DITCHES !!

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derricks

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Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get my horse to jump ditches, I can just about get her over a small open ditch but any other XC jump with a ditch infront or underneath is an absolute NO ! She is such a willing horse and smacking her with a whip will not get me anywhere with her, she has to think things are a almost her idea until she get she hang of things. She loves water and jumps drop fences etc this seems to be our only problem.
Any ideas ??????? Pleeeeeeese
 
My first horse hated Ditches, took us ages before she would even consider jumping it, they way we got round it was lots and lots of practice, I did lots of pairs hunter trials following her pal, then after the pairs did same course on her own, lots of XC schooling and lots of praise when she jumped it! it took 2 years though before she would jump one first time on her own, but we got there in the end! good luck.
 
Practice, practice and more practice.

Take her as many different places as you can. Construct things at home that look like ditches (bin bags weighted down with jump poles work well). Search for anything that vaguely resembles a ditch out hacking.

If she is basically a willing horse then she is probably nervous rather than naughty. If you have a fight she will remember and associate the fight (which probably worries her) with the ditch.

It is very difficult, but try not to let it be an issue.
 
My old boy was the same, could spot them a mile off!!! In the end I dug one at home!!! And guess what? the b****er went over it straight away!!

Mind you I had told him if he didnt jump it he was going to be buried in it!!!! Think I was a bit cross at the time!!
 
I agree with everything above, but if she's happy to jump an open ditch but not anything with a pole on top or a jump behind it, then I wonder if perhaps you're feeling a bit nervous and backing off her a bit when there's something else to contend with?!

After all, trekahners (sp?!) and anything with a ditch in front are well-known 'rider frighteners'!

But they are just that, horses tend to have no problem with them at all.

My method for overcoming 'rider frighteners' is to pretend they're not there, fix your eye on the top of the fence, and concentrate on that. And resist the temptation to override - the horse needs time to size up the ditch, you don't want to fly in too fast and give her a fright when she sees it at the last minute.

And don't look down, shoulders back, weight in heels!!

Go for it!
 
HI

I think you are right, I tend to worry and am convinced that I we are going to end up in the ditch which obviously does not help my horse. I try not to think about it but when going round the course and I know there is a ditch on the course that is all I can think about is that fence.
I think building fences at home with black plastic under them is a great idea and may give me more confidence.
Could also talk very nicely to OH and see if we can put one in at home !!
Thanks for all of your ideas...Ill keep trying!
 
Get off and lead her over (attach a lead rope or lunge line as tehy tend to leap into your arms!) a few times then get on and try again. Worked for me
 
That explains it then! And if your horse is a bit green, then she's bound to be a bit spooky at ditches, so it's kind of a vicious circle.

But easily broken, I might add, and I can vouch for this personally!

You just need to jump lots of little ones at home and out training, and following someone else in pairs etc, and you'll both grow confident together.

And getting you OH to build you one at home is a great idea! You can construct it with a pole over the top which you can start really low, and then gradually make it a bit higher. And get him to build one with a palisade behind it too for good measure!!!
 
There is an article in eventing magazine recently about this. Working them in hand with pressure. Ditches are all about confidence. Even out hacking I find anything like a small ditch and try and pop over it.
 
I hate ditches. But its all in MY head, not my horses who's usually pretty willing! I think its because my horse tends to launch hugely over them so Im never quite sure how he's going to jump them. Its much easier to jump a ditch with a pole over it, its much harder when its just a plain ditch on its own!

I think the only way to do it is pratice. Keep doing little ones and very slowly build up the width / depth of them? Surely its just a confidence thing?
 
Try giving her a lead, or as someone suggested with Sov, lunging or 2 lining so there is no jockey to give bad vibes or make her nervous. I wouldnt worry if its your first time, last year I couldnt get Sov near any ditch, so we forgot all about them, practiced other things and when the time came this spring he popped over them with out a fuss. It could just be that she needs more confidence in general. Patience and time!
 
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