Frustrated with my youngster

you say he is growing quickly etc, are you still using the same saddle or have you had it fitted recently? if he has matured then it is possible that its to narrow and pinching as he has muscled up. this might explain why the jumping seems backward, as it is uncomfortable to jump/canter. how does he jump/canter on the lunge with no saddle?

again if there are no medical issues it could be a case of stubborn terrible twos and you need
 
hollyandivy123 said:
you say he is growing quickly etc, are you still using the same saddle or have you had it fitted recently? if he has matured then it is possible that its to narrow and pinching as he has muscled up. this might explain why the jumping seems backward, as it is uncomfortable to jump/canter. how does he jump/canter on the lunge with no saddle?

again if there are no medical issues it could be a case of stubborn terrible twos and you need
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My saddle was checked just 2 weeks ago. Everything physical and tack has been ruled out. Those were the first things I went to.

I had a professional ex 3 star eventer and close friend (she actually backed Chilli Morning) get on him today. She stated behavioural issues through and through as he moved beautifully for her and popped sweetly over some 70cm fences after initially trying his luck. And he tried his lick a few times.
 
Put hind shoes on. I know that many people on here are pro barefoot and I have no issues with that, however, I also know many horses show a lack of performance without hind shoes. My own horse was shod only in front for many years and I struggled to get him to engage , his canter became dire and he became more and more backward thinking. I had a full lameness work up done and nothing was found. I then, on a whim, put his hind shoes back on ,and although it has taken a while for him to regain his confidence, he has never looked back. Without hind shoes on we were pushed to get 60% at elementary, since putting them back on, within a year , he has stormed up the levels gaining 63% in his first advanced. His canter is totally different and the push from his hind leg is 100% better.
 
Will he hack alone?

If he's using other horses as a security blanket I'd hack him alone and work on getting him to listen - there might be more of a chance if he hasn't got other horses around, it seems like he's looking to 'follow' them rather than listen to you.

My girl used to be very backwards and I realised that taking her out in company wasn't really getting us anywhere so I started taking her on her own - at first I had a schooling whip in each hand (she would swing her quarters away if I only had one) and we went down the squeeze, kick, tap route - every time she slowed down it was squeeze, then kick then tap - as soon as she picked up the pace I took all leg off - it took her a week or so to 'get' what I wanted and then she tried to evade for another few weeks and threw a few strops but we carried on until she settled. Haven't carried a schooling whip since.
 
I sympathise, my boy took a long time to learn to go forwards enough in his canter to jump well, also had to train him to gallop from scratch. A lot of it has been schooling to teach him to engage behind but also making it fun and also being quick to correct him if he does slow down without being told. He can hold his rhythm around a xc course now and so long as I'm quick to correct him before we loose impulsion his showjumping's coming along too, he's competing elementary BD and his canter work is good but medium trot is taking a lot of work. For hacking and fast work we still need a lead horse to get him to work properly which is a bit of a faff when you do a lot on your own.
It sound like you're already being considerate but do keep in mind a warmblood will not finish growing until it's 7 or 8, I think the basics of going forward when told can be taught without putting too much pressure on them but be aware if they suddenly stop going forward they're probably trying to tell you something.
 
OMG I had one of those. Backward warmblood and no use to anyone as a 5yo. Got a little better, and then worse again. If you tried to jump a course you'd die from exhaustion, and tendency to occasionally become homicidal on the ground to boot. Have an amazing instructor that helped improve my contact which made a big difference to getting him in front of the leg, did a ton of hacking and XC and had him scoped for ulcers and thoroughly checked out etc. etc.

To be honest though, mostly he just needed to grow up. Nothing we did made as much difference as time off and time passing. This year he's a cracking 7yo, big strong canter, really takes you to the fence, and (touch wood) actually pleasant on the ground, but I don't think I could have got there a day sooner. *shrugs*
 
Warmbloods can be stubborn & slow to mature I had a Hanoverian mare did lots with her when she was 4 schooling hacking etc and she was easy to do but then she decided to stop listening to my aids but if I pushed her to far she would buck like a trooper so I just went back to quite hacking for a couple of months take the pressure off her as pointless getting into a battle when started her back in the school she was much more willing and listening again to my aids
 
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