I have been working with this horse for almost a year now(He belongs to me now as of a couple months ago) He's great on the flat, but when i point him to a jump, he locks onto it, grabs the bit,tosses his head, and charges it.
I've been trying everything I can do to make him not as anxious about jumping, but feel like I'm going now where with him. I want to take my time with him, but would eventually like to show him. I don't know what happened to him in his past, but it couldn't have been good. He's head shy, and nervous.
I have tried taking it down to the very basics and working him over single ground poles(which he is still nervous about sometimes). I have tried gymnastics. Circling before the jump until he's calm. free jumping him to get his confidence up. you name it! My trainer wants to try giving him drugs every time he jumps and ween him slowly off of them, but I am not a fan of this plan and believe it will not work.
is there something i'm missing? any advice?
Also, any exercises that you might have that work wonders please share!
thank you!
Seems you have already tried all the things I could suggest. Without visual it is hard to spot the details you don't mention, so no way of giving helpful advice from there.
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Basically, I would say the most important thing is to find out WHY he is rushing the jumps, and work from there.
How is he behaving when loose-jumping?
EventionTV has a good vid dealing with the problem. Maybe you can get some tip from them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbMqGfcYpnM
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On a sidenote, I am shocked that any trainer would suggest drugs as a solution. I don't know if this is common practice, (I hope not!) but it sounds plain dangerous in a situation involving jumping, and like you I really don't see what good it would do in the long run.
Maybe a new trainer is the way to go? Not to abandon the one you have, but maybe just to get another perspective; another mindset into the picture? (Like going to a training camp for a couple of days.)
Ok, a couple of thoughts come to mind: The video Kicki recommends is good - nice and clear. (1)What sort of drug is your trainer recommending? Are we talking anti depressant/anxiety (eg a Fluoxetine/Diazepam type thing or are we talking sleepy sedation type thing?) I am not a fan of drug use but there are very rare occasions (and I mean rare to the point of less than 0.5%!) where anxiety can be managed in the short term under strict medical management to enable an animal or human to relax a little to enable some work to be done - however, without a lot more information I can't say for sure and I'm not convinced really at this stage to be honest. (2) You mention that he is still nervous over ground poles, so if he is still nervous over poles I have to ask why have you gone back to jumping him? I would not move him off ground poles/work until he is confident here. (3) Is he 'made for jumping'? Not all horses are fit enough or keen to jump. (4) If you longline him over a small jump/poles how does he respond? (5) Have you ever tested him bitless/with a dually on a small jump? How does he respond then? (6) Following on from Kicki's advice and the video content its important to examine how you ride and, in partciular, check your hands. Keep us posted :-) Best wishes, Vicci
Personally I start with the jumping at liberty putting only the side pieces of the obstacle, then the pole on the ground, then a height of maximum 50 cm. Next step would be the same longlining(with an obstacle with low side pieces). The longer the problem exists already the more patience you must have. Good luck.
Rudi
Good point about the drugs, vicci. You thought one or two steps longer than I did.
I haven't even heard of antidepressant drugs being used on horses, but in all honesty there are herbal supplements as well as homeopathic treatments that are said to be effective on anxious horses.(The effect of homeopathy is under discussion but the info should still be shared).
Extra addition of Magnesium is said to be calming, as well as Tryptophan, which is an amino acid.
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I also agree with vicci about being confident over ground poles before moving on. I actually missed that you wrote that.
Best of luck and hope you find the root of the problem!
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=C&C=208
Some interesting info about medication for animals here. Its quite scary and any medication has to be used with extreme caution particularly the disinhibition issue. I have recently worked with a rescue shelter dog with extrememly severe 'ocd' and he was put on diazepam (not something I request lightly, first time I have done so) and there was a marked improvement in his OCD behaviour (shadow chasing) for a few days which allowed us to begin using distraction techniques and other froms of play. Then everything went very wrong. We will never know whether it was down to disinhibition, the diazepam wearing off, a side of him that was waiting to erupt, a brain/chemical imbalance or what, but he attacked someone and so sadly after weighing up all the issues we made the decision to terminte his life. Sorry to be rather dramatic but I use it as case to illustrate how very very careful we have to be with medicines, even herbal ones.
Interesting info indeed. I had forgotten (suppressed?) the all too common use of drugs when doping race horses etc.
Very sad to hear about the dog! Lucky him to end up with someone who tried her very best to do right by him all the way to the end.
Perhaps try to lunge him in a circle (lunging is training purposes only) with a saddle and bridle on, no rider. place 4 jump poles on the ground just like a clock (see monty roberts join up videos) and place one at 12, 3, 6, 9 and just lunge him over them at trot and canter continuously until he calms right down and relaxes, and gets used to them. try this before you ride him every time.
oh and im very shocked about your trainer saying to drug him, no horse should be drugged because of his anxiousness!!!
perhaps even add real jumps at 12 and or just 12
Hi lani - I would suggest that longlinging is much better than lunging, particularly at canter - have a look at Montys longlining series for his explanations on this. I like your idea of the clock but would start at poles on the ground first
Kicki - thankyou for your kind comment, it is appreciated ;-)
Thank you all for you advice! This is going to be a long journey with him.
I have started long lining him over poles and he's great! And calm! How do I transfer that calmness over with a rider on his back? Is it just going to take time?
It always takes time, Katie. Sometimes it is all it it takes.
Since I haven't sen him with a rider, it is impossible to say what triggers his behavior, but here's a suggestion in the spirit of incremental learning.
Try long lining him - same exercises - with a non-active rider on his back. Someone just sitting there, being a "nice passenger" and not interfering with anything.
If that works, you can step by step raise the bar (literally!) until the poles are all raised. (Provided you have tried this without rider first and it has worked well.) Then, gradually, you move on to long lining him over a small fence with ground poles to help him get the distance right.
When that works, the rider can start to take more control.
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Two things are really vital to this:
1.proper distances between the poles so it fits his step.
2. A competent, well-balanced rider who will do things correctly and calmly. All to ensure a positive experience for your horse.
Oh, and most importantly! Make sure you are both having fun!