Advice needed, is it time to call it a day? Very long sorry

[livvyc_ria]

I have got a little mare i've had for 4 years. 16hh tb 10yrs old. She was my first "proper" horse and my first chance to event, something i've always wanted to do.
She is a little machine xc and we've learnt together and i can usually rely on her to get the job done.
Her dressage is fantastic, she is a big mover, really enjoys her dressage and this winter i think she is capable of some ver respectable tests with BD.
However, her showjumping is just terrible. She is a very big strong jumper which is fine xc, makes my job a little bit easier. But SJ in 4 years i have had 2 clear rounds. At home she jumps beautifully (sometimes gets a little long, but overall a very nice showjumper) and comfortably pops course 1m 5 ish. However take her to a competition and she is uncontrollable. I have to spend about 30 -40 mins warming up settling her. Once she's softened i can begin jumping her, and she is strong but i can collect her and pop her quite sweetly in the warm up area. However as soon as i enter the ring she goes tense, goes straight into this spooky tense canter, sticks her nose out and goes 100mph. We therefore jump 1 or 2 fences then fly past the next. We usually end up being eliminated and then i cant stop her. Like literally cannot stop she tanks off round the ring.

I am at my wits end. ive put off our BE debut because really what is the point of entering knowing she's not going to perform in the sj? We're meant to be doing Kelsall this weekend but i dont know if there is any point. Do you think its time to realise she might never make it as an eventer, or should i hang in there and just focus on bsja this winter ready for next season?

She is a lovely horse with a hell of a jump, she is fantastic xc. Her dressage is superb, but the showjumping is worse than bad, she is just uncontrollable. She's jumped xc in neue schule universal i was told not to use it for SJ but i think i'm going to have to as currently it's like trying to a hold a runaway steam train.

Do you think after 4 years i should throw the towel in or should i focus my winter on getting the showjumping right. If i'm honest with myself it is my weakest phase and the only discipline i've not actually had consistent tuition in.

I know if i crack this showjumping id have a very nice event horse, but i feel so deflated after this morning showjumping round, it feels like it will never happen.

Has anyone had this issue and overcome it compete to a decent level with BE? Ideally i wanted to be doing PN next year but it just doesn't feel like its ever going to happen and maybe its time to cut my losses and partner myself with a horse who is going to do the job?

Sorry for the long ramb;e, just feeling so lost this morning!

 

[ecrozier]

What bit is she in? And why were you told not to use the NS universal sj? I sj my Arab in it and it's great!

 

[livvyc_ria]

She's in the neue schule hanging cheek
Was told not to sj in that because she can be very sensitive and once she's upset herself she just wont go forward and very definitely says "no"

However at the moment she's being bloody rude and i feel like she needs to be taken hold of as we cannot go on the way things are.

 

[Nic86]

You said you've not had any consistant training in your SJ I think it would be worth having an instructer watch you at a show and then get the lessons in. If this is your weak phase as well it maybe that your now both making an issue out of going SJ.

 

[TheoryX1]

Lessons, lessons, lessons and yet more lessons. My daughters event mare is a very extravagant mover who consistently scores in the mid 20s BE, goes clear and within the time xc, at Novice level, but is a pole bashes for england. Got elimnated at the PC champs last year at the open championships, regularily had 2-3 down. We found a good instructor and she is now going either clear or has 1 down at BE100 plus or Novice. He last owner, who is our YO got fed up with the pole bashing in the sj phase and thats why we ended up with her. Its now getting consistent, and she will be out showjumping over the winter, and is hoping to get to Foxhunter by the time the next eventing season starts again.

Her instructor always says that most event horses have a weakness, and its ususally the sj or dressage. These can always be fixed one way or the other. If its the xc, he says its not an event horse. Good luck, I am sure you will be fine and dont give up on your dream to event.

 

[Fairy Dust]

Do not give up! Agree with all the above, you just need to have lots of lessons, twice a week if you can afford it. does grid work slow her down?

Also try getting a bit specialist out to help you. You have the xc and dressage so don't let these problems put you off eventing! Good luck, you have the whole of winter to work on it!

 

[wyrdsister]

Have you tried free schooling her? My big mare was pretty alarming to sj when I first got her, brave as they come, but very fast, very strong, and would get so over-excited that she could zoom into a fence and completely miss the take-off stride. Half the time she'd rescue herself and jump anyway. The other half there'd be an explosion of poles! A lot of groundwork, lunging over poles, then small fences etc, helped and more recently free schooling. She'd been rushed around courses when I got her and thought that was the only way to jump. Free schooling reminded her how to use her natural stride and, if she went off and had a hooney it could be directed away from the jumps, and I'd only bring her back in when she'd calmed down. Short, careful sessions made a world of difference and built up her trust in me, so that she was more inclined to listen when I was on top instead of hurtling off.

I'd also second your idea of a winter sj-ing and some of the above remarks about getting a good trainer involved. If your creature is that good at the other disciplines, it's probably well worth persisting!

 

[livvyc_ria]

Thankyou so much everybody. Im going to get a sj instructor and get a weekly lessons. I think everyone is right, it would be a shame to throw away a horse that dominates in the other 2 phases.

Does everyone agree we should withdraw from Kelsall this weekend? This showjumping isnt going to turn itself around overnight. Think its worth me withdrawing and waiting til next season.

