As part of my continued training to improve my knowledge and establish a better understanding of the sport of Dressage, I regularly watch current National and International Dressage competitions from around the world, but primarily focused on the European circuit. I believe It is important to understand rankings of different Athletes as well as horses, and if there are any news about changes in tests or international programs. On one particular occasion I was watching a competition from Germany, observing the talented young horses and the well-known athletes compete. In the M Level class test which is equivalent to an Elementary test, a horse was approaching the corner doing its extended walk on the diagonal, suddenly he spooked and bolted to the left, however the rider remained calm and corrected it and the next time the horse went through that corner with ease.
I was asked “Why are all dressage horses spooky?” On Instagram. I have come to know that this is a widely popular opinion from many riders of other disciplines, based I think on the fact that they see dressage horses showing signs of being nervous in shows or in busy arenas. There is no truth that Dressage horses are in fact more nervous than other horses in other disciplines.
Dressage is the only equestrian sport where the horse is judged on all three gaits, competing in either a 20 x 40 meter area or a 20 x 60 meter arena, that has no obstacles or objects which could interfere with the horse’s ability to divert its fear or nerves to something else, completing and focusing on a test that can be as long as 6 minutes!
Every horse reacts to nerves differently, some horses spin, or bolt to find comfort. It is a flight response to their immediate fear, it could be an object but mainly it is because they find the situation uncomfortable.
Horses can be uncomfortable too!
Horses exhibit signs of being uncomfortable and activate a flight response in all disciplines differently, whether it is refusing to jump in show jumping, or avoiding a puddle in cross country, or bolting from a corner in Dressage. Being uncomfortable doesn’t necessarily mean pain, the most common reason for a horse to spook is that the horse doesn’t know what that object means to them, it could be another animal, a tree or even a small ball. This fear of the unknown is a puzzle for every horse, but the rider has the ability to always either make this habit worse, by enforcing the behavior or to help the horse to be conscious of its surroundings and its behavior, ultimately helping the horse to understand and find the correction easier and quicker.
How do our bodies affect our horses?
As humans, we exhibit the same symptoms of nerves when we compete for the first time, or when we are in a huge international arena, or riding in front of our idols, or for example in Dressage being judged by almost 8 people. Our hands tend to tighten up, knees frozen, and our diaphragm becomes smaller as every minute feels like an hour went by, although we are conscious at that moment of our fear, our horses do not understand what is going on? They’re now being ridden differently than for example in the warm up arena just moments ago, our nerves now are starting to make our horse feel uncomfortable and this is where horses will exhibit its flight response. On the other hand, if a horse is aware and conscious in a stressful situation then it will know how to manipulate its body and avoid a flight response.
There are other factors that can lead up to a horse being more nervous:
- Horses moving to a new barn
- Not having a balanced and nutritional diet
- Being in the stable or box all day
- Riders who are not able to understand or how to deal with horses being uncomfortable.
- Being abusive to the horse
How can we reinforce a positive response?
We should always remember to take small steps to deal with our horses in general by understanding their behaviors. When we know what is affecting our horse’s nerves we will be able to turn the button that gives the horse a sign to be able to resolve the solution by itself, not by fleeing but by confidently taking control of its body towards that response.
Take time to understand your body as well, how it reacts to uncomfortable situations and fear. There are many exercises to do to divert and handle fear, for example but not limited to:
- Understand different breathing techniques
- Posture and spine relaxation
- Exercises you can do before or after riding (Like, running, swimming or just walking)
- Strengthening or conditioning exercises to keep your body fit
- Find a nutrition plan that will fit with your diet and help with your stress.
Horses are prey animals which make them inherently alert, and mostly curious, they will always have an element of being inquisitive. None the less, it is our responsibility to turn this reaction to a positive response and find a solution that will avoid it being a negative habit.
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