Behaviour at shows

[lisah]

VERY good point Ponchespilot - even when we think we are giving them less and lower energy food, the change itself can have a huge impact.

[breezey]

Hey Hannah, never thought id be on here giving advice, as the reason I joined initially was to get help with Rambler - for similar reasons, he was great for so long then going nuts for no apparent reason. I was calling for help for trainers etc as I was becoming so disheartened. But, I was given soooooo much helpful advice and found many members had previously experienced similar at some point.
I have just this past week been jumping with a bit of dressage and found a new lease of life with Rambler and gained so much confidence I never thought I had.

I took him off the grass - completely for a week and didnt ride, only long lined etc etc. When I rode after a week he was so so calm, I knew it was the grass. I have now put him back to grass but with the addition of Top Spec Calmer, and he is still so calm, energetic, but a controllable energy.
I took him into a new ennviroment yesterday and spent the first half hour walking him round the area and standing in spooky corners until I saw him relax, then got on and he was as good as gold. He is always nervy in a new enviroment too but walking him for a bit until he settles seems to help too.

Good luck

[hannahpig]

have started the calmer last ngiht. Rode him and he was awful...he's very sensitive and had had his teeth done on monday but he neeeded ridden. my friend who taches the RC near me helped me laods and gave me a bit of a lesson. He was shaking his head sooo much he couldnt go forward so now everytime he shakes his head he gets a tap with the schooling stick and i say AH! eventually it was jsut AH and he settled. I also think he knows that ill be happy with just 20 mins good work and then any longer he gets unsettled sso ill be riding for HOURS!!!!!

[sally]

Are you sure the headshaking isn't an over reaction to pollen or flys? and perhaps check that bridle is sitting comfortable and not too tight around poll&ears..Mine does it if a piece of mane gets caught underneath or even an eye-whisker under bridle

[cadmus]

My old instructor told me that cody was taking the p1ss when he was throwing his head about, he was worse in trot and she said it was because he didnt want to work....mmm got him an equilibrium net and he stopped!!

Try everything!

[hannahpig]

Cadmus PIGGY IS THE SAME last night he started again, took him to the out door school and he was fine. then took him in for a round of jumps inthe indoor adn he never shook his ehad once. son back to the outdoor for mroe schooling and he started shaking smacked him with a stick and he was fine. definately at it

[cadmus]

Id try him with a net then, if he has got a headshaking problem the poor guy is being told off for it when its clearly uncomfortable.

Headshaking isnt necessarily a pollen allergy, a lot of horses that get stressed easily or have had a stressful career suffer from it too. There isnt actually a reasonable explanation for some cases, some say light sensitivity/pollen allergy/some ear imbalance but the net will reduce it by about 80 - 90%

When you being him out of the field, does he try to walk behind you with his head in your back? does he stick his nose under others tails?

It certainly stopped Cody, he was the same, I would walk in the school and he didnt do it much, then into trot and he would start vertical shaking and jerking like he had a tick, then into canter and not so much, then if we were jumping he didnt do it at all. Both me and my instructor just thought it was boredom or reluctancy to work but the net stopped it all.

Lester uses a net too, but that is more a pollen allergy as he is alwasy trying to itch his nose and his eyes run etc

God...Ive gone on a bit there! Hope it is of some help.

[hannahpig]

when we go to the feild he walks behind me but i think its becasue he's lazy and walks slow. He doesnt really hide his nose or stnad beside the other horses at all!