Helping with the Difficult Eventer
When THM editor suggested that I write a “How to” series, providing eventing advice and tips for upcoming riders, my first thought was that I’m a bit under-qualified for the task – after all, I haven’t ridden at an Olympic Games like Rebel, or piloted countless horses to 3 and 4-star victories like Shane and Stuart. In fact, looking back through the years, (particularly as a junior, when I considered myself something of an equestrian connoisseur), I shudder at the mistakes I’ve made. Yet mistakes are an inescapable part of the sport, and the success of riders like Rebel, Shane and Stuart will not have been without the odd faux pas: Indeed, one of the keys to riding at the top level is learning from your (and others’) errors. Another crucial factor is experience: That is, sitting on a number of horses of varying ages, talents and temperaments, in a range of different situations. Considering the above, I decided that maybe I could offer some useful advice, after all (even if it’s sometimes in the form of ‘what not to do’).
My second concern was that these ‘instructional’ series’ have been done again and again, and I wondered what I could do to make my own articles worth reading, given the thousand that have been written before them. In light of the British and American basis of many of these publications, and the resulting ambits of advice that aren’t of much relevance to us, I thought I’d try to put a uniquely Australian ‘spin’ on some of the issues that are encountered in the sport of eventing. The first topic will be of particular interest to the many riders sitting on ex-racehorses (and anyone else on something a bit ‘fizzy’)…
#1 How to... get a quality dressage test out of a ‘hot’ horse
Does breaking into a jog in the walk movements sound familiar? How about halting for a grand total of 3 milliseconds before the fidgeting begins? Or trotting, tight-backed, around the arena with all the cadence of a sewing machine?
There is possibly nothing more frustrating than putting in countless hours of hard work, only to see it unravel before your eyes when you “Enter at A” on the day of the test. Whether the result of excitement, nerves, greenness, or even just being a bit fresh, an unsettled, ‘hot’ horse plus a dressage arena are a recipe for trouble.
But being partnered with such a horse needn’t condemn you to a lifetime of low scores and equally low spirits: There are many approaches that can be adopted both at home and at the competition to help coax a more settled, reliable test out of your fiery steed.
At Home
Performing a nice test on the hot horse begins well before the day of the competition. In many instances, the horse’s reactions stem from a lack of confidence or understanding, so in the weeks leading up to your event, practicing those elements of the test that tend to make him excited or antsy is of enormous value. Ideally, you’d like your horse to be so relaxed and confident in these movements at home, that even with the additional pressure and atmosphere of competition, he remains steady.
Unfortunately, because these often involve the walk and the halt, it can be about as thrilling as writing a school assignment, and takes a lot of time and patience. In my experience, the transition to medium walk at the end of the free walk is a common problem area: The horse just wants to ‘get the show on the road’ (bless him), and is not the slightest bit interested in showing nice, big, overtracking walk steps. When I’m schooling such a horse, I’ll practice free walk on a long rein across the diagonal, then pick up the reins and medium walk through the short side, or even for a circle, then let the reins out again across the next diagonal. I like to ride a hint of shoulder-in while I’m in medium walk, as I want the horse to be accustomed to my leg being on his side. This is particularly important when, at the higher levels, the free walk is followed by a walk-to-canter transition (the horse that isn’t accepting the rider’s leg is usually the one who explodes into canter with the subtlety of an atomic bomb).
Sometimes I’ll practice a halt or 2 when I’ve taken up the reins – I want him to gradually sort out in his mind that just because I’ve taken up a contact, doesn’t necessarily mean that a faster pace will follow. Some horses will respond quite quickly to the exercise, but I find that some others need to do it again...and again...and again. That’s where patience on your part is put to the test. When the horse is staying relaxed through the transition from free walk to medium walk, I’ll go back and ride the trot and canter, and then when he’s due for a bit of a breather, I’ll take the opportunity to practice the walk again.
