Is your horse stressing out on shows? Check out the interesting facts to keep your horses healthy and stress-free from shows. Be sure to stay stress-free yourself.
Horse shows are thrilling events equestrians look forward to all year. However, horse shows can be a source of fear and discomfort for our horses. It is also possible to take measures to minimize horse tension and wellbeing.
The patient you are, the more likely you are to win and enjoy horse shows when the competition occurs. With that in mind, here are six training tips to help avoid nerves and fear from horse shows right before they happen.
Check Your Horse
It is exhausting to go for a horse show for both the horse and the trainer. Stress emerges from trips, the grueling training, the pressure of competition, and more. This stress will affect not only your performance but also your horse’s health. So, be sure to pay attention to your horse and look out for their best interest and wellbeing.
How Stress Affects Your Horse
Although stress does not directly cause digestive issues, it can affect your horse’s behavior and eating habits and cause ulcers and colic conditions in horses. Travel discomfort or the thrill of a showy environment frequently holds your horse from feeding and drinking.
All of which can have a severe effect on the equine digestive region such as:
The risk of colic impaction can result from not drinking enough water. Not enough food can interfere with the digestive process, mostly hay, and cause digestive imbalance, ulcers, and colic.
You can also use products to calm your horse down. Quiet Life Calmer is the best horse calmer currently in the market. Be sure to check it out.
Prepare Your Horse
The trick to keeping your horse comfortable and stress-free during a show is to build and adhere to a schedule at home. If your horse travels regularly, makes noise, shows the excitement, then your horse is stress-free.
Here are a few excellent tips to alleviate the burden on your horse.
General Things to Do
- The more relaxed the trailer your horse is, the less likely the tension will come.
- Provide water during travel every 3 hours
- Protect the horse’s legs with safety wraps
- Travel between sunrise and sunset to allow for the horse to rest at nights
- Please give them a wet bag.
- During summer, use fly sprays on horses regularly.
- Bed with at least 3 inches of shavings-cushion and not the slippery ones.
- If the horse has never traveled, pack, unload and go on fast drives in advance.
- Utilize a more seasoned trailer with a horse.
During and After a Show
- Keep the same food routine and treatment routine as at home at these events.
- If necessary, halt the horses beside a companion.
- Use the same tools and gear at the events as you would use at home.
- Give some time to calm down and take the horse into the stable first.
- Hand-walk your horse to encourage it to become accustomed to light, sound, and scent.
Show-Ring Tips
- Prepare your riding horse for a new, busy world by training, community courses, or shows before you attempt to perform.
- Go first in the show style and get comfortable with your own feet before hitting the horse.
- Using the same warmup and tacking as you do at home.
- Look for the odd things you will see in the display on your ring at home, the umbrellas, and other unknown items and characters.
- Practice in performance equipment or similar equipment. (For the saddle, we ride the horse with a towel in our pocket to adapt to the feeling of a long coat.)
- Try chopping, turning, and glazing in your kitchen, until they are used to the sensation.
- Use blinking cameras at home, walk horses over mud puddles, and usually plan to tackle show scenarios every day.
Prepare Yourself Too
Horses are perceptive and can pick up on nervous energies. Your anxiety will affect your horse. So, try to remain calm and collected.
Eat healthily, sleep well, breathe right. A sure way to do that is to get you to routine training. Learn how to meditate, practice calming breathing practices, and keep your stress level to a minimum.
It is more than about making lists and putting your braiding talents into effect. In low-pressure cases, it is about going to school shows, running out to ride in a road, or introducing your horse to all the things you might do at a horse show.
Self-Help
While challenging yourself is good, it is also best to only perform at a level you are ready to handle. You should never go into the show feeling overwhelmed or incredibly underconfident.
The ability to leap a certain height or execute complex motions can dramatically raise stress levels for both you and your horse.
In that case, it may be best to concentrate on building trust at a more comfortable level.
Grooming
Get the brushing, braiding, and tack cleaning skills routine down while you do it yourself. Put in plenty of practice at home, and keep a record of how long it takes you.
Then, when you are at the display, put large padding so that you are not forced.
Keep Backup
Hire someone to take this burden away if you do not want to drive a horse trailer. Check if the trainer will assist you in heating up. Bring your loved one or a friend.
They do not have to be horse enthusiasts. Just talking to a good friend will ease your nerves – which in turn will keep your horse calm.
Do Not Overwork
If you feel there are too many classes over a weekend, pick only one or two classes each day. Most shows on horses will allow you to trailer a day in. Take the chance to stroll, watch and chill your horses, your mates.
Things to Keep in Mind
One low round, exam, or class at the end of the day is just a tiny part of the broader picture. You may not get aa ribbon. But, your results from your last show were a marginal change.
Maybe it did not go your way, so you are still privileged to ride and ride and try another day.
Conclusion
Keep an eye on something uncommon and communicate to the veterinarian if you are fearful of any adjustments. Your veterinarian is best able to monitor the health of your horse.