Therefore can someone explain to me how to withdraw and getting my entry fee back etc?
Thanks again

 

[PorkChop]

Better the devil you know in my opinion, you obviously have a super relationship with her, and you know that she is more than capable of doing the job.

Find a really good instructor, find one that you feel understands her, iykwim, and showjump her over the winter.

 

[ladyt25]

Have lessons with a showjumper NOT an eventer for your showjumping as they will really help with your technique. When I watch eventers showjump, a lot of the tme it is hideous as the horses seem to have the same issues and run too fast and too flat in to their fences and many eventers ride the SJ phase like it's the XC. It is not.

You need control, you need to sit back and take hold so certainly get lessons. Also do you need such a long warm up and what are you doing for this warm up time? What cdoes she do if you shorten the warm up - maybe walk about calmly, pop in to the warm up with a couple to go before you, do a couple of fences and then take her in - ie don't give her the time to get wound up? I don't know -you may just need to try something different.

As far as the event is concerned, no I would not withdraw, I would go but I would put the same bit in that you wear for XC. If it works then and she's happy in it there is no reason why you shouldn't have the control in the SJing.

 

[splashgirl45]

sounds like a great horse, if you can find an instructor quickly perhaps they could come and watch you at the event, so they get a really good idea of your problem as you may find she behaves differently in a lesson, and the instructor may not understand what has been happening at the events...

 

[_EVS_]

DO NOT GIVE UP!! PLEASE! You definatly have to try jumping her in the XC bit first as it sounds a nonsense to be told you cant when it works when you go XC! It may not be the answer but its got to be a starting point? You need to get some consistent lessons too, someone you trust and can afford to have regularly. Good luck and persevere because it sounds like she is worth the effort if you can crack this phase xxx

 

[Dubsie]

Do you worry about her getting unsettled, hyped up and generally tense? In which case are you getting tense, thus telling her to be tense?
I only ask because daughter's pony used to bolt off round the arena at a completely uncontrolled pace over the jumps (and then carry on round). She used to really get het up about it beforehand and I am quite sure she transmitted this fear to him.
Solved after a summer of lessons mostly for confidence, NAF Magic syringe for him, rescue remedy for her, so much so she thinks he's over chilled out now (but pretty consistently goes clear) and neither have Magic/RR nowadays.

 

[diggerbez]

echo the others- definitely worth at least trying to crack the SJ this winter- if it doesn't work you can always sell as a DR horse in the spring...

 

[photo_jo]

In my opinion the best people to talk to about this are EquiFeast. They do have loads of experience getting horses brains working correctly from grass roots to International level.

Do you work for Equifeast? Only wondered as most of your posts mention them

 

[Ali16]

Don't give up!

My horse had a very similar thing when I got him as a four year old. But he would go into the ring and hold his breath (strange feeling!) and just try and get it all over and done with ASAP! Poles went flying and we regularly ran past the second elements of doubles.

We worked really hard with an EVENTER instructor - sorry ladyt25, but when you watch the higher level eventing SJ it looks much neater and kinder than many of the pure SJs do IMHO.

Anyway, lots and lots and lots of lessons with my wonderful instructor later and a few BSJA's, my boy jumped clear round his first 2* at the weekend

Keep going and you will succeed. Good luck.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Definitely worth persevering with. As the others have said, get some regular showjumping lessons and do some winter showjumping. If you want to event this weekend, use the xc bit as you just can't continue with her running off round the arena - it could cause an accident.

 

[Polotash]

Go to some small local events and use them as schooling rounds... some organisers will be happy for you to come a bit early or late and spend a bit of time with her. Then you can just pretend it's "at home" and take your time with her...

 

[KatB]

Lots and lots of lessons! I had a horse who I struggled to SJ, and I got rid of him... it was the right decision for "us", but I've snce put A LOT of work in on my SJing and know a lot of it was jus neither of us really knowing what we were doing. I've had a couple of years lessons from a fantastic trainer now, and can pull of a half decent SJing round most of the time now!!

 

[livvyc_ria]

Thanks so much everyone. After a lot of thinking i have withdrawn for Kelsall. I dont feel confident entering knowing that the showjumping will not go well. I'm all for using competitions as training but im not prepared to enter a BE event at much expense knowing that we're not going to get the job done.

However once my refund comes through it will go straight into a 6month BSJA membership and we're going to crack it!

Ive been given some good instructor reccomendations, and i am determined to have her jumping consistent double clears over winter ready for next season!


Im also going to do an winter membership with BD and hopefully by next year i will have a highly tuned horse underneath me.

Now then, if i can crack the showjumping i know she can have a successful eventing career. My next question is how many seasons did it take others to get to their first Novice?

 

[Mbronze]

I could recommend a good sj instructor should you need any?

 

[charlie76]

I have one like this. Show jumping was terrifing, he was like it as he has been 'chased' round fox hunters as four year old. I gave up jumping him for a while as I hated it , like yours he was fab XC but SJ was a nightmare.
I decided at the start of this year to try again. First of all I took off the martingale and the flash and put him in a happy mouth snaffle, I then went right back to basics, loads of pole and grid work keeping the fences very small so I could let go and make him think for himself. Once he was confident at home I took him clear round SJ and hired courses, again, very small and used it to school round, if I needed to ride a circle away from the fence to slow him down or ride a transition then I could. He then started to gain confidence and slow down. He is jumping 100 times better and is very rideable now.