My horses first show?

Question

my horse used to be a racehorese and next wekend i'm taking him to his fiorst show as a hunter jumper.

what are some tips to calm him down when i get to the show????

hes alsol having problems with his leads when we jump i'm going tommaorw to work on it. any ideas for it?????

Answer 1

what i finds helps horses is if you give them a pep talk before you go into a big event and give them lots of praise when they do right and not really badly but give them punishments when they do bad

Answer 2

Dont run her at the show just leave her tied up to the trailer to let her see the surroundings of a show

Answer 3

no offense but i would not do what poppyurchin said and turn him in a tight circle because when he starsts acting up and you start turning him he starts to think for it as a game. for the leads hold your outside rein and with your inside leg try to change his lead, with out getting faster.  

Answer 4

No ideas about the leads, but get there as early as possible, hand walk him around before any horses start warming-up, then lunge him for awhile to get off any extra energy, then get on his back and warm up, make sure you walk him around under-saddle as well.  

Answer 5

if he spooks turn him in a tight circle, until then get him accomodated with loud noices, objects he's not familiar with, bright colors, tires etc. remember to go with him over the jumps. don't  pull back.

best of luck!

Answer 6

I know that this will sound weird (and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people have told you this already), but you have to talk to him.  As soon as you get there and pull him out of the trailer tell him easy, talk, and stroke him.  Walk him around the area just so he gets used to the new place.  And again, this will sound weird, but you have to get his attention on you, make him listen by backing him.  Every time you take him out of his stall or out of the trailer, back him at least five steps and then square him (if he can square, try your best).  He should drop his head and pay attention to you.  If he doesn't, back him more until he does.  Good luck :]

Answer 7

With my ottb, what I did was when we arrived at the show, I left her in the trailer to sign up/register for classes, get all that stuff sorted out first. Then, I'd tack her up while she was still inside the trailer, that way, she couldn't move around and dance in circles as I try to tack her up. Once tacked up, I attach a lunge line to her bridle, and lead her off the trailer. Once she's off, I lead her a bit away and just lunge her around. This lets her take a look at the place and get her screaming and bucking out of her system. (be sure to have stirrups wrapped up and secure before you tack your horse up).

Once she starts slowing down and listening more, I'll get on her and take her to the warm-up ring and just trot. Don't bother walking, because it gives them too much time to think and look around. Just go straight to trotting around the warm-up area and do lots of circles, figure eights, keep changing direction, weaving in and out of the jumps(if there are any). By then, she's much calmer and is actually listening to me. That's when I start the over fence warm-up. Make sure you know your course and go through it once. Just once is all you need. If there are any fences that are jumped the other way in the following class, just take that single jump in the other direction. There is no need to over-school a tb over fences too much, because it can wire them up. Once done with warming up over fences, go back to the flat warm-up area and walk/trot as you wait for your class to begin.

As for leads, I wouldn't really worry about it all that much, especially since it's his first show. Let him enjoy it and have fun with him. But, if you really want to, you'll know the course, so you know what corners you are going to be turning, which direction you'll be heading to after. So with that in mind, just start asking for that bend while you're going over the jump. Don't lean down on it, but just ask him gently with your legs and tighten the soon to be inside rein a little to let him know which way he's heading. Of course, you can always just ask for a fly-change in the corner.

Depending on how long the waiting times are, you should be ok with what I've put. Although I know I've been to shows that take forever to get going and I'm usually early. So, what you can do, is take him out on the lunge line(untacked) and lunge him and lead him around to take a look at the place. Once he's settled more or it's getting to be time to warm up, then tack him up. If he's dancing around on the lead and not standing long enough for you to tack him up without chasing him, or you're worried that when you put on the bridle, he might jerk free, then put him back onto the trailer, close him in, and tack him up in there.

Good luck with your show! ^_^

Answer 8

Try giving him a neck rub