Gah help please

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Lill

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Over the past few shows Blue has seemed to get worse not better.
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He's got too strong for the waterford snaffle i was jumping him in last year, so i put him in a 3 ring gag and had roundings on the first and second rings, for about 3 shows he went perfect in this we had lovely spot on rounds and then he got faster again, so i put it on the first and the bottom rings and again for about 3 shows we had perfect rounds nice steady speed, correct take off point etc, but again he's got fast and stupid.

Yesterday i took him to Duckhurst and put him in the .95m. (Had roundings on the first and bottom rings and have been jumping him in the .95 and the BN since October/November so its not like its anything new.) He flew round the first 7 jumps barely listening to my efforts to get him steady, straight and help him find the take off point so for number 8 i went 'stuff you do it yourself' and just sat there at which point he almost fell over it in shock and knocked it down. Did the same for number 9 and he was a bit better, cleared it, but quite wary cos he was doing it all on his own.

Whats going on?! He had a months break over Christmas and New Year too and i just can't work it out. Like he'll be really good one week and then its almost like as soon as he's figured out how to evade the bit again he's off being a twit. Any ideas?
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yeah i'd get teeth and back checked 1st, if they're fine then i'd go back to basics and get him really listening on the flat before jumping him. i really don't know much about show jumping, but i do know most of them rarely jump their horses and spend most of the time on flat work. a good instructor might be able to help if u don't have 1 already. i'd def try other avenues before going up again to a more severe bit. good luck with it
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Sounds like Blue is really enjoying his jumping and getting a bit ahead of himself. I would be tempted to find a top trainer and have a few sessions. These people deal with this type of problem and horse and know all the tips to help.

I have a similar problem with one of my horses who likes a jumping a little too much and I recently went to a clear round event and was lucky enough to spot a top trainer there. I asked her to watch and comment as the horse went round and am now going to book some sessions to rectify the problem.
 
Can't remember when his teeth were checked will have to find out later! Something to consider though definitely.

I only really tend to jump him at shows though i might do one session of jumping the Friday before a show if i think he needs it - not very often.

I don't have a trainer either.... can't really afford one! Although i do have a friend of a friend who is training to be an instructor who says she will help me out.
 
All of the above checking out recommended as well.

As to a trainer . . .if you're going to go in for a specialist subject like showjumping it really does help to have educated instruction. I'm sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear, but the value of such training is to avoid common pitfalls and recognise problems early on, not just to facilitate improvement. What you're describing is a pretty common scenerio but the cause of it could be any number of things and it's impossible for even very experienced people to help you over the internet without ever having seen the horse go in the flesh.

All that said, the oft seen practice of continually upgrading bits commonly has this effect, I'm afraid. You are essentially training the horse to pull harder, especially with a leverage bit which increases force on the mouth without making it feel that way to the rider. That's the point of pelhams/gags/bits with hooks etc. - to provide leverage to multiply the force of the hand on the horse's mouth. For example, in a three ring as you attach the rein lower you increase the leverage so the horse "feels" lighter to you but really isn't. If the factor is 2:1 say (it depends on the length of the lever - standard pelhams generally run 2.1 to 2.4) then for every pound of pressure you put on the rein there is two pounds on the horses mouth. Increase the lever length (by lowering the rein attachment) and the force increases so you feel it as the same (or lighter) but the horse feels it as more. These bits can be useful tools for correction or for use in specific situatinos, such as competition, but used every day nd/or without scrupulous attention to detail it's pretty common that they make horses stronger.

All of the standard "well broke" exercises will help you: transitions, suppling work, gymnastic jumping etc. etc. to make the horse more ridable and able to carry himself in balance. Done regularly in a snaffle of course. But you still may have difficulty in the heat of competition, in which case a considered choice of competition bits (to be used only intermittently at home, just to get used to it) might help you. Again though, even with this, I'd seek a professional opinion - it will just be so much faster, easier and cheaper in the long run.
 
Sorry wasn't very clear! At home i ride him in the same bit but just on the big ring. I only put the roundings on it and have them on the first and third rings when i take him to shows... also previously when i had him in the waterford i would always ride him at home in the snaffle. This i why i can't quite understand why he's got so much stronger at shows!!

I think having someone who is on the ground and can watch and knows distances would help. I've put up one stride doubles at home and bounces but i'm never 100% certain i've got them the right distance so i never build them very big.
 
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