With timed-event horses, we're always watching for little red flags-and not just those that the flagger waves at the timer line!
Timed-event horses, especially those who compete often, are susceptible to developing problems or issues associated with competition. Learning to recognize the early signs allows you to take action before little problems develop into something more serious. Keeping your horse happy, healthy, and eager to perform will make both competition and at-home riding much more enjoyable.
Even with our best efforts, horses can develop problems. By recognizing the little red flags that signal us that something is going amiss, we can often keep small mistakes or misbehaviors from developing into large problems. We need to stay in tune with our horses and pay attention to every aspect of their day-to-day lives. In fact, the horse's behavior and attitude at home can warn you of problems that could loom large elsewhere.
Out of the Saddle
So why should you be concerned about your horse's behavior when you're not riding? Think about yourself. If you are having a hard time at work, do your feelings of fatigue or stress go away simply because you leave the office? Chances are, they probably don't. It's the same way with your horse.
Become a Keen Observer
• Pay attention to changes in everyday behaviors.
• Monitor your horse's eating and drinking habits.
• Observe differences in your horse's energy level.
• Watch for personality changes toward you or your horse's herd mates.
• Note whether your horse seems happy to travel and go to work.
• Look at all possible stressors, including how you ride, train, and compete.
A quick give-away that something is going wrong is when you notice that your horse is no longer eating with his normal enthusiasm. Obviously, decreased appetite can be caused by many things, so we'll need to rule out a change in weather, a change in the horse's surroundings, or a change in feed as suspect causes. However, if none of those things factor in and his herd mates aren't going off feed, you need to investigate further.
Has the horse been behaving any differently in practice or competition? Is he slower or faster? Does he seem more or less ready to go? Maybe he's been more nervous than usual. Has he been making mistakes when he is usually the kind of horse that doesn't?
If a horse is stressed enough to go off feed, there's something going on and you need to work to find the cause of the problem.
It could be physical. He might have just enough of an injury or strain to take the fun-and the run-right out of him. Some horses are so brave, they'll just keep trying to do their best job, but then they just don't feel like eating. And often those little aches and pains don't show up in any obvious way, other than you feel your horse is not quite himself.
If we see something like that, we usually give the horse a few days of rest and relaxation. Sometimes a little bit of R&R is all it takes for him to get over his fatigue and freshen up. But the opposite could also happen. If he's not quite right and you keep pushing him, and his body begins to hurt even more, he's going to finally quit trying.
The point is: when your horse's eating, drinking, and everyday habits change, try to find the reason why.
