[Roxy93]

I'm planning on taking my horse to a show in January. We're going to drive up there Friday morning-ish, so I'll have time to school her and get used to the place before I show on Saturday.
My only problem is that my horse gets really nervous with the whole sho environment, and I know more exposure is going to help that, but I was wondering what you guys did with your horses.

She's PERFECT while schooling, but when she sees all the cars and the people, and I guess she can sense it, she just goes mad. Usually not crazy, but just SO sensitive to the slightest aids, with her head straight up in the air to evade the bit. Winning doesn't matter to me, (not yet, until I know she's ready), so I just relax and talk her through it. '
Any tips?

[Equinelvr66]

I know on my boy I had a bit for schooling that was fine but when we got ready to show he was the same way and i went with a slightly stronger bit and that has made a difference for us. I am not sure if that will work but you could try. what are you showing in? that might help to know.

[ottbluver]

In the future, maybe you could practice going to shows, but not competing. Just take her to a show or two and all you do those days is walk her around, groom her, give her massages, etc. Praise her whenever she is calm, and don't get too flustered if she acts up a little. (hope this helps...I actually used these tips to get my dog ready for shows; trust me: it works! )

[sheplovr]

I went to alot of open shows, so nobody really paid much attention to a pro. I schooled the horse in the ring before and in practice ring during breaks. It got alot of exposure doing this as many idiots were running about. Especially with stallions, I had to jump in someplace for spring is their thing. Just hit the open small shows and ride ride ride. Get in with all the horses and hold on. Lol. Just a tip from an old pro. We were very sneaky not to hit registered shows for points before alot of schooling. Young horse have a lot of bugs to work outta them.

[Roxy93]

Thanks everyone! We're showing hunters, so the whole head in the air like a giraffe thing doesn't work. Anyone else?

[Zippolympic]

What kind of show is it? Because if it's just a schooling/open show, then don't really worry too much about it. So that way, you can just kind of school your horse in the class, making your horse more relaxed, etc.

[Bernardo]

Another thing. Is what happens at a show is you do a whole bunch of new things (fancier tack, banding/braiding, polish, etc) That the horse isn't used to be exposed too ... Its a really good idea to at home get your horse ready for a show a few times so it isn't soo new.

Just schooling at shows helps a lot too ... and not actually showing

[magic_rider]

Rescue remedy is the best thing ever, you can use it on you and your horse to calm you both down and it works really well, it comes in a little bottle with a dropper and you just squeeze a few drops into your horses mouth, i knew a few people who use it and everyone thinks it works really well.

[Lancee-lover]

ive heard of a feed you can buy that calmes a horse down before shows and i saw it work on a horse i know.

[Madamoiselle]

They have paste calmers you can give that are legal for competition-however some stuff is definitely not. If you're going to a rated show then there is a chance they could have drug testing.

I'm dealing with the same thing-except I haven't shown my horse yet because I've been trying to tweak out the crazies. He can't keep his attention and it's incredibly hard for him to focus, but when he does he's a good boy. He's been shown before according to the points on his papers, but only in the in-hand classes-so I have nooo clue if he'll act like a pro over fences or a complete maniac .

You can try some of the glanzen products, I've been considering it before show season begins. If you do opt for the paste calmers-don't go with calm n' cool-I've personally had a horse flip out on it(moreso than usual) and I've heard another story about an incident with that.