Unexplainable Show Ring Behavior

[Regan_Szam]

Help! My trainers and I are at a bit of a roadblock concerning my horse. He has gotten progressively worse behaved in the show ring as he has gotten older. What started as mild spooking has turned into full blown stopping and dangerous behavior as the years have gone by.

Now you may be thinking he is done being a show horse, yup i’ve had those same thoughts too but he jumps around and is as happy as a clam at home and in the warm up ring. Maybe he is in pain… he has been extensively evaluated by multiple vets, bone scan, stomach scope, x-rays, whole nine yards, and other than ulcers which we have treated and we continue to evaluate, nope no issues.

It is seriously like he becomes a different horse as soon as he walks into the ring, he has always been a little on the anxious side, but now it is unmanageable. But to add another layer onto the story he can jump around the ring sometimes perfectly fine. Is it the bit, the saddle, the training, the footing, the shoes, the ear plugs, trust me have been through that all.

The only lead we have as of now is that we have noticed he has began to shake his head, so we are wondering if it some sort of inner/middle ear issue or infection and he is scheduled for a scope to evaluate that issue. My question for all of you is: has anyone had issues similar to this, possibly related to an ear issue? Or is there anything else you could think of that we are missing? I have deep dived into sympathetic and neurological diseases in horses and can’t quite find anything that matches, but wondering is anyone has any thoughts regarding that as well?

[Mallard]

Can your coach or other competent rider take him in the ring for you?

[Regan_Szam]

Yes. Both my trainers have ridden him along with other riders and myself, does not effect his behavior, in fact he tends to be a little bit better and tries harder for me.

[greywithchrome]

A friend of mine’s horse became a headshaker when he got older and it gets worse in certain situations, sometimes triggered by stress. Its a trigeminal nerve thing that can come on with age. It can also have UV related triggers - do you ride mostly inside at home?

[clanter]

is the horse worked in the same tack as shown?

is it ever swishing its tail in discuss ?

We had a mare who was shown in multiple disciplines she would adjust her presence and gait by the tack she was wearing

[Regan_Szam]

Yes in fact we do ride undercover mostly at home. This definitely could be an explanation specially if it is brought on by stress, which could explain why it is worse in the show ring. I will definitely look into this! Thank you

[Regan_Szam]

Yes! Other than the obvious show pad everything else is the same… you know he is a tail swisher…

[Feathered_Feet]

Can you take your horse to one of the venues to school on a non-show day? That would give you info about if it were something about the jumps themselves, or the buzz and excitement of a show environment.

I also like what the other poster said about lighting - if you school under cover at home, and outdoor at the venue, I suspect the jumps look very different with the shadows.

[greywithchrome]

Yea the fact that you have noticed he’s been shaking his head really makes me wonder. I have a second friend with a headshaker who is one of her best lesson horses however can only be ridden inside. She gets the summer off once the program moves to the outdoor ring because she is triggered by the UV! She’s totally fine for turnout though she actually lives out but being worked outside is a no.

[2tempe]

This will not be much help - but I did know of a mare like this. Younger, talented jumper, was absolutely fine at home, both in the indoor ring and two different outdoor rings. At a show warm up seemed ok. In the main ring, she might get 2 jumps thru or maybe 5-6 or sometimes not even the first jump. Then STOP. The only way she would move would be to the out gate. The times I saw her go, she always looked on “high alert” as she went thru the in gate like she was pretty well convinced that something in there was going to kill her. Not sure if it was banners or flags, or loudspeaker or being alone, it was never clear. This was roughly 20 years ago. Mare was at a show barn and owner did some medical evaluations, etc, nothing ever found. So her show career was over. Owner schooled her at home and eventually just retired her.

[IPEsq]

Headshaking could be part of it, but I would expect the warmup ring not to be flawless in that case.

Can you do a schooling day or ticketed rounds with other horses in the show ring? Or what happens if you hack in there in the morning with others? Sometimes it is being in the ring alone.

[greywithchrome]

@IPEsq

Headshaking could be part of it, but I would expect the warmup ring not to be flawless in that case.

I missed that. Good point.

[endlessclimb]

Do you hack this mare out at all? My first thought would be that being in the ring alone is what setting this off. She needs to be OK being alone, and hacking out is a great way to teach her some self confidence and to relax when by herself.

[trubandloki]

Do you ride alone at home or do your rides typically have some other horses being ridden at the same time?

Edit to add - I should have read @endlessclimb’s post before posting. Same thought.

[TWH_Girl]

I knew my gelding was done showing when he became sour and hard to manage at shows. He’s great at home and on trail rides but it got to the point of him getting antsy the day before when I would bathe and clip him. I retired him from showing in 2019 and have no regrets. We’re both much happier.
I think your horse is exhibiting show burnout. Why not take a break and just enjoy him? It’s amazing how much more enjoyable horses can be when we remove our expectations.

[StormyDay]

Have you checked for Corpora nigra cysts? Horses with them tend to be ok at home. In the warm up they may not have issues because they get to flat around the jumps and the warm up jumps are usually really basic. In the ring, the cyst makes seeing the jumps hard, and if they are Different that the ones at home (strange colors, fill, etc) it can give them some crazy optical illusions.

On cloudy days or in the shade it’s usually not as severe.