BSJA + videos... pass the dunce's hat, please... Also help required.

[catembi]

Off we went to The College today. Was feeling slightly doubtful - we did a jumping lesson at home yesterday doing grids, a treble of canter bounces etc, & I couldn't generate any enthusiasm from Adrian. No refusals, no more down than usual

, but the second he'd landed over the last jump, he kind of died to a halt.

So stuck him in the British Novice to see what would happen. He warmed up nicely & following a recent thread on here, I only did half a dozen jumps, then took him in. He was really rideable & up for it, & I could put him exactly where I wanted him, so we were clear & went straight onto the jump off. It was quite competitive, & the person before me turned inside a jump, so I did the same. Sooooooo nearly made it... but at the last second, Adrian locked on & jumped it instead of going inside.

He was so quick & determined that there was nothing I could do. Even with the 'extra' jump, we'd still have been 5th on time. I'm just incredibly disappointed cos I *so* much wanted some more money on his card & I messed it up.

Decided to press on while the going was good & put him in the 95 cm. Jumped a *huge* jump in the warmup with miles to spare, then took him in without over-doing it. He jumped the first few nicely, then got very strong & on his forehand & there was nothing I could do with him. 3 down. As it was single phase, we could go onto the jump-off, which was 1 m 05, even tho we had faults, & he found it all very easy. I made a total pig's ear of it as he was running through my hand & there wasn't really much I could do about it.

On the video, it doesn't look as bad as it felt, cos it felt AWFUL.

Okay, some questions...

1. Is it normal for a horse to be dead as a dodo in a lesson, then go bananas at a comp?
2. Should I try him in a martingale & see what happens?
3. Is the running off likely to improve with more gridwork & as his flatwork improves? I can't stick anything stronger in his mouth (currently in a Myler combi) cos he won't play *at all*.
4. Any other cc, but be nice (ish) cos I'm a little bit fed up & feeling useless.

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_005-1.flv

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/catembi/?action=view&current=VIDEO_006.flv

Was hoping to go to Manor Farm on Sat & jolly well do it properly, but the lorry has kindly sprung an oil leak on the way home, so unless I can get it fixed before Sat, I'm grounded.

 

[oofadoofa]

Well done you! It looked like a very nice round - it often feels a lot worse than it looks doesn't it. My horse sounds just the same as yours. he is soooo lazy at home and I do wonder sometimes whether he is going to make it over the jumps as he doesn't seem to have any energy, then when i take him to a competition he is a complete looney! I have been having lessons at our local competition centre and normally use the warm up arena for our lesson. He's normally quite sedate, although has a little more energy than at home. Well, last weekend we used the main arena instead where the competitions are held - he was like he was at a competition, really taking hold and my instructor couldn't believe it, he said he was like a totally different horse! Now he believes me when i say he is a little more tricky at comps!

I would try a martingale, but I tend to stick one on every horse I ride anyway

Have you tried a different noseband, i.e. a grackle? That might help if you don't want to change his bit.

 

[kit279]

First of all, what a gorgeous horse! I thought the first video looked really good and he looked like he was listening to you. The second one he was poking his nose a bit and not really paying attention. I'd try him in a running martingale to get him out of the habit of throwing his head, see how he goes, you can always take it off at a later date if he doesn't need it. I'd also focus about 75% on the flatwork - if the canter is right and he's listening, the jumps will come easy to him. If I'm jumping, I spend most of the warmup getting the horse really in front of the leg, lengthening and shortening, and I only jump about 4 jumps to get him in the 'mood'.. Unless they're baby horses, they know what they're there for! What sort of bits have you tried? I've never used a Myler myself but always curious!

 

[jackson30]

I think you do very well considering the size of you and the horse looks strong. What i would recommend is trying to hold the horse more with your stomach. think about sticking your belly button out. sounds strange but it really works. keep your bum in the saddle at all times and he won't be able to fight you as much. Give it a go.

 

[CrazyHippo1]

Cant offer a lot of advice, my horse is constantly backing off my leg!! He looks really good in that first video, and then as you said...just looks to get a bit strong in the 2nd vid. He really doesnt look as bad as you first described though, he was just too clever for his own good in that first jump off!!

