Tension.

[Xanthoria]

Hello friends! It's been a while... but who better to ask than you guys?

My (jumper bred) mare is a rocket. Described by an Olympian as a Ferrari, she wants to do everything fast. She's sensitive, she's smart, and every round is a jump off to her! This does not translate well to eventing dressage, where I find the dressage judges give us very poor scores. And the harder I try, the worse it gets (surprise!)

She is on magnesium, no grain, and gets magnesium baths before dressage and after cross country. She gets ulcer meds before and during shows. On arrival at shows we lunge until her head starts to come down (10-15 mins) and do lots of handwalking. We have a brand new saddle, a very lightweight titanium snaffle that she appears to like (after trying many bits), and I don't believe she's in pain because my vet is very nitpicky.

I do lots of breathing exercises (me) and try to focus on a veeeerrry slow tempo, but in our current test we have lengthened trot, and lengthened canter, and that's SO EXCITING. I am happy to report the last judge said we were going too slow (!) ... but still with tension.

We went to a dressage show to try and perfect the warmup. Over two days we did 6 tests, lunged twice, and she was still a rocket in the canter! She's... fit...

At home, she can be pretty relaxed. In training, I always stop when things get too speedy and walk, or just stand, until she sighs. During lessons she spirals up, until I ask my trainer if I can stop and let the adrenaline out.

Any suggestions AT ALL?

[Tanga]

Sounds like you're trying everything. My first GP mare was like that. I had to gallop her up a steep hill a couple of times to get her chill enough to work. I don't know that being super fit is bad.

My older mare I just lost was like that, too. I got her as a badly broke 8 year old broodmare. She wasn't in great shape, but the more you worked her, the more wired she got. Honestly, the way I got her to PSG was I bred her right away and she was pregnant or nursing a foal the whole time. When I first got her, the more I tried to slow her down, the worse it got. I finally just let her go, and never tried to hold her back. It was brutal for awhile. And when she slowed down on her own, I would ask her for a little more forward and then ask her to slow down, and she would do it. This was not a fun time for me, but it did make the difference.

I don't know if these are suggestions. Just my experience.

[Xanthoria]

SI finally just let her go, and never tried to hold her back. It was brutal for awhile. And when she slowed down on her own, I would ask her for a little more forward and then ask her to slow down, and she would do it.

Let her go - galloping? or trotting around as fast as she liked?

[Tanga]

SI finally just let her go, and never tried to hold her back. It was brutal for awhile. And when she slowed down on her own, I would ask her for a little more forward and then ask her to slow down, and she would do it.

Let her go - galloping? or trotting around as fast as she liked?

Yes. It was not particularly fun to do an extended trot for 45 minutes the first few days. But it wasn't until I did that and let her slow on her own she started to relax and get it.

[Moutaineer]

Is she new to all of this or a seasoned competitor?

[Xanthoria]

She’s rising 8 and has been competing for 3 years. Always been this way, and now stronger and fitter so more capacity for it apparently!

My trainer wants to “work through it” which I understand but feel isn’t working (or rather I don’t yet have an exercise that seems to relax her) and I want to pause and let the adrenaline go away. In warmup rings there’s obviously conflict between these ideas and that doesn’t help with show stress.

She gets worse in the competition arena so there’s clearly a large part of this coming from me - she’s not a spooky mare. Just very sensitive to my feelings.

[Josette]

For what it's worth, I'm wondering if spending lots of time under saddle just walking her all over the place without a workout. If your facility has access to fields, cross country course even your rings - just walk and walk to try and get her brain to chill. She is physically so fit that letting her down may not affect her fitness - like taking an OTTB off the track and letting them down mentally and physically. If she always anticipates a work out upon entering a specific ring or open jump course - fool her and only walk it. If she gets charged up then exit to walk somewhere else before returning to that location. Mental exercise plus you can do some lateral and supplying exercises at the walk too. Tasks to get her focus back to you. okay - sounds like a good line but you and your trainer know her best.....

Also could her hormone levels be a hot trigger too? (I never owned mares but just a thought as I understand some mares are on Regumate.)

[heddylamar]

I've had three gens of tense and forward, and very little crossover in what works best to disarm their often explosive tension. Some of things that have worked:

– Warm up with counter canter (literally walk to the arena, immediately start cantering, and after 5-10 minutes we could warm up properly)
– Walk (or trot) to canter transitions every 3-6 strides
– Trot serpentines with a few strides of leg yield in the crossover
– Trotting squares while asking for long and low
– Walking a tight string of pearls while asking for a good stretch
– Walk to trot to halt, back a few steps, and repeat
– Turn on the haunches

And you need to relax to the point of overcooked spaghetti. I know, I know I've learned how to do the whole "tension leaving the body" meditation thing while riding, starting with my shoulders and elbows since that's where I tend to be tight. Or literally shake it out.

[Xanthoria]

For what it's worth, I'm wondering if spending lots of time under saddle just walking her all over the place without a workout. If your facility has access to fields, cross country course even your rings - just walk and walk to try and get her brain to chill. She is physically so fit that letting her down may not affect her fitness - like taking an OTTB off the track and letting them down mentally and physically. If she always anticipates a work out upon entering a specific ring or open jump course - fool her and only walk it. If she gets charged up then exit to walk somewhere else before returning to that location. Mental exercise plus you can do some lateral and supplying exercises at the walk too. Tasks to get her focus back to you. okay - sounds like a good line but you and your trainer know her best.....

