Have I just scarred by boy for life??

D

dope-on-a-rope:)

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 April 2010
Messages
78
Visit site
Ok, Stan's a 6yo ISH, genuine as they come - a little bit sensitive at times but once he knows what the deal is he's an absolute gem. Now, I am a bit of a perfectionist/paranoid (?) when I come to doing things with him - he's my baby and I just want to do everything right by him so his education is a positive one and I don't spoil him at all, but please tell me if I'm being paranoid here....

So, I was lunging him tonight, which I do around once or twice a week. Thought I'd pop him over a couple of jumps on the lunge, which he has done before and is very good (we have no facilities for free-schooling). he was jumping fine, if not a little lazily, so I decided as we have no fillers to place a piece of sacking under the jump to make it a bit more looky. As I set him off to go round and pop it, the flock of geese in the next field went waddling past the fence and then a kid on a pony appeared from the other direction - (cue eyes on stalks and big, snorty trot) and he stopped at the jump :(

It took me three attempts to get him over it and then when he did - big praise etc and left it there - but now I feel like I've frightened him!! He's never stopped at anything and I don't want to give him any ideas! Do you think I'm just over reacting or do you think I might have actually frightened him a bit?? What would everyone do now?!

Thanks in advance - and sorry it's long!! :)
 
No, don't worry about it. They have to get used to things happening around them when they're working - its education that will help a lot when they start shows.. I always use "pole roles" on my jump poles (polythene covers) that flap a bit in the wind, and put plastic bags, or whatever I can find hanging around in the school. It gets them used to trusting you when there is something scarey around on the road etc. It also means they hopefully don't look at fillers or unusual XC jumps when competing later in life. Carry on, keep praising him after he has trusted you and faced the scarey plastic monster, and build up the trust even more...xx
 
I don't think you will have scared him at all, it was a *scary* jump with lots of other things happening at the same time and he's bound to have found it all a bit frightening.I think you did exactly the right thing by leaving it on a good note, now when you try again he'll know that last time it wasn't so scary and he got praise for doing it :) (by the way, I'm just giving my opinion which may be completley wrong and I may be talking a load of rubbish :p )
 
OOw dont worry i felt the same as you with the youngster i bred she is 5 now. It was so important for me to giver her a positive start. I would also get myself so worked up if something went wrong however small ..Once i tipped her over a XC jump and thought my world had ended. She totally lost her confidence and it took a while to get back but she is now so brave its amazing. Your horse is bound to stop at something in his life and he is bound to do something that will scare him self at some point to. You do have to make a few mistakes to learn along the way.
I also jumped one of my 5 yr old's on the lunge last night and it was a bit of a disaster to !! Ended up getting carried away and over facing him and scared him a bit i think as he switched off and i couldnt even get him to trot towards the jump !!. Anyway rode him over the jumps tonight to help him out a bit and he was great not phased at all.

So if i was you forget the sack and ride or lunge him tommora over them again . Keep the session short and sweet and small with lots of praise then follow by something he enjoys like perhaps a short hack or a big groom :) You ll probably find he wont bother and you have beat yourself up for nothing!!

He will be fine xx
 
Aww, thanks guys for the reassurance! :) It's sooo easy when they're your baby to go a bit OTT on the whole paranoid front isn't it?? Although I see myself as fairly experienced having worked with horses for several years and owned them since I was a girl - he's my first young horse that I intend to keep until either he (or I) pops off! So he's a bit special :)

lulataluna - I will definitely try again without the sack tomorrow, just to reassure him he's a big brave boy and can do it!!

Thanks everyone :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top