confidence for xc

liberty and tommy

liberty and tommy

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2014
Messages
89
Visit site
hello!
im hoping to take my horse to cross country again in septemeber which is his favirouite thing to do!! He's a fantastic jumper and when on grass he goes mental! so its his most loved things rolled into one!! the only thing is I lack confidence because I know if i don't enough leg on he will stop and too much means i wont stop!! are there any ideas on how i can have total confiedence?
 
amymay said:
Learn to ride??
Click to expand...

thats horrible!!!! as i said before ive already taken him xc - you really think stalking people and posting snarky comments is going to get you anywhere? it won't! I've already punised myself for the bit. Thats nothing to do with tommy and i dont want him binging dragged into it. I'm pretty sure you won't see more well loved horses than mine.
 
liberty and tommy said:
thats horrible!!!! as i said before ive already taken him xc - you really think stalking people and posting snarky comments is going to get you anywhere? it won't! I've already punised myself for the bit. Thats nothing to do with tommy and i dont want him binging dragged into it. I'm pretty sure you won't see more well loved horses than mine.
Click to expand...

If you love your horse and if the pics in your avatar are anything to do with you, it'd be great if you started by taking off those God-awful and dangerous onesie hoods.
 
Mrs B said:
If you love your horse and if the pics in your avatar are anything to do with you, it'd be great if you started by taking off those God-awful and dangerous onesie hoods.
Click to expand...

im entrigued to know whats up with onsies? I've heard bad stories about getting them stuck over their eyes :)
 
Definitely have a xc lesson with a sympathetic instuctor.
Also, ignore the likes of AmyMay and if you want to put a snuggy hood on your horse, do so!
 
Dumbo said:
Definitely have a xc lesson with a sympathetic instuctor.
Also, ignore the likes of AmyMay and if you want to put a snuggy hood on your horse, do so!
Click to expand...

thankyou thats the nicest thing someones said to me on here! AmyMay has been bullying me and calling me a bad horse owner - I'm just ignoring her now, it was all because I wanted to do natrual horsemanship with a horse that isn't being ridden and she doesn't agree.
 
Dumbo said:
Definitely have a xc lesson with a sympathetic instuctor.
Also, ignore the likes of AmyMay and if you want to put a snuggy hood on your horse, do so!
Click to expand...

I made no mention of snuggy hoods.

But hey Dumbo, if you want to feed the troll - crack on.

I have also, not called you a bad horse owner, OP, nor bullied you. You clearly have a furtive imagination ;)
 
amymay said:
I made no mention of snuggy hoods.

But hey Dumbo, if you want to feed the troll - crack on.

I have also, not called you a bad horse owner, OP, nor bullied you. You clearly have a furtive imagination ;)
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you have! would you prefer it if i rode roxanne in a saddle that didnt fit and left the bit like that? because thats sure as hell how your coming across my lovely
 
WOW, WOW, WOW...... put the claws away already!!!! ME f'ing OW!

OP, XC is (as I'm sure you know) potentially very dangerous and many types of fences need different types of approach. I also second that having a knowledgeable Instructor to provide you with the right advice from the get-go is very sensible. We all make mistakes and horses provide a never-ending learning curve. To prevent an issues from a lack of your confidence on what sounds like a fizzy horse make sure you proceed with caution to achieve a successful outcome.
 
I deal with horses with historical problems, and if I wish to go XC I make sure that the component parts are all sorted out first. There are many component parts, but from your first post it sounds like you certainly need your horse working well on grass.

That is working well, not running around like a hooligan.

When Jay goes out XC in Spring each year, if he has been arena bound for a while we first go out and make sure he is working well in an open field. I start with wooded tracks as this is less exciting (more like a road than a field) and make sure we can trot up and down hills with harmony.

To include jumping before that was sorted would turn into a free for all.

I could not just say "today I will book a lesson and go XC" as I would be onto a loser.

He would need to be calm and attentive in canter in the open, which may take a couple of sessions, and then we would trot to a small log, and take it from there, making sure each stage is sorted before moving on. With the homework done he is then a pleasure to ride XC in BE, in his dressage bridle. Without the homework he would be an oik whatever bit or bridle he wore.

Of course a lesson with a good trainer would help you to get the horse to a stage where he is relaxed, attentive and balanced between leg and hand (and responsive to seat) without it being a XC JUMPING lesson. I suspect I could shorten this to "learn to ride" but with it being more specific you can see which bits of learning you may be missing before XC Jumping will be smooth.
 
Last edited:
Mrs B said:
Hmm. You may like to ask yourself what else the OP has posted which might warrant such a response on this thread.
Click to expand...

Rather than ask myself (as that would end up with a 3 week conflict of opinions that goes round in circles!), I shall endeavour to find what exactly the OP has posted previously that warrants the responses on this thread. :)
 
amymay said:
As I said. You clearly have a furtive imagination.
Click to expand...

Whilst I may agree with your sentiment, insulting someone (even a troll) from one's high horse is usually more effective when one utilises the correct word.

I assume you actually meant "fertile" (ie: ability to produce in abundance), not "furtive" (ie: something characterised by stealth or secrecy).
 
alphanumeric said:
Whilst I may agree with your sentiment, insulting someone (even a troll) from one's high horse is usually more effective when one utilises the correct word.

I assume you actually meant "fertile" (ie: ability to produce in abundance), not "furtive" (ie: something characterised by stealth or secrecy).
Click to expand...

Well spotted Alpha ;)
 
Having read a separate thread I would certainly have lessons with a good trainer, but I would start with stable management, tack, feeding etc. Then move onto handling and riding in an arena.

You say that you wish to learn, and that is a good thing, but there seem to be some gaps in your knowledge that need to be filled on some quite basic stuff. I would attend to that first.

This way both the horses in your care will benefit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top