Not quite, you can use ear plugs in awards ceremonies. It’s in the rule book.
I would much rather ride with other horses able to hear in the warmup. Because dressage riders (especially when wearing headsets) tend to get oblivious to things going on around them, I appreciate horses being able to hear other horses coming up behind them since riders are so often taken by surprise. I’ve had more horses prevent a collision when their riders turn them straight into me than I have had riders pay attention in warmups.
I’ve also worked with a deaf horse before. She was a nice horse, but attempts to comfort her when she was alarmed by something were very challenging. I want my less secure horse to be able to hear me when I talk to her in a warmup.
I don’t think being unable to get a horse through issues with sounds makes someone a bad rider, but I do agree that it’s a rider problem, not a horse problem. I choose to have more sensitive types of horses - which means what I have to learn to deal with, and how I learn to provide confidence to them. I know many horses who don’t require the same, and they would be easier to learn to work with. But it’s worth my struggles to learn to be the rider my horses need at shows for the day to day joy I get from riding their type at home. My scores reflect my learning curve, with some shows much higher than others, and I’m ok with that. It’s honest, and I AM improving, thus my horses are. So while my mare tends toward insecure away from her herd, it’s MY problem to fix, not something to try to mask and pretend isn’t an issue.
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One of the things that I see often on COTH is that people can’t see beyond their own personal experience. “I’ve never known a horse that was X, therefore your horse can’t possibly be X, it has to be your fault as a rider/handler.”
Also, I want to note that “sensitive” does not equate to “noise sensitive” or “noise reactive.” My current mule is very sensitive and very alert to his environment, but is not particularly noise reactive.
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GREAT post! Thank you NSP.
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Everyone seems to think my last post was quite offensive, so let me defend my point of view.
I also have a highly sensitive horse -sights, sounds, ghosts of tests past, you name it- but guess what? I worked my ass off to create a solid relationship with my horse as a trustworthy leader and have done a TON of desensitization. Years of consistency and work has paid off for me. Stop saying “oh my horse is so much worse than yours so I need special gadgets”. Be confident in yourself and put in the effort. It is never the horse’s fault.
People also seem to be implying that means that dressage is only for “fancy warmbloods”. That is so wrong. Dressage is the basis for all riding and is absolutely necessary for all horses. Any horse can succeed if you put in the work.
By the way, just because dressage is currently evolving, doesn’t mean you can remove it from its context within history. Hundreds of years of tradition and influence won’t fall by the wayside just because you feel differently. You asked why, so I gave my best answer.
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If they’re reactive, or even overreactive to noise, it’s a training issue. This is something you can resolve. My recommendation would be Rick Pelicano’s sound desensitizing CD. It’s awful sounding, but effective.
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Not that I agree with the thought that if only we had a better relationship with our horse and were better riders our horse would not be reactive, but let us go with that thought…
Should we all have to stay home until we get that magical relationship just perfect?
How do we know that relationship is just perfect if we can not take Dobbin out while we develop our amazing bond?
Some of us less athletic types will never be able to sit a hard spook. Yes really. And no, we should not be forced to sit at home not riding because we are not more athletic.
There are horses who are pretty darn bomb proof that a noise with no known source is just scary.
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Sorry, I should have clarified. Lungeing you can, though.
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There’s a distinction between ear plugs and ear covers, and I think there should be for the reason posters have mentioned above-- about horses in warmup arenas wearing actual ear plugs not being able to hear other horses around them as well.
I have not seen equine ear plugs in use in jumping so I’m not sure how much more sound they muffle. The “noise-canceling” ear bonnets now allowed in dressage are hardly that, it’s really just thicker fabric around the ears. They do seem to muffle sound somewhat. But “canceling” is labeling hyperbole on the part of the makers of them.
I ended up with the product myself, not even knowing they were called that or that noise reduction was part of their purpose. I found them on a shelf among many in a tack shop, and they were the only ones that were the right color of navy and with limited bling. And they were marked down.
I didn’t find out until after I bought them and used them that they have only recently been allowed. I don’t know how much difference they made because the horse I used them on was not super reactive to sounds, anyway. She was much more of a visual spooker.
