Back to flatwork for me then.....

[4whitesocks]

crappy crappy lesson tonight - sorry in advance for the moan but despite asking for everyone's advice on flatwork alone or mixing in some jumping I ignored it (silly git that i am) and we have been joining in a baby jumping lesson on a Tuesday night in the yard....tonight he was really brattish....not in the way I know some horses can be but still, a cheeky b**gger by Sid standards, not listening, sticking in an extra stride, basically just not trying at all ...we were working on strides & lines (double/dogleg etc.)...a lot of it is my fault in that I'm not determined enough with him...by the end of the lesson we managed a small round of 5 fences without any hassle but god it took a lot of work on my part to really get him listening....think it's time we took a step back (as everyone on here told me to) and get him really listening on the flat before we jump again

*hangs head in shame and heads off to flog herself with a leadrope*

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Don't worry, things will get right in the end. You've realised that you've got to get the flatwork right...that's the first move. many people never accept that & carry on regardless & eventually blame everything on the horse & sell him. You're now in a position to put it right. We had similar problem with my lad, We went back to basics & concentrated on flatwork. Loads of transitions to getbhim to listen. Loads of leg yielding to increase his balance & get him to use his back end correctly. While we were doing this we still took him to shows but to do dressage tests, not jumping.

I don't want to hijack your thread but today we rented an arena & took him jumping. This was his first outing jumping since we consentrated on groundwork. He jumped beautifully, they don't forget how to do it, he came back to us on landing. He listened on the approach. All our work came together & he's a different horse. His ears were pricked throughout...he loved it.

We didn't do any jumping this outdoor season due to schooling, but he's ready now so were off to do some winter indoor jumping. God I love this horse!

Stick with the flatwork, get yourself a really good instructor, someone that really knows flatwork/dressage & you'll go from strength to strength. Good Luck

 

[4whitesocks]

Thanks T_z, it's not that he takes off after landing or rushes the fences or even that he knocks (mind you we did run straight into one fence which was a first for him)...he was just being a cheeky sod, I think balance probably has a lot to do with it - not really straight on approach dropping the pace just before the fence (all of which points to me rather than him) but the session started badly when it took me about 10 minutes to get him to canter on the right lead on his 'bad' rein...which is a habit we had gotten him out of. When they put up one fence that was over 90cm he jumped that beautifully but couldn't be bothered trying for the rest of them. Anyway, bank holiday weekend this weekend so lots of opportunity to school.....

 

[Niamhy]

Lol! Dont be soo hard on yourself, you will have to find out what way suits you best, and the only way to do that is to try things out!

 

[4whitesocks]

Ta Niamh

How is Murphy?

 

[Niamhy]

Hes ok, bored out of his trolley. Will get the vet back out in another 2 weeks. Hes still slightly lame in trot from what i can make out. (Saw him trotting in the field and into his stable yesterday.)

Im not actually trotting him up as I think I would drive myself insane checking every few weeks.

 

[4whitesocks]

Hang in there Missus....