Eventers!! Advice Needed Please - Getting Disheartened *long*

[randira]

I bought a 4 year old ISH from Goresbridge about 18 months ago. She has blossomed from a weedy nervebag into a really lovely horse and I feel she will take me eventing easily apart from the dressage. She is totally over the top when I try to school her. I stay in walk for the first 5-10 mins to try and get her listening to my hand and leg. She naps terribly to the menage 'entrance' - she jogs and crabs towards it and has a total paddy when we go past it. I try to ignore this and keep working but in trot just runs off - so I have been trying to use my seat and body as brakes and keep the contact moving slightly as she tends to set against the bit and pull. This makes her over bend and go stuffy so that she just plunges and wont go forwards. By the way the ears are forwards all the time its just sheer over exhuberance, but she has a real stubourn streak in her and wont submit and let me 'ride' her. Again the napping get worse in trot - we slug away from the exit and ignore all leg aids and then speed up towards the exit and over react completely when I put my legs on to try and balance her. She ends up dripping with sweat - all the time chomping madly at the bit and her ears are forward like daggers. The canter is hopeless and just fires her up even more - her balance is not very good but she just winds herself up and then eventually me! I have tried giving her a smack when she is napping but she totally over-reacts and wont 'forget' about it from then on. I have tried various mouthpieces as she was getting terribly strong - but have put her back in a sprenger snaffle. She did seem to like curb action so I might try a nue schule at some point. The thing is she jumps like a stag, but hates schooling - its almost like she creates her own excitement. Shes she sort of horse a lot of people I know would put her in a stronger bit and showjump her because she will jump anything and is quick, but thats not what I want to do. I have also thought about getting her into a proper work regime, but I'm worried that all I will end up with is a fitter naughty horse. Her teeth, back and saddle are all fine (I'm very strict about that sort of thing) and she is on quite meager rations as to much grub makes her totally mad. She's on fibre cubes, alfa- a and carrots oh and hay. All I want to do is a 5 minute dressage test n eventing without her blowing up - the rest of it dosent bother me. Help please as I'm feeling low and rather incompetant..

 

[SillyMare]

You don't sound incompetant at all - just as though you need a bit of help from a good instructor.

A lot of talented horses are tricky. Your horse is still young and with practice her dressage will improve. Her napping is probably just lack of confidence and clarity about what exactly you are asking her to do.

Difficult to make any comment without actually seeing her, but it sounds like she just needs to relax enough to let you actually ride her without getting so frantic.

 

[dieseldog]

I would get some help from an instructor and also I would stop feeding her hard food and see if that improves her behaviour. You probably just need someone to say do this and that and it will just click. Good luck

 

[LEC]

I have a horse very similar and I just fought all the time as neither of us would give in. Firstly try a good calmer in their feed, cut back everything. I found the way for me to win was to first lunge - get him submissive listening to me and bored. Also we are not fighting each other but working together. Then get on if they are still a nightmare I would stick draw reins on till he gave in. That way he was fighting himself not me and he knuckled down so much quicker. It also made me calmer. My horse was always dripping with sweat warming up at events and then cool and calm for SJ and XC.
It is so irritating especially if they have tonnes of ability.

 

[Iestyn]

Instructor. Long reining. Lunging.

Stick to walk under saddle until she is balanced enough from the lunging and long-reining. In walk I would do lots of circles, straight lines, smaller circles, start some leg yielding and shoulder in (in walk) This will help her to listen to you, help her balance and engage her hindleg so that she's having to start working from behind. Obviously very small sessions of this because of her age. Maybe you can do some 15 minutes of lungin followed by 15 minutes of schooling. A horse of this age probably wouldn't need any more than 3 30min session a week. The rest stick to hacking. You'll get there - some just need more time than others.

 

[madhector]

you dont sound incompetant at all, i would definatly get a good instructer to asses the pair of you and see whats going wrong, i had one that i had to lunge for 10 mins before i schoolled otherwise we just ended up fighting each other, longriening is also great to get her attention focused on you, i would also cut out her hard feed for a while and see if this makes a difference, good luck, let us know how you get on

 

[Baggybreeches]

Dont worry so much, she is only 5 and a bit you have loads of time, BTW I had a pony who did that but only in the SJ warm up! She jumped her first PN SJ with out a practice fence because she wouldnt stop napping! May be try a bit of back to basics lunging and 2-lining?

 

[icestationzebra]

Agree with the others on food and instructor...

Have you anywhere you can 'school' whilst hacking? I used to hack to a flat field I had access to - school for 10 mins and the carry on hacking. I always work on leg yield and shoulder in out on a hack too. I think a bit of lateral thinking is needed here - if going in the school is upsetting her or making her over excited (personally I think her behaviour stems from anxiety) then take the cause of this behaviour away - but instead replace it with schooling where she perhaps least expects it. Keep it short - she sounds the sort of horse that will do better to learn something every day - than 10 things in 2 sessions. Lunging and long reining are also great for this and voice aids are invaluable.

Good luck

 

[franki]

I think your post is very interesting and I don't think you're incompetant at all. I agree with all the other advice of lunging, long reining, instruction and schooling while out hacking.

I also own an ISH as do many of my friends and I believe they are extremely sensitive. I wonder if your despair at not being able to "school" your horse in the arena is being transferred to her. You mention she was a nervebag when you bought her, perhaps she is still a nerve bag but has internalised it. What would happen if you went right back to basics - spend no more than 10 minutes in the school, doing whatever makes her most settled. If she's best in walk, then just walk, if trot then let her trot. Forget about her outline work towards relaxtion. Stay away from the gate and work at the other end of the school. A large circle is fine. Praise her highly for any improvement in her way of going, sing to her, tell her stories. Try to keep her attention, try to get her longer and lower in her frame. Stick to 10 minutes then leave the school or change what you're doing in the school, is it possible to hack out at that point. or you could get off her and work her in the school from the ground, over poles, on the lunge.

Anything to break this cycle of tension and resistence. Aim to make her understand the arena and schooling isn't the enemy, it's as much fun as jumping. Could you put up an x-pole/trot poles in the school and work over those?

It's better to do 10 good minutes in the school everyday, then a disaster 1 hour once a week. Remember it will take time, so be patient. It can take 1 day of "good" work to cancel each day of "bad" work, to help her on her way. Good luck with her.

 

[tizer]

YOu sound like your doing a good job, but has anyone mentioned to you that alfa a can make some horses a little excited may be worth swapping it for a normal chaff with as little molasses as possible. And keep plugging on it took me 2 years to crack the mare i'm riding at the moment. Luckily with horses hard work is quite often rewarded.