Exercises for taking a spooky horse cross-country

[emilykerr747]

Hi,
I was hoping to get some advice on some exercises which may help when jumping my spooky horse.

A bit of background - When he came to me, he was very sharp and would take a lot of leg and encouragement as he would prop badly before the fence. This would be the same for if the fence was a small cross pole or a larger fence with a filler. As time has gone on, he has become much better. For the past year and a half, he has gained a lot in confidence and now doesn't stop at all. However, he continues to take a look at each fence before take-off. This will happen at every fence, whether its a tiny cross pole or a large spooky fence and it doesn't matter how many times he's jumped it, he will look at it every time. He will sometimes even take a good look at ground poles too.

Now, I don't mind him doing this when showjumping as he is extremely careful, doesn't stop and isn't pushed for time, but its really starting to affect our cross country time. He moves at an ok pace in the cross country but has to slow down to back off the fence to look first before he jumps, which disrupts the flow of the course and wastes time. I have tried riding him to the fence with a stronger leg, but he will back off, prop and slowdown. We were hoping to move up a level this season. However, I worry that it will be pointless if we cannot get close to the time!

I should also note that I have spoken to his past owner about this issue and they have said this is something he has always done, and it has turned into more of a habit for him to look before every jump. He has also had years of eventing experience (at a low level) and has lots of cross country experience, so this isn't unfamiliar territory for him!

Hopefully, that explains the situation well enough, and I would really appreciate some advice or exercises on approaching this problem. He is such a star in all three phases if we could fix that one small problem we would be flying! Thank you!

 

[ihatework]

What sort of height are you currently competing at?

What have your Xc instructor(s) said so far?

 

[emilykerr747]

I myself have jumped up to BE100 with my old horse but have had this horse in question on loan for 2 years since being at university. We are currently jumping BE80 and showjumping 90. He has plenty of scope. However, him looking before the fence just kills the momentum, which is why I have kept him at a lower level to keep his confidence up. He is only small (14hh) and is clearly backwards thinking in his way of going so I understand BE90 will probably be as far we get which I'd be happy with if we were jumping more fluently.

Some of the instructors have said things along the lines of 'that's just him, and he'll always be a bit quirky, you just need to keep your leg on'. Often in cross country lessons, we'll be asked to jump fenced one at a time in a group, so it's often a start, stop kind of thing and difficult to treat training as the real thing, i.e. approaching fences at a cross country pace and not a slower schooling pace.

On another note, when we have been out cross country training in a group if he is asked to jump a combination going away from the group, he backs off and is very spooky. However, if he is the last to jump and the other horses are waiting on the other side, he flies over the fence and doesn't look at all. Being the last to jump or following another horse he jumps so beautifully over the Novice combinations with ease, but when asked to go first its a battle to get him over an 80cm log.

Hopefully, that explains things a bit more!

 

[ihatework]

There is no hard and fast rules here, but often these careful/spooky/backwards types can be made better (more confident is generally the crux of it), by lots of repetition, lots of small stuff, and by allowing to approach slower so that they can see & process. It’s a long, time consuming and rather dull process but definitely worth it long term. Sometimes the more you kick them into something the more the prop in the final stride or two.

When Xc courses open I’d book in weekly lessons 1:1 or a pair at most.

In the interim there are bits you can do in the school. Spooky stuff on the ground, tarps, whatever - that they walk/jog/hop on a longish rein. Then similar over teeny but spooky fences.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

All good advice from IHW above.
When clinics resume, I'd try and get on some where trainers sew several fences together which is more common than doing just one fence at a time then waiting about. I'd be bored, my mount would get tiresome.
In a small group it's far better to be moving rather than standing about.

 

[J&S]

In days gone past I would suggest you take him hunting to get the jumping more confident but am not sure that this is very pertinent in this day and age. As he is really quite small at 14 hh is he perhaps simply collecting himself before he actually takes off?
As ihatework has said, de spooking over/through/under obstacles, starting slow and building up to good forward movement. I saw a vid this morning of some one working a 3 yr old in this way as a precurser to an eventing career, it looked like a really succesful way to start, building confidence before really asking any big questions.

 

[emilykerr747]

There is no hard and fast rules here, but often these careful/spooky/backwards types can be made better (more confident is generally the crux of it), by lots of repetition, lots of small stuff, and by allowing to approach slower so that they can see & process. It’s a long, time consuming and rather dull process but definitely worth it long term. Sometimes the more you kick them into something the more the prop in the final stride or two.

When Xc courses open I’d book in weekly lessons 1:1 or a pair at most.

In the interim there are bits you can do in the school. Spooky stuff on the ground, tarps, whatever - that they walk/jog/hop on a longish rein. Then similar over teeny but spooky fences.