Also could her hormone levels be a hot trigger too? (I never owned mares but just a thought as I understand some mares are on Regumate.)

We don't have a gallop track or direct access to trails but I do hack around the property and trailer out for gallops. The thing is, she usually starts out very chill - it's just after we get her forward off the leg that she starts being speedy. I don't use a whip or spurs (!) either. However I can try leaving the dressage court and going for a hack in the middle of a session to see if that helps - it usually does help to just stop and stand for a minute too.

For "tasks to get her focus back" to me, we do a lot of lateral and suppling stuff but her focus is never AWAY from me: she's extremely focused on me and the the work!

You can barely tell when she's in season so I don't think hormones are a thing for her.

[Xanthoria]

I've had three gens of tense and forward, and very little crossover in what works best to disarm their often explosive tension. Some of things that have worked:

– Warm up with counter canter (literally walk to the arena, immediately start cantering, and after 5-10 minutes we could warm up properly)
– Walk (or trot) to canter transitions every 3-6 strides
– Trot serpentines with a few strides of leg yield in the crossover
– Trotting squares while asking for long and low
– Walking a tight string of pearls while asking for a good stretch
– Walk to trot to halt, back a few steps, and repeat
– Turn on the haunches

And you need to relax to the point of overcooked spaghetti. I know, I know I've learned how to do the whole "tension leaving the body" meditation thing while riding, starting with my shoulders and elbows since that's where I tend to be tight. Or literally shake it out.

I think all these exercises would work but I can't do them in the middle of a dressage test she can turn on the tension at a moment's notice!

To your second point, I am close to trying some chemical assistance to calm ME down. I have NO doubt I'm adding to this.... I do breathing exercises and that helps...

[Tanga]

Xanthoria Your mare sound like mine were. They were always chill on the ground, hacking around and so on, but once they got revved up, it just kept going up and up. And, interestingly, my mares have always been much better in season--very cool and wiggly and relaxed.

[Xanthoria]

Yes - exactly!

[heddylamar]

I think all these exercises would work but I can't do them in the middle of a dressage test she can turn on the tension at a moment's notice!

To your second point, I am close to trying some chemical assistance to calm ME down. I have NO doubt I'm adding to this.... I do breathing exercises and that helps...

Well, yeah. Those are mostly my warm up exercises If they're not working on the current mare (or her momma), I bail. I like all my parts intact!

Have you tried something like a stride or two of haunches in (or shoulder in), or 1-2 steps in/out in leg yield in a circle? And for you, meditating actually works. Maybe not while riding ...

[Chisamba]

Three things that have helped me.
Do not hold. Holding increases tension. I have seen so many horses still strong relaxed on a loose rein and crank it up the moment the rider shortens the rein. So the horses needs to learn to stay on tempo without being constricted.

I usually do this by softblong outside rein. Inside twin to the inside of my thigh, and spiral in ( at a million miles an hour if needed) without an outside half halt. Some horses will scurry around on an 8m or 6m circle a dozen times or so until they slow down because they just are not going anywhere. As soon as they slide I release the inside rein to the same lender as the outside and continue trotting. I do not allow them to halt or walk. It's all about keeping the gait. As soon as they display tension or rush, I do one half half on the outside rein. No effect? Spiral in smaller and smaller until I like the gait. Inside leg to.outside rein . Leg yield out, rush? One half halt, spiral in. The goal is to teach this eruption 15b minutes so that the horse does not constantly put pressure on the legs turning. Do it both ways.

Don't friends I have suggested this to had no luck at all, but it works for me, so I think it is also in the execution, tact and release.

Do not take your leg off. Keep your lower leg in like a gentle hug. Let her get used to your leg like she would get used to the saddle pad.

If you cannot find a way to relax her back in tempo in 15 minutes you will just make her more and more fit and tense.

Jmho

[Tanga]

Good idea, chisamba. I have done that, too. Let them go as fast as they want on a small circle, and keep them there with the outside rein. It's lot of work for them, so you sitting very relaxed and letting them go as fast as they want only involves them.

[blob]

You've gotten some very good advice here. I especially underscore the don't take the legs off. Keeping the gentle hug also means it's easier to give a slight gradual increase of an aid and is less surprising.

the other thing I wanted to add is that there are some horses i've had in the past where there is just no way to tire them out by letting them canter it out. i've had ones that just need a good canter and then they are ok. But for some once they start cantering adrenaline seems to just continue on. I have a friend with a mare like this (also an eventer). She does a VERY long walk as part of her show warm up. Then she does easy, relaxing trot work--lots of bending lines with predictability (like serpentines or figure 8s or thread the needle). She does NOT canter in her warm up for her eventing dressage tests. She goes into the ring and does her first canter during the test. It sometimes hurts her transition scores a bit, but it's almost nearly eliminated all the comments she used to get around tension.

[Ponichiwa]

Good advice above. I'll add: you need to build a relaxation exercise at home that you can use at shows- for both of you.

Practice things like:
- following your hand when you give the reins forward (start at trot or walk, move on to all 3 gaits)
- zigzag leg yield, filling out each new outside rein (walk, trot, or canter)
- serpentines, passing bend from side to side within one stride

These aren't quick fixes, but if you get them right at home you'll have some tools in your tool box whenever you get off the property.

Also critical: make sure YOU are breathing. At shows, in show clothes, we often get tight and quick in our own breaths which then our sensitive horses pick up on. Be purposeful about full inhalation and exhalation (which my phone keeps trying to autocorrect to "exhaustion").