Behavioural problems in an OTTB

[ameeee]

So I have this OTTB, who i’ve owned for around 7 years now (he’s 14) who has had on and off issues when it came to jumping or any type of pole work i’ve tried doing. This is on and off though, sometimes he behaves and sometimes he loses his mind over me asking him to trot a pole on the ground, he tries to bolt over it, shakes his head and goes sideways at it. He’s been checked for teeth/saddle/chiro and vet issues and been clean so I can’t figure out what else could be wrong with him. I’ll also mention he is very calm during flat and extremely well mannered on the ground. I’ve owned him for quite a while and can’t figure out quite what the issue is, Ive assumed he was just excited about something different or possibly upset I wasn’t letting him do what he wanted but it’s gotten to a point where he refuses to even go forward and will back up if I ask anything of him when it comes to something as simple as trotting over a pole without letting him bolt off before or after. He is also DRENCHED in sweat after riding from being so frustrated (with me or himself?) I really have ran out of ideas. Any advice would help and I appreciate it!

 

[AmyMay]

Sounds like jumping just isn’t his thing.

 

[be positive]

After 7 years I would give him the benefit of knowing his own mind and give up trying to do something that he finds so upsetting, it is not as if he needs to do poles for any reason other than you wanting to not all horses enjoy jumping, as his flat work is good I would either concentrate on that or if jumping is a priority for you think about finding him a home where he can do dressage and hacking, I have had a few horses and ponies through my hands that have not taken to something and unless it is a fundamentally important part of life I try to focus on what they do well and move on with that.

I had one pony that would not go over a plain white pole, all others including white with another colour were fine, for some reason he would panic and we never found out why, some have deep rooted bad memories that they will never totally get over, with yours if you have to keep going I would do daily in hand work over poles on the ground, nothing intensive just walking over one or two before or after work or on the way to the field vary things until they are a normal part of daily life then gradually do the same mounted but being prepared to call it a day if he gets upset rather than making a big deal out of it and causing more tension, little and often may work but at the end of the day he will probably never really enjoy it so at his age it all seems a bit pointless.

I would also be concerned about an underlying but as yet not found physical issue which hurts when jumping but not the rest of the time.

 

[ycbm]

I would also be concerned about an underlying but as yet not found physical issue which hurts when jumping but not the rest of the time.

Echo this. I'd be looking at whether it hurts him to drop his neck as he approaches a jump. My TB was great at poles but when presented with a small jump had no idea what to do with himself. It was so comical I wrote about him on here and said jumping wasn't his thing. I found out why some months later when we got neck x rays.
.

 

[milliepops]

i've had 2 that can't cope with poles or jumping and both have neck issues. these days I tend to view an inability to deal with something like that as a kind of diagnostic that there is something physical going on.

 

[oldie48]

I think it would be pain related despite the checks etc, he might still be experiencing or anticipating pain, however Mr B was very anxious about poles when I got him and took a lot of quiet confidence building to get him happily doing easy trot and canter poles. One look at his BE record though was enough to tell me that he wasn't a natural jumper. Rose recently said no to jumping a small jump and she's normally keen, turns out she'd got a tight hamstring and a sore muscle following getting tangled up in a fence when she was rolling.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Agree with all of the above I think I would have a proper vet lack of performance work up done as it really sounds like pain issue.

 

[Trouper]

I would certainly be thinking about pain. Is he the same if you lunge him over poles - i.e is it the restriction of tack and weight of the rider which is causing the difference?

 

[Lammy]

He’s been checked for teeth/saddle/chiro and vet issues and been clean so I can’t figure out what else could be wrong with him.

So you have clean X-ray’s? If not that would be the route I’d go down.

With a horse displaying this sort of behaviour I’d be more inclined to think the issue hasn’t been found rather than there is no issue to find.

 

[fredflop]

What vet checks have you had done