Schooling Your Horse

Show pen strategies, part 2 of 3: tune your horse up in the ring
by Allison Trimble

If you show much, there will come a time when you need to change some things about your show experience. The most common way to go about this is with schooling runs. This means that you have walked into the pen with the intention of not caring about your score or to purposely zero. Typically, people school because there is a negative behavior they want to address in their horses, or they are preparing to show in a big event and are going in to practice in a way that tunes the horse up. To school your horse, you usually enter in the least expensive class you are eligible for. In some associations or clubs, there are even schooling sessions you can purchase that are for a set amount of time.

Either way, there are a few things I want you to know about the benefits of schooling your horse:

Practice in a Show Environment
There is no better way to get used to the show pen than to set foot in it. If you approach your class as though you are schooling, it lets you get the majority of the show experience without caring how you score. All of the components--like being alone in the pen in front of the judge and crowd, having to stay on pattern and remember all the parts you are supposed to--can be hard enough without having to worry about how you are scored. Think of it simply as practice, like a pre-season game; no one cares who wins or loses, it is just a starting point.

Make Changes in Your Show Approach
If you have been showing for years, even though you are making growth at home in your horse’s or your training, it can be hard to make those changes transfer into the show pen. When you get in show mode and your head is cloudy and you step out of the arena with no recollection of what you have done, it can be challenging to make the changes in your show approach that you want to make. This is a great opportunity to walk into the pen and think your way through your job as pilot. I think schooling is really the only way to make significant changes in your showing method.

Fix Bad Habits
It is extremely common for horses to learn that the show pen is a place where you are going to let them get away with an inch, and it almost always turns into them taking a mile. If your horse anticipates the lead change, you can counter canter him through the center and change on the other circle. If your horse wants to get strong in your rundowns, you can pull him into the ground; if he doesn't want to run down, you can run him to the fence. If your horse is not turning around well, or is shutting down in the turn-around, you can spin him as much as you need to. The same goes for bad habits you may have in the pen. If you catch yourself doing something you want to break yourself of doing, you can always repeat that maneuver until you have accomplished it in a way that satisfies you.

Decrease Your Horse's Anxiety
After running hard patterns and gunning at prizes, it is not uncommon for horses to get hyped up when they go through the gate. When you school your horse, you have the opportunity to slow down and let him know that not every run is the big run. You can start to lope off, and then just walk your horse a quarter or half circle. If he is getting too excitable, just break him down and let him walk a bit. You can put the pressure on him in a maneuver, and then let him stand for an extended period and settle before moving on.

Help the Horse Focus on You
When we show for points or money, we really hang our horses out there to show what they can do. This often means that we are really trusting them to stay connected, but it also means that they have the temptation of all the things out there, like umbrellas and kids on scooters, to distract them. To get the big score on the current run, we may ride through some things that can cause problems down the road. I like to school my horses pretty often just to make sure they remember I am up there. I may give them a little rope to hang themselves with when schooling, but I am right there to snatch them up if they disconnect. This helps build a pattern in which horses feel like they are still working even though they are being shown.

Go In With a Game Plan
I like to have a plan of something in particular I want to work on before I go in to school. I will generally bait my horse into doing whatever negative behavior I am working on, and then correct it. I don’t usually get after my horses hard when I am schooling because I believe that if you make a horse hate to go into the show ring, that particular problem is something you are unlikely to fix. I generally just coolly correct him and move on to the next thing. I also like to pet my horses when they are good in the pen, just to reaffirm their positive behavior and make it seem as though it is no different from when we are training at home.

So take a moment and think about what you could change or fix if you were to school your horse and what you can do in a schooling run to fix it.