The halt is another movement that is often the downfall of a fizzy horse, and the time to address the issue is at home, rather than in front of the judges. Once again, there are no magic tricks or shortcuts in teaching the horse to maintain the halt for the required 3, 4 or 5 seconds (if you are aware of any, please let me know). The hot horse often gives you the feeling of being so ‘on the edge’ in the halt that merely breathing will be enough to upset him. So, at home, I want to be able to halt and have those feet stay planted on the ground whilst I pat his neck, perhaps lean back and pat his rump, check the girth, adjust the stirrups and so on. Sometimes I’ll even send a short SMS or make a quick phone call that I’d forgotten to make earlier (“Hi Chris, it’s Em here...I promise we’ll have our Horse Mag column to you by tomorrow. No, really…”). It’s probably best that you leave the phone out of it, though.
When riding the transition, I try not to make too many adjustments, or nag too much, once the horse has stopped.
This not only has the tendency to worry some horses, but also contradicts the idea that we’d like him to stay immobile in the halt. If he isn’t square, I might ask him quietly to step one of his feet forward (always forward, never back!) in an attempt to square him, but I don’t want to make an issue of it. Be prepared to shrug your shoulders (and maybe mutter bugger or the like), and work on getting a better halt the next time. Like the walk exercise, this will need to be calmly repeated over and over before you’ll start to see any improvement.
There are also horses that, rather than becoming fired up over a particular movement, are just...well, a bit fired up on the whole. For these animals, walking out for, say, an hour each day (in addition to their normal workout) can be of huge benefit. It’s difficult to explain, in clear terms, exactly why taking your horse out walking has so much to offer. Certainly, the physical aspect can be readily understood – walking is a great way to loosen tight muscles and, at the end of a session, can reduce the likelihood of stiffness the following day. But also, it can be a means of relaxing the horse, without the fatigue element that accompanies a training session. I think there is something to be said about walking your horse (outside of the arena, in an environment that parallels walking about the paddock) that allows you to ‘connect’ with him, to gain his trust in you as a part of ‘his’ world. I wish I could express this idea a little less clumsily, but I think the psychological advantages of walking are significant. Take Nicole Uphoff and the famous Rembrandt:
The horse had no shortage of physical ability, but achieving the mental state required for a great dressage test was a struggle. So Nicole used to walk him – sometimes for 2 hours a day – as a means of addressing the problem. Ulla Salzgeber, too, used lengthy walk sessions to encourage Rusty to reach down and take the contact.
Indeed, even though the horse is on a relatively loose rein, we still want him to have his neck down, reaching for the bit. The obvious problem with this approach is the time factor – many people struggle to find enough hours in a day to fit in a schooling session, let alone a big walk, and when we’re talking more than one horse, the time really does get away. But if you can possibly manage it – not just the week before your test, but several weeks out – walking does seem to help the hot, tense horse.
At this point, I begin to worry I’ve given the impression that the hot horse requires a ‘calm’ or ‘quiet’ approach to training at home. This is true, to an extent, but probably more in terms of your own attitude and thoughts: As the rider, the challenge is to remain steady in your mind, not firing up or overreacting to the horse’s mistakes or, as it may be, misdemeanours. And believe me, that’s incredibly difficult to do on a horse that’s reaching boiling point! However, having the horse ‘tip-toe’ around the issues that come up will eventually end you in trouble: The competition environment will almost always create that bit of extra energy and spark in your horse, and if he’s completely unschooled at that level of power, the problems will inevitably arise. So at home, I want the horse to be confident working at higher levels of energy, so that the adrenalin of competition isn’t something completely foreign to him. His confidence is the key here, so it may be that I begin a session a little more conservatively, and as he relaxes, I’ll ask for a bit more pizzazz, a bit more oomph!
The days before the test
If I’m riding something a bit hot, I’ll avoid having him any fresher than necessary, as this is likely to exaggerate any problem areas. The day before the test, therefore, he’ll get a pretty big workout – maybe even twice. If I can possibly help it, I’ll let him spend that night in his paddock, rather than shut up in the stable, but sometimes after a bath this isn’t really a great option!
