back to basics with an older horse?

[rubyroo92]

I brought my16 year old showjumper 6 months ago and she is great, however she was ruined by her ex owner rushed at break neck speed into jumps so she thinks that's how to do it all the time, even over trot or canter poles she tries to take off and jump the poles, is it worth going back to basics with her or is she too old? If not what kind of things should I be doing with her?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

She's not too old. It's the same as any other training. Set the horse up do its easy for her to get it right then praise the behaviour you want and give a reward such as a break from the exercise. If she gets over excited by something, step away from that exercise until she's calm then return to it. Start with one pole on the floor and build from there. If you don't give her more than a few strides leading into it she won't have time to get up speed. Use grid work to establish a rhythm so there's no opportunity to get faster and faster. With patience and persistance, together with well timed praise and rewards, she will learn that you want her to remain calm and not rush.

 

[misskk88]

Bought my ex show jumper at 13. She needed work to rebuild on basics (somewhere between her career and coming to me the training and schooling clearly was not great!).

She was unfit, and from what I can guess now probably was one of many who did not have the best fitting tack, or thoughtful rider. She was a bit of a robot to ride, evaded working in an outline and was fussy about her mouth. We changed tack around, checked teeth etc. We started off with basic manners and getting her fit (lots of short but quality bits of exercise in walk and trot and some basic pole work).

From there the work became longer, and as she built up different muscle, we then introduce harder bits of training, lateral work, raised poles and jumping (with a friend as I hate it lol!). I always find that playing with the pace itself can really help fine tune the control and communication you have with your horse ie shortening, lengthening (while she was unfit it was just a case of asking her to wait, and then to open up a bit without necessarily looking for huge changes, I just wanted her to listen to more refined aids). Lateral work is also great to get their attention, and to them to really listen to small signals (which in turns helps with the control and communication when jumping).

I am also a fan of pole work and grid work. I used it for fitness and to gain confidence in my horse (mine not hers!). It really helped to get her thinking about her feet, and where she was, as well as encouraging her to let go of her shoulders (which fixing them was another of her habits). When I was younger I use to ride a horse that use to rush or run at fences, the gridwork helped because they suddenly had to engage their brain, and think, and so naturally they started to balance and work in rhythm. Eventually we introduced small cross poles along with the pole work and raised poles, and there are so many different layouts and things you can do!

Start small, keep it short and sweet, praise her when she gets it right, and build on it.

If you google it you will find lots of ideas!

 

[JillA]

I'm still working on teaching my 17 year old - retraining is a little more difficult because of old habits but very very doable. One useful exercise for horses that rush jumps is to do circles, serpentines, figure eights round and among some small jumps. Just now and again when she is relaxed and settled turn in and pop one and then go back to the exercises. She will learn to await your instruction, and quite often horses that rush are lacking in confidence. That work will enable her to be happy popping small jumps without winding herself up.

 

[Maryann]

I have been showing a 19 year old team chaser life in the slow lane this summer. We have had perhaps 8 lessons and not done much between them and gone from really rather scary to jumping 80cm courses quite respectably. Tbh I think he is remembering stuff he has been taught in the past but whatever! We are having a nice time!

 

[Pigeon]

No such thing as too old

I think the reason young horses learn faster isn't down to mental development as such, but more because they're not yet strong enough or wily enough to offer counter-reasoning. With an older horse, you'll say 'do this', and they will sometimes ask why, whereas a youngster tends to just get on with it. At least that has been my experience