Great thank you so much. I’ll start doing the school exercises now while there’s not much going on and hopefully by the time we can get out and about he’ll be working towards jumping spookier fences.

I was also told that doing lots of smaller grid work could help?

 

[emilykerr747]

All good advice from IHW above.
When clinics resume, I'd try and get on some where trainers sew several fences together which is more common than doing just one fence at a time then waiting about. I'd be bored, my mount would get tiresome.
In a small group it's far better to be moving rather than standing about.

thank you for the advice. Yes I think I will try plan to get out to some small group xc lessons or even see if I can get a 1:1 to avoid him napping or being led by other horses.

 

[emilykerr747]

In days gone past I would suggest you take him hunting to get the jumping more confident but am not sure that this is very pertinent in this day and age. As he is really quite small at 14 hh is he perhaps simply collecting himself before he actually takes off?
As ihatework has said, de spooking over/through/under obstacles, starting slow and building up to good forward movement. I saw a vid this morning of some one working a 3 yr old in this way as a precurser to an eventing career, it looked like a really succesful way to start, building confidence before really asking any big questions.

thanks for getting back. Yes I’ve also had some instructors recommending to getting out to do some hunting. Unfortunately there aren’t many hunts around my areas and the closest one is over 3 hours away, but I think I will still try attend a few to see if it helps!

I will have a go at the schooling/ despooking exercises and hopefully build his confidence a bit more.
From speaking to his owner I think it may be a combination of not getting enough experience as a youngster and his naturally sharp personality.

it’s a shame because he’s so great in all other disciples but he’s just so scared of his own shadow!

 

[LEC]

I would be really interested to see what your horse did jumping xc jumps on the lunge. What pace does he choose with no rider? How does he react? I just think it would be interesting and then to see how much pressure is required to get him jumping ‘normally’ and then if you take that pressure off how do they come round next time.

I quite like two schooling whips. Can be useful to back up the leg in a nice way and maintain the momentum into the bridle.

Realistically though, you have a horse who knows it’s job and has always been like it so you might be trying to teach a pig to sing.

 

[emilykerr747]

I would be really interested to see what your horse did jumping xc jumps on the lunge. What pace does he choose with no rider? How does he react? I just think it would be interesting and then to see how much pressure is required to get him jumping ‘normally’ and then if you take that pressure off how do they come round next time.

I quite like two schooling whips. Can be useful to back up the leg in a nice way and maintain the momentum into the bridle.

Realistically though, you have a horse who knows it’s job and has always been like it so you might be trying to teach a pig to sing.

i have no idea what he would do jumping cross country fences on the lunge! I might try jumping him at home on the lunge and see how he works it out for himself.

Yes exactly, I was worried that might be the case with him. Although when I first got him he had a habit of chipping before every fence even if you get him to the fence on the absolute correct stride. With a lot of work and encouragement he has managed to fix that habit but still lacks the full confidence to take you to a fence with impulsion and momentum.

I’ll definitely try the two schooling whips and see if that helps. Thank you for your reply!

 

[LegOn]

I was going to suggest a schooling whip aswell, timed just right at that moment he props it can give him the encouragement to keep the pace and go forward!

Also as mad as it sounds, really concentrate on riding from A to B rather than just 'to the fence' because of the way he jumps - you might be a little overfocused on 'getting to the fence' and then because of his backing off you also change how you ride so you both get into the same mindset if you get me. So when out, focus on riding to a point away from the fence rather than 'the fence', imagine the fence isnt even there and concentrate on the quality of the canter after the fence. Really focus on the landing and away rather that - we must get over this fence! It can be interesting cause it will focus you to look up and away, focus your riding on staying consistent and not changing and then it might hopefully break the pattern you have both gotten into - as you say its nearly like a habit now!

Hope that makes some sort of sense! LOL!

 

[emilykerr747]

I was going to suggest a schooling whip aswell, timed just right at that moment he props it can give him the encouragement to keep the pace and go forward!

Also as mad as it sounds, really concentrate on riding from A to B rather than just 'to the fence' because of the way he jumps - you might be a little overfocused on 'getting to the fence' and then because of his backing off you also change how you ride so you both get into the same mindset if you get me. So when out, focus on riding to a point away from the fence rather than 'the fence', imagine the fence isnt even there and concentrate on the quality of the canter after the fence. Really focus on the landing and away rather that - we must get over this fence! It can be interesting cause it will focus you to look up and away, focus your riding on staying consistent and not changing and then it might hopefully break the pattern you have both gotten into - as you say its nearly like a habit now!

Hope that makes some sort of sense! LOL!

Thank you for your advice! The more I think about it, I definitely think you have hit the nail on the head for this situation. I think I am getting too worked up over approach to a fence instead of focussing on riding away on landing. Hopefully, when we can get out and about I can test this theory!