My horse won't calm down at shows, help?

Question

My 6 year old Appendix/ Foundation Quarter Horse gets so hyper at shows! It is to the point that I have to lunge him for at least 40 minutes. Is there a way to make him calm down? I am going to a show at the end of January and really want to do good because I could my horse could win! If only he would calm down. Does anyone have any advice or have been in a similar situation with their horse? Please help me!

So, at this show (it will be the first show since August) how do I make him be calm?

Answer 1

Shows can be very stressful for a horse, especially at the young age of six years old. He could be hyper for a number of reasons, so I hope I can help you identify the problem. =)

First, check yourself at the shows. Are you calm or are you nervous? Horses are such sensitive creatures, and whatever their leader (you) is feeling, they feel it too. For example, your horse will become worried if your muscles are slightly tense or even if your facial expressions are nervous on the ground. Horses really pay attention by nature, so it's up to you to calm yourself down. Do some stretches before you even get the horse off the trailer. Stretching releases tension and relaxes your muscles. When you get on your horse, breathe deeply, loosen up, balance, and relax. You should see a change in his behavior - he might lower his head, lick his lips, sigh, etc.

If it makes you feel better, I had a similar situation with my horse =) When I took him to a show, my gelding would start to act 'stallion-ish' and get all jiggy and hyper trying to keep the other horses away. If you feel this is the reason why your horse gets hyper, then you have to keep his focus. Don't just get on and stand waiting for your next class. Instead, while keeping your cool, start at your trailer where there's not many horses and get his attention by challenging his mind. Ask him to back up, side pass, disengage his hindquarters, anything. When he's listening to you, do the same thing in the practice pen and see how he does with other horses. Lunging really doesn't do much except get him more excited. A horse naturally gets excited if he's at a faster gait such as the trot or canter. But if you can get his focus and stay calm, he should be able to concentrate on his work when he goes in the arena.

Another possibilty is that he could just simply be frightened of the noise and crowds. Again, challenging his mind definitely helps here. It helps him forget about the crowds and realize he better focus on you.

It's important you stay calm in the arena. This can be extremely difficult, so don't expect to be absolutely perfect at your next show. What REALLY helps is if the show allows you to use their arena when there aren't any events taking place in it. Practice the same thing you'd do in the actual show in the arena. Also this helps if your horse is arena sour (does he get especially hyper entering the arena?) If this is the case, take him to the arena before the show and let him walk around. let him know it doesn't always mean work.

Oh, and personally, I've found that skipping the horse's breakfast the morning of the show, or giving him Quietex doesn't really help. Unless your horse is on feed that's giving him excess energy, this method has never worked for me. You can try it if you like..who knows? It could just be my horse, since he's a mustang, he has energy that lasts him all day and night lol

All in all, the most important thing is for you to keep calm. If you feel him getting jiggy or hyper, put his mind to work. Flex, side pass, disengage hind quarters, back up, etc. Once you identify where the problem is truly coming from, it'll be easier to fix it. Well good luck and don't give up!

Answer 2

Unfortuantly, there is no "quick fix" to this problem. The "be calm" pastes do work some, but this does not fix the problem, just masks it for a little while. And neither does starving or excessive lunging. I had a western pleasure paint gelding that was also very nervous at the shows. ( He was never worked with other horses at home) He would nicker, buck, kick, and just generally go nuts with all of the new sights, sounds and horses around him. The lady I bought him from sold him for the same reason. And you could lunge him for hours and he still would not calm down any. And the more you lunge him, the fitter they get, and the longer it takes to wear them down any. My solution? I took this horse to every team roping practice I could find in my area. And rode him, not trying to train him or ask for proper form, just rode. And at a faster rate than I would for western pleasure and not on the rail. With all of the other horses loping around and ropes swinging. And then tied him up where he had the steers run in front of him in the return alley. And I would also chase the steers that the ropers turned out. And pushed cattle up the alley way sometimes. AND then every so often, I would put him on the rail in a nice slow pleasure lope. So he then associated the rail with being able to relax and go slow. It took about 3-4 months, but after doing this, he was a joy at the shows. Nice, calm and relaxed. He got use to all of the things going on around him, and realized that nothing was going to eat him. And it also gives them something else to think about and do instead of being "show ring" ready all the time. Your horse may lose it the first few times you go, but if you act like it is no big deal, then sooner or later it will not be to your horse either. We take all of our colts to the roping pen as soon as they are a year old just to stand around tied and get a good look at everything and by the time they are ready to start under saddle, a lot of the spook is gone from them. If you want a horse to be calm in an eviroment with a lot of other horses, you have to take them to places with a lot of other horses, not expect them to behave as if they were alone. Good Luck! P.S. The "nervous" paint gelding is now a top notch show animal that is totally dead calm. His new youth rider and he are making a great team.

Answer 3

All the horses I've ridden in shows get really nervous and also don't want to calm down. The horse I ride at the moment did her first showjumping show in Nov/Dec and was freaked out by the people and noises but calmed down alot when I just gave her a pat and let her know that I was there for her. So just try making the place as familiar as possible and let your horse know you're there for him. Also rather don't lunge him for longer than 15 minutes. Happy New Year and Good Luck!