Hope you get lorry fixed asap! Im ODEing at keysoe this weekend so wont be anywhere else, but want to do MF mid week

 

[harrihjc]

doesn't look anywhere near as bad as you think, it always feels worse than it looks tho! My horse is the laziest little sod ever, makes no difference whether we're at home or at a competition, so what I try to focus on is getting a good canter and keeping it, and just sitting quietly and waiting for things to come to us, minimal fighting really. Lovely looking horse

 

[catembi]

Oofadoofa - I get exactly the same as you at home! Adrian is 6, but he feels like a 30 year old riding school plodder & it *so* feels like we don't have the oomph to jump anything. He just won't move - feels like stirring treacle.

Kit279 - my dressage bit is a myler 'french link' type comfort snaffle. My jumping bit, the myler combi has the same mouthpiece but an integral thing that goes around the nose which applies pressure when he pulls & releases it when he stops. I've also tried various incarnations of dutch gags, a kimblewick, the myler snaffle using the 'hooks' (ended up having to run into a tree to stop), a tom thumb and also several others that Thistle kindly lent me. In any of them, he either won't jump at all i.e. not a pole on the ground & bucks quite a lot, or he does his impression of a giraffe with his head upside down. (Teeth are done every 6 months & are fine - he is just a stroppy madam.)

Sweetcheeks - he's 16.1 but quite sturdy & Im 5 ft 1 & just under 8 st. He doesn't actually feel that big - my last horse (in avatar) was 17hh - & normally it's not an issue cos he's too lazy to put one foot in front of the other. But all of a sudden when he runs off, I haven't got an answer! Good idea to try re holding him. My instructor tells me to sit down cos if I stand up, I've lost, but I forget in the heat of the moment.

Ahh, thanks to everyone who thinks he looks lovely! Always nice to hear.

 

[AutumnRose]

The first video is super and you can just see where he is leaning and getting away from you in the second one.

Have you thought about trying a running gag with two reins? The main mouth peice is just a snaffle and so a lot of the time you can just use this rein. HOwever, when/if he leans the gag rein can be used a little as it has a lifting effect. I would also put on a running martingale to try and stop that head chucking bit too.

I found this best combo on my mare xc, she would chuck her head up in fron of fences but lean to get away from me betwee. I found she couldn't/wouldn't lean on the gag and it only took a little pressure on this rein to get her back up, most of the time i just used the snaffle. Might be worth a go

 

[oofadoofa]

Mine is 6 too, they sound very similar!

Have you tried using a curb strap on the top ring of a dutch gag? Works wonders for my horse and certainly worth a try with yours if you haven't done so already.

 

[DuckToller]

In answer to questions -
1. Yes - mine moves up several gears at a show, prats about, gets his tongue over the bit etc but quite sensible at home, annoyingly.
2. Yes - definitely try martingale, I wouldn't jump without one. He had the first one down in the second round because he couldn't see it as his head was up in the air, and that probably didn't get you off to a great start mentally either.
3. Yes - running off should improve, but have you asked your instructor to address that issue specifically? good exercise is to stop 3-4 strides immediately after a jump, although easier to practice at home when he is a dobbin, so can you hire somewhere with a full course for a lesson to practice that one? I'd share!
4. Really thought it didn't look awful at all, the canter was rhythmic and in between jumps he was very balanced, he just put his head up enough to evade your aids and that made it very difficult for you to keep the same stride and see the fence. Your position was super throughout, IMHO!

 

[kerilli]

looks okay to me, but: I'd definitely try a martingale on him, i wouldn't mind him putting his head up to focus (a lot of good jumping horses do this) but he tends to put his head up and then open his stride because he's escaped the hand, and runs through the distance you've seen, which is why he's having the fences down imho. which mouthpiece have you got him in, there are some stronger mouthpieces in the myler combi and if he likes the action of it, you could just try a different mouthpiece that makes him listen to you a bit more and stay between hand and leg.
only other thing i'd say is to check which leg you're on the moment you land over a fence and do something about it immediately if it's the wrong one, you carried on for a while without doing anything about it a couple of times, making it more difficult to get the approach to the next fence right.
hope that cc helps a bit!