Here’s an article that includes comments from one rider’s perspective on their use:
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I ride a horse who is suoer reactive to noise, and goes 100x better in earplugs than without. Maybe I have just become a much less effective rider now tha I’m pushing 40, or maybe she just feels better when the world is a quieter place.
Either way, ime other people tend to prefer sharing the arena with other horses that are quietly going where they are aimed, but if people really would rather navigate around us in the warm up while she’s lit up like a xmas tree doing a surprise 180 and I’m hanging ten off the side, then may the warmup be a more pleasant place for all.
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I’m sorry your instructors have failed you so you believe this.
There are few people LESS athletic than I am. If I can learn, anyone can. But it takes great teachers and a willingness to work at it. From your post, I believe the great teacher part has been missing for you.
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That’s not what I took from it, but whatever…
Sometimes it isn’t until you get and do, that you improve, or get past stuff…everyone starts somewhere…
Again with my mare, she is obviously shown without ear plugs in…and at home they certainly don’t make her deaf, just tone down the world a little for her. Even my coach is exasperated with her, due to her reactions, heck when I first started with her we wondered if i would work, I was still getting my nerve back. On my old horse if things were getting tense I would sing, with Fergie, first time I sang she was OFF…I thought maybe it was a vote of no confidence in my singing voice, turned out to be a reaction to the sound…I have learned to breathe properly with her…
She has taught me a lot, we have come a LONG way, and are moving up the levels…I just think it is weird that’s all, to me it is kind of a welfare issue as well, if keeping her world quiet makes her happy, then why shouldn’t I be able to use them…
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Interesting. @KBC, is your mare always reactive to all sounds? Equally when you are mounted or otherwise, say turned out? I have a horse that can be very reactive to pretty much everything, I wish it were only sound. I’ve discovered that diet played a tremendous role in his reactivity. Just something to consider.
Personally, I suspect the rationale for not allowing ear plugs is related to the concept of a level playing field. There are many horses that go better in side reins, do you think they should be allowed? You probably don’t want to do down the welfare issue slippery slope, because someone is bound to point out that what really makes horses happy has nothing to do with showing.
Whoops! I guess I just did!
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And while the competition ring is so much easier and calmer for horses than the “war zone” of the warm-up ring, I wouldn’t want my horse to have the volume of the world suddenly turned up before I entered at A. Might as well figure out how to cope with the noise while you are in the mosh pit.
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There are plenty of places you can take a horse and use ear plugs if you just want outings-- either schooling at a busy barn or at many unrecognized shows, for example. It’s not like your only option is to go to recognized shows. My horse is a lunatic about other horses galloping and would probably do best with blinkers or possibly a bag over his head, but in the meantime he has certainly made me a stronger rider.
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LOL, we have nicknamed her Fergie the Wonder Horse…“what’s over there. what’s that, what’s that noise?”
She is looky 100% of the time, I have to constantly bring her attention back to me when riding, she never just ties quiet, she is always looking…however I can ride her past things that she ‘sees’ we may have a negotiation about it, but we have mainly got that down pat…noise though is a different issue…maybe because neither of us can prepare for it, so there is no chance to distract her…
Her diet is pretty basic, but we are looking to add Magnesium to see if it will help her at all.
My mare takes a long sigh of relief when I put them in, I use them less and less as she gets older but they do help her when she is on edge.
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So, I am an event rider. I have an absolutely lovely horse, talented on the flat (my coach thinks he can do FEI…although I doubt I can…) and a great jumper. He hates ditches. Hates hates hates. We have tried many many things. At the moment, we are NOT competing at recognized events, because he stands up on his hind
legs at ditches and promptly gets us eliminated. I do sincerely wish I could skip the ditches. But I can’t. So instead we are dipping our toes in recognized dressage, doing schooling event things where we CAN skip the ditch…and I have accepted that he may not be the right horse to event as it is currently construed.