Answer 4

Sounds like he is anticipating the show and getting very nervous and agitated. My TB gelding used to have this exact same problem -- it is such a pain! I used to be very jealous of the people walking around with the calm, rational horses. If you have the time, start putting your horse in the trailer and going for a little drive. 10, 15 minutes around the block. Then bring him back to the barn, unload him, give him a treat, and let him go back to what he was doing. This will help him associate being in a trailer with something good instead of going into a trailer, winding up at a brand new place with strange scary people, and being ridden all day. Do the same thing at shows. Bring him to a show with the intention of doing nothing more than leading him around and letting him check stuff out for the day. If you are really intent on showing then get to the show extra early, before all of the other competitors and crowds show up. Lead him around the grounds and show him EVERYTHING. Lounge him a little bit to get his excess energy out, then tie him back up the trailer and let him relax for a while. And finally, remember that your horse gets his cues from YOU. If he senses that you are nervous and/or excited about the show, then he is going to get nervous and excited. Stay calm, take things step by step, and remember to have lots of treats on hand. :)

Answer 5

Well, the BEST thing you can do is to just go to a couple of shows or rodeos and just camp out on your horse all day. Don't compete, don't turn it into a training session. Just ride him around the grounds all day. At first, you'll want to just ride him around the perimeter. Don't get in amongst the other horses, trailer, foot traffic, etc.. When it appears your horse is getting bored, you're just about where you want to be. By not turning your outing into a "thing", pretty soon, your horse just accepts it. Have you ever noticed roping and barrel horses asleep right next to a speaker? They're plenty awake when they're in the arena, but know that there's nothing to get excited about until it's time to work! Feel free to give me a holler with further questions.

Answer 6

Easy to fix, but first are some things never to do. Do not cut down or change his feed, this only stresses his body more. Lunging a horse is pointless and does nothing. You cannot wear a 1200 lb animal out who in reality could run for hours, this makes them even more crazy. What you need to do is very simple, very easy and should not take you more then about 5 minutes at a show. You need him to pay attention to you and respect you. This is done with groud work or round penning at home. Get him on a line if you don't have a round pen. Ask him to go to the right (at a walk, trot or canter, but best to start with a walk). As he goes around to the right, move the lead rope into your left hand, draw the rope to the left and point to the left, get him to calmly turn into you and go left, when he does this without any pressure on the rope (In reality you should get him so you can do this without a rope and just hand motions, my horses all do this). the object is to get him to really pay attention to you, don't even let him go a full circle without a turn, it is not to wear him out but to get to his mind. I make them take a few steps, turn, make a few steps and turn and so on. His mind will be on you fully after a while and he will be so focused on you and hooked onto you that nothing else will matter. work up to a canter, half circles. If his mind is turely focues on you then when you bring him somewhere you can get him tuned to you and he cannot re-act to the other horses or people. To futher it, you can do this while you have someone else waving a flag or making noise and keep him focused on you. He will learn to trust you and be hooked on to you in stressful situations. I have a horse who was psycho around areans, now he doesn't even know anyone else is there. Good luck

Answer 7

He's excited!! This is new and strange and there are LOTS of new horses and people and smells and there are LOTS of different things going on all at once!! Of COURSE he's hyper!!

Why don't you do some practice shows? Not to compete- just to get the experience of trailering to a 'new' place? Just go to some friend's farms, ride around and make him be calm.

The more you do that, the better off he will be at shows.

Do NOT alter his feed or lunge him for 40 minutes -- its bad for his body.

This is a behavior you have to overcome. You have to overcome it with training. You have to have the patience to train him to be OK at shows.

Answer 8

When you practice at home if its possible get a lot of people and a lot of horses there like its a show. Then he'll be more used to the conditions. If necessary take him for a short ride in teh trailer before you practice.

Answer 9

Desensitize him to crowds.
If it's at all possible, take him to where people crowd. Parks and such. Maybe you could get all the people you know together a few weekends from now until the show. Make it clear that if they want food and a party, they have to bring it with them, but you need people to help you train your horse. Have them mill around and make lots of noise. Have them make sudden noises.
Make him stand. Talk to him, give him treats, and quit before he gets upset.
Praise calm and ignore any misbehavior.

Also, from now until the show, a radio on a heavy metal station should be running near him at all times. Make it loud sometimes, and softer sometimes, but there should always be noise and "chaos" around him. Televisions work too. Actually it's better, because with the changing shows and commercials, there is a less than soothing quality to them. Also the flickering lights are distracting.
He will learn to ignore the noise and chaos, becoming more calm.
Good luck.

Answer 10

Kerrisonr has it all right! Don't change the feed or over work him. Everyone gets a little excited at a show. He just needs show mileage.

If you can just take him to other places or maybe a show and don't show in it just ride around on the property so he can get used to it. That will do wonders on him.

Don't worry too much as long as you remind him that he is there to show off his skills. Definitely do not, I repeat DO NOT, give him drugs. They do take drug tests. You will get caught and you will get in big trouble! Just remind him he is there to show off his awsome skills.
Don't forget to talk to him when he is thinking about doing something stupid. Trust me it really helps.

Good Luck at the show!