can horses loose their confidence???

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pixiebee

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my pony hassnt been to an indoor showjumping contest before last sunday (and hasnt jumped at a show prior to that since 5 yrs ago) he was eliminted on the third fence and in the next class got round with one knockdown and one refusal.(this was with a friend jumping him not me)
today, took him indoor jumping, first round refused second fence and one knockdown, next class elimiated on 3rd fence. He used to be in the double clears all the time, he jumps perfectly at home it just seems to be at shows. He has never stopped at a fence(only run out occassionaly) which is upsetting. will he now know that he can stop and do it more often?? he does enjoy jumping as the rest of the jumps his ears were foreaward and he certainly seemed happy. i did however find that he was backing off a few of the fences and needed a bit of encouragement to get over them. i know its not the height as he jumps that height at home. could it be that with such a long break he has lost his nerve or could he just be being naughty? how do you tell and whats the best way to get him in the clears again????????????
 
Yes, horses can and do lose their confidence !

You want to break the cycle before it becomes a real problem to be honest, and if you say that your friend was getting him round with more success than you, then perhaps the problem is partly at least with you ? I would say if you can, get your friend or another competent jockey to jump a few rounds on the horse to get him going well and make sure he is back in the swing, before you jump back on and do it yourself
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Yes and some will lose confidence quicker than others. And there's only so many times you can get them back "going" again.

I'd agree with what Rambo says.
 
I think clear rounds are a habit.

You may need to drop him (and yourself) right back down onto tiny fences (poles on the ground if necessary) and get him back into the routine of popping round clear). From there you can build back up (slowly, over weeks not days).

He has to find the whole thing fun and leave the ring every time feeling invincible, not like he has just had a rather nasty experience where he has done something wrong and got into trouble.
 
Without a doubt horses/ponies can lose confidence. He jumped regularly 5 years ago but that was a long time ago. He probably found the whole experience very daunting. There will have been alot of things going on. He was not at a place he knows so he would have been unsure of himself & what was happening.

I would probably take him to a couple of shows & not even enter him, just let him soak up the atmosphere. Possibly I'd even rent one of the indoor arenas & let him jump around without any pressure when it's nioce & quiet. You can rent them for an hour or half hour relatively cheaply.

He'll get his confidence & rythmn back & he'll be back on song.

Good Luck
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im hiring out an indoor school soon so hopefully i can get him back into it!!! i will try doing tiny fences where i cant go wrong and see if that makes a difference atall-yesterday i was doing 2ft6 and 2ft9!!
 
Most deffinately yes! Cannot help on the jumping front but my horse knows his hacking inside out and upside down, but we had a scare on the road the other day. It was caused by a herd of horses galloping full pelt accross a field next to the road and my boy caught them out of the corner of his eye and took off up the road in canter...not good
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I have to say that since then he has been jumpy and spooky and if he sees something scary, rather than just planting himself and staring he now turns and tries to run away...which is not typical him at all. I suggest it will take me a further fortnight to get him back to his calm self again.
 
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