Can you teach a horse to be 'careful'?

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some trainers are good enough to spot that a certain horse needs to be ridden in a very specific way to get the best out of it, an then show you how to do this

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100% agree with this. Soap is a mega xc horse but was pretty bad sj 3/4 down each time out, worse round ever was 24 faults and CR at highclere! In dispair I sent him to my trainer and she had him for just 10 days and MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Next time out he was clear over 9 fences till the last double which was 100% rider error and so had both parts but it would have been clear had I not messed it up. She worked wonders on him, and most of our problems were that I rode him wrong for sjing.

I am a xc rider and was riding sj in this way too. She pin pointed all the issue I had, all the issues he had, schooled them out of him, and then taught me how to ride this new way of going.

A good instructor can work wonders, so don't get down as horses are not naturally careless they don't want to hit the fences. One of my main issues was that I was riding my tb like a wb! more leg on the last few strides and nothing to support the canter this mean he just went flatter not higher as a wb would react to last minute leg.

Don't dispair he can go clear it is probubly just a few very minor issues that need tweeking to sort you out. I would research a good instructor of similar build/sex/height to you and send him off for a boot camp, get lessons at the same time and I'm sure if you pick the right person you will get great results.
 
Duncan is very lazt over a fence. If it's not big. he just won't bother. However, we did lots of grid work and jumping in draw-reins(never normally do), and WOW he can jump! But he is a careful horse, just a bit lazy. I find with him, that he has to have a fence to 'back him off', to make him take it seriously.
 

Wow - thanks for all the replies folks.
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I won't try the rapping, because I don't have the experience/expertise to do it correctly and no doubt would make a total mess of it.

I like the reverse oxer idea though - might give that one a go.

But having just had a chat with my instructor who has ridden him I think we will try a few things for now, but long term, for a few reasons, not just because of the carelessness, he may just not be right for pure SJ (He does elementary dressage & is bold as brass XC, which is what he really loves, I think.)

Anyone want to buy an eventer?
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I realise some horses just seem to be thick skinned, but I do believe most horses, when being asked to jump at a height they are capable of, would rather clear them.

If a horse was having poles I would be working on building up strength, balance and responsiveness in the canter and developing technique over a fence using V-poles, grid work, putting a pole/plank across the top of parallels, using spreads of X-poles, etc. etc. I would also have fixed poles for exercises at home, particularly for front rails (i.e. by sliding another cup down on top). There are also ways of encouraging horses to pick their knees up and get off the ground, such as a sharp kick on take-off! Finding how much contact a horse wants coming into a fence and on take off can also transform them.

ETA: I do think horses can develop a conscience if they find a good partner who they want to do the job for. You do also get lightbulb moments where a horse suddenly seems to realise what the job is all about (i.e. leaving them up!).
 
Lots of interesting thoughts on the subject but just off on a tangent . . .

. . . while I do think things like "flamboyance" and "carefulness" are born in a horse, I do know it's very, very possible to take them out of a horse and I think it's easier to do do and can happen earlier in the training process than many people think. The way the horse is managed, ridden, trained and conditioned can have a huge effect on it's ability to produce the desired attribute and how the horse feels about its job. It's also possible to "down grade" such an attribute then restore it to at least some extent later, which I suspect explains many of the horses that seem like not very much in one home then blossom later.

So not every horse that's "uncareful" (one of those lovely horsey made up words) or lacks bravery or whatever started that way, although I do think the ones that have it show signs of it from the start, even if people don't always recognise it for what it is.
 
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