In the days leading up to the competition, some riders reduce the amount of hard feed, such as pellets and grain, and replace it with extra hay. This approach aims to reduce the horse’s level of energy, and settle him a little. It isn’t a method I’ve taken on board at this stage, because I’m concerned about the problems that can spring up on the side: Although it may produce a quieter dressage test, you run the risk of having a tired horse for the cross country and showjumping phase, and a tired horse is a horse that is likely to get injured. Also, sometimes it’s necessary to travel quite long distances in the float or truck to the competition, and horses will often lose weight on these journeys as it is, without decreasing their intake of food.
“Good as Gold” or similar ‘calming’ formulas such as Tranquil Paste are also available from produce and saddler stores. Again, this is an approach that I haven’t had a lot of experience with, but I know of many riders who speak favourably of such products. These often need to be given the day before, as well as on the day of the competition, so remember to plan ahead.
At the competition
You’ll hear this said time and again, but leave yourself PLENTY OF TIME to arrive at the competition, tack up the horse, find your arena and warm up. Being in a mad panic to ride your test at the allocated time will do nothing to help an already unsettled horse.
If I’m riding a young horse, I’ll give myself plenty of time to warm up, but much of that will be spent at the walk, just letting him relax and take in everything that’s going on without feeling like I’m in a hurry. For the more experienced horses, it can sometimes be a matter of experimenting to find out what sort of warm-up will produce the best test: A lot of walking is best for some, whilst others seem to need cantering for, well, ages before the tension starts to disappear.
I remember Rozzie Ryan telling me that the warm up routine that best suited her Grand Prix horse, Exellent, was to work him 2-3 times on the day of the test. These sessions weren’t particularly strenuous, but Rozzie found that the more times he came out, the more settled he’d become. The final warm up would consist of a normal session, and then 15 minutes or so before the test, she’d take him back to the float and let him have a bit of hay and basically ‘chill-out’. Then, just before her draw time, Rozzie would get back on, and pretty much go straight into the arena. The theory behind this approach is that some horses become more and more adrenalized, the longer they warm up, so that they’re close to bubbling over by the time of the test. Giving the horse the chance to chill out in the few minutes beforehand curtails this adrenalin somewhat, helping to keep him sane during the performance, and indeed Rozzie found this very effective for Exellent.
Another rider who is partnered with a very flash, very extravagant, but not very easy horse is Claudia Graham. Claudia has worked out an approach that allows Blazing Chief to perform at his best during those crucial minutes in the arena, and has the results to show it, winning this phase (and as it happens, the entire event) at both Camden ODE and Lakes and Craters 3DE, against a strong field. I spoke to Claudia about Chief’s program both leading up to the competition, and on the big day.
The challenge with Chief, Claud tells us, is not so much that he’s hot, but that his playfulness and enthusiasm can affect his focus in the test. There is also the risk that he’ll overreact to her aids if he’s not completely confident in the work. In response these issues, Claudia rides Chief twice daily in the week before the event, focussing on the horse’s confidence in performing each of the test movements. At the same time, the two workouts help to keep a lid on his bubbling energy. On the day of the competition, if her test is scheduled for midday or later, Claud will fit in another ride that morning.
Then there’s that crucial final warm-up, and Chief’s rider is very aware of getting the timing just right: The 10 minutes or so in front of the judges needs to reflect the horse at his peak. And while Chief’s amazing levels of energy can spill into naughtiness if the warm-up is too short, Claud is very careful not to overdo it, such that Chief’s ability to show off his athleticism and scope is limited as a result of him becoming tired. For Chief, the time spent in the final warm-up is still changing: Initially, it was up to an hour and a half, but as the horse becomes more experienced and more mature, the minutes are dropping off. These days, it is common that 45 minutes will see Chief burst into that arena and produce his best work.
Claudia’s approach to riding a test on Chief is a great illustration of the need to consider each horse individually, and to be prepared to experiment a little to see what works best: No two horses are the same, so what
works for one may not be effective for another!
Riding a good test on a horse that is a bit hot is not an easy task, and achieving it will come only through time, effort, patience and more likely than not, a bit of trial and error. But so important is a good dressage score to your final placing that it’s well worth the effort. Good luck!
Next month, we’ll look at some of the challenges you may face when you’ve left the safety (and sanity) of the start box, and set off on the cross-country course…