What's the Rush?

Schooling gymnastics on Suki with Denny
(Photo: May)

Fact 1: Most of us have ridden a horse that rushes fences.

Fact 2: Trotting fences is one of the primary exercises used to torture riders, second only to sitting trot, no stirrups, on the bounciest horse in the barn.

Unavoidable fact that we all try to ignore because of the first two unavoidable truths: trotting fences on a rushing horse, on a loose rein, until the horse jumps consistently from a relaxed trot without catapulting or bolting afterwards is the best way to condition a horse to not rush.  This is something you probably already know, and if you don’t already know it, you do now and have no excuse for ignorance.

Now, I am a rider that has a strong desire to know why something fixes a problem so that I can own it and tinker with it.*  So, why do horses rush?  Anxiety.  Horses that are anxious about jumping have two primary responses at their disposal, stopping or rushing, with variations there of.  Rushing can occur to the fence or bolting after fences.  Stopping, when it really comes down to it, tends to be followed by a horse trying to "get out of Dodge" or shutting down, using the tried and true, "if I don't acknowledge it, it isn't there" also often seen with the "reluctant loader," and for similar physiological reasons.

The primary structure in the brain responsible for anxiety is the amygdala, home of the infamous "fight or flight" response.  This center releases hormones, molecules used to signal the whole body it needs to react in each part's assigned way.  Anxiety can be a very useful response.  For a horse, it would save them from the infamous catamount lurking in the dark.  For a modern human, it is that call to action during an emergency.  However, for all parties involved in riding, the same hormones that send you from the start box like a cavalry charging to battle can cause your horse to panic, jump you right out of the tack, and land bolting across the field… causing a whole new kind of start box anxiety the next time out.

What all of this means is that as a rider, you need to condition your horse to experience commonplace situations without anxiety.  This requires a lot of patience and repetition.  In terms of rushing fences, this means the tried and true hop–and–plop exercise, repeated until a horse’s automatic response to approaching a fence is “oh, I need to get from here to there, no big deal, no rush” rather than “ahhhh, if I get it done it’s over, then maybe my rider will quit asking me to do this scary thing.”  The anxiety can be further heightened by a rider that clamps up approaching a fence, nit picks, holds, or catches a horse in the mouth over the fence.

So, don’t do that.

And how do you, dear rider, just not do that?  There are many ways, most of which require… you guessed it… practice.  Now, we have two parties that both need to practice the same thing.  How?  Set all your fences to small heights, it’s okay, no one is judging (and if they are, they aren’t worth having around).  Acquire a neck strap, a belt or stirrup leather will do, you don’t need to use it over every fence, but they are very useful to have just in case.  Now, pick up a trot and keep your hands at the very start of where the rubber of the reins meets the leather.  Yes, I mean loop your reins.  No matter what.  And yes, it might make you feel completely crazy, out of control, and get that little bit of anxiety going in your own stomach.  You’ll thank me.

If you have to, start trotting poles on the ground until the rhythm does not change.  How do you keep it from changing?  Think about the rise and fall in the trot as sinking and gently bumping up.  Let your hips loosen, your shoulder blades slight down your back, and, for goodness sake, let all the tension in your elbows go.  When you’re ready, continue onto small fences.  Go until you horse can reliably trot to a fence, hop over it, and depart in a quiet, relaxed manner.  If your horse takes a mega–leap over an itty, bitty fence, he earns himself several more jumps. 

Amazingly enough, I found that the more I did this, the more I was conditioning myself to relax in front of fences.**  Why?  Humans are animals, when you get right down to it, and do not always have logical response to situations.  Sometimes, your anxiety (or your horse’s anxiety) level may start high for unrelated reasons and be raised by the activity at hand.  Conditioning yourself to respond to anxiety inducing situations in a relaxed manner will improve not only your riding, but if you take it a step further, your life.

For example, I have had a habit of mentally reiterating my to–do list until needing to get everything done has me so anxious that I am unable to fully focus on anything or accept changes to my plan.  This is a similar situation to a horse rushing fences to get it over with… I needed to condition myself to approach each task as its own element, do my best with it, and proceed to the next task.  It is tough, I still rush tasks, but writing my lists down, establishing reasonable time frames, and not over scheduling myself has allowed me to stop rushing.  With lessened anxiety, I am able to get more done and respond better to change, just as a calm horse can be more adjustable on course.

*  Lila Gendal wrote an article for Eventing Nation on this: Exploring the Why

**Denny prompted me to do this… over… and over… and it has subsequently occurred to me he was forcing me to relax more than my horse.