AMA: My Horse Gets Tense In The Warm-Up At Shows. How Do I Help Him?
I have a young horse who does best with a quick warm-up routine before my dressage test. Too much work in the warm-up really works him up and brings out tension. What should I focus on in my shortened warm-up routine to get the most out of my test?
“No matter if it is a shortened warm-up or a longer warm-up the key is to keep your communication with your horse clear. Often horses get tense at competitions because riders want (need) everything to work, they want to show the judge the best they and their horse can do. When working at home riders tend to take a progressive approach to the work, building the quality and difficulty of the exercises step by step. However, when riders go to a competition, they often ask the horse to produce everything that they know they can get at home all in one go. The horse then gets confused and tense as the rider is now asking ten questions all at once rather than one question at a time and building the work a bit at a time.
My advice is in your warm-up take a progressive approach, think of having a priority list:
1.) Rhythm
2.) Suppleness
3.) Contact
4.) Impulsion
5.) Straightness
First, your rhythm needs to be correct, then if that is good enough then work on your horse’s suppleness. Once you are happy with that, consider his contact, then add a little more energy (impulsion), then you can work on his bending (straightness). If at any point you lose one of these elements, you will need to go back and work on it again. This may only take a few steps to rectify but it is important take that step back as each element relies upon the previous ones
working well enough.
Taking this approach helps to keep communication with your horse clear as you are working on one aspect of his work at a time rather than trying to get everything all at once. By following this method, you will cover all the essentials you require when warming up for your dressage test. Hopefully your horse remains more relaxed in your warm-up as you will have a more progressive approach to your preparation.”
Sue Grice has a PhD in e-learning and is a British Dressage Accredited Coach. She has over 35 years of experience teaching, working, and competing in the equine industry. She has trained a variety of horses and riders in a wide range of disciplines, including dressage, eventing, driving, and natural horsemanship. Grice has a passion for coaching riders of all levels, no matter how big or small their ambitions. She believes that any horse or rider has the potential to “go farther” and taps a wealth of training tips and techniques to help the less “conventional” dressage horse succeed. Grice currently competes with two horses at FEI Levels. She is the author of “The Training Spiral.”
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