks up on and makes her tense. It's a bit of a nasty circle now. She has been to probably 10 shows, she hasn't been naughty at all of them but i just want to get out and do more with her but my confidence issue is holding me back. Half the problem is is that i keep her at a small yard with just my other horse and one other so she doesn't work regulary in a school with lots of other horses. Unfortunatley at shows you can't ask people to not ride near you as the warm up areas are never big enough!


User name:
andrea watson

Email address:
andrea1981@hotmail.com

Date:
02/04/10 12:15:05
I forgot to say, i am based near emsworth in hampshire


User name:
Lisa Hamilton

Email address:
Lisa@ridewelltraining.com

Date:
28/04/10 21:47:53
Andrea Somehow I missed your reply...Yes i see your problem....it is still a confidence issue between you and her...if you can gain her confidence, you also gain her respect. Maybe you need someone else to take her out for a few shows to settle her pattern here. Is there a friend who would ride her? Maybe join a Riding club abd do some rallies with her,or organise a group lesson somewhere with ome friends so she can get used to working around others. I ride quite a lot of horses in the empshott area, in wheatham actually, maybe you could bring her over and work around some of our horses.
Let me know if I can help further.





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