If your horse is so reactive that he or she leaps around and can’t focus on YOU at shows, I don’t see why the answer is that you can use an artificial aid to create the thing the discipline requires (submission and attentiveness). That horse is maybe not cut out to do recognized dressage competitions, just like mine may not ever be a horse I can do a recognized event past novice on.
this just seems like an unfair advantage. When I come to a dressage show, I accept that my horse may be up or spooky that day. I know how to ride through that - if I didn’t, I would have found him a different owner. Will I score as well as I could have on a calmer day? No. But it certainly doesn’t seem fair that while I am riding my horse into greater submission and relaxation, you have popped ear plugs in and are happily swanning around in a sound-dampened universe.
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One minor gripe that is probably going to come off the wrong way but…if you expect your horse to be an athlete, why don’t you expect that out of yourself? Yes, some of us have our limitations (especially as we age!), but I think rider fitness is so not addressed enough. Just a comment I thought of while reading. I’m sure there are reasons, and other opinions on the matter. That is fine, but that’s just always a thought that I have. Although sometimes for me when something happens it is usually due to sheer lack of coordination and grace on my part
Re the sound dampening devices, I would like to think that if your horse is properly trained you don’t need them, but there are exceptions. I’m on the fence about their legality in the dressage ring…but I am leaning toward the thought that they should be allowed.
I have one very reactive horse. He’d probably be better with ear plugs, but that’s my last resort. I’m fortunate enough to be able to generally ride his spooks well. Or have him working hard enough that he doesn’t have time to focus on anything else. He has to constantly be ridden mentally and physically, or he will find things. You cannot be any kind of passenger on that guy. He’s gotten much better with a lot of ground work. Tons of it. It’s time consuming, but has so improved our relationship in the saddle. I feel like a lot of riders don’t consider as much training on the ground and creative exercises as they should. This horse is also young, so I anticipate improvements with age and maturity/experience. Every step I think “am I being a passenger or a rider?” and this helps me and I have to remind myself less now.
The other thing is some horses need a slower pace. Some you can bring to their first bit competition, hop right on, and place well. Other horses you need to just bring them to a show ground first and walk around, see the sights, then go home and slowly introduce that world to them.
I can understand that dressage is about relaxation, submission, etc. And that the horse should perform for/with the rider without aids such as noise dampening devices, but I also know that all horses are individuals and what works for another horse may never work my horse/your horse/that horse and so on.
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I was riding a very well trained horse in a clinic with a BNT/BNR and an arena door slammed shut about 5 feet behind and 10 feet beside us and out of our range of vision. BOOM-like an explosion. I was trotting along quite forward. The horse I was riding went down like a cat and then stabilized and continued on. It was pretty funny. I can’t believe that horse didn’t bolt straight across the arena; I sure as heck wanted to flee.
Six months later, on my own horse, SAME SPOT, a friend was walking toward the arena door from the outside (half wall, so could be seen coming down the slight hill. She was about 10 feet away, we were at a walk. My horse is not particularly spooky without cause but he has had some genuine pretty much not dangerous spooks at things that seem to be much to deal with (hot air balloon blasting sound after it nearly landed on the arena, bag of water crashing down the wooden stairs at the arena, spots on ponies, evil minis, you know…). Anyway. SAME SPOT, friend walks and horse is TOTALLY with me; how do I know? All on video, relaxed ears, soft eyes, entirely focused on me…and apparently he spies some movement out of those soft relaxed eyes…and goes down like a cat in the same spot the other horse did…then continues on like a perfect gentleman.
Carl Hester had a big spook in the Olympics and joked about him seeing a Pokemon. David Marcus had to be excused from the London OLYMPICS because his horse lost his marbles after the umbrellas and the rain.
If those two had spooks (and there are tons of examples…look at Laura Graves and Verdades, look at a very BNT/BNR at nationals who had one on a horse who NEVER spooks), its going to happen.
The most telling thing for me was that my horse spooked when I was under hypnosis to work on my fear. What are my expectations? The funny thing is that both spooks I mentioned above had zero warning, so I wasn’t tense. That was key. I actually laughed.
They are animals and yes, it is training, and yes even the best are still going to spook occasionally. And yes, some of us are not as good at riding through that as others are. But it happens. And unfortunately earplugs aren’t allowed for the horses in dressage competition (yet?).
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