Help! My horse hates schooling

DappleGreyDaydreamer

DappleGreyDaydreamer

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I have the pleasure of owning the loveliest 5yr old Connemara that I've ever known, he's honest, affectionate, trusting and absolutely loves to jump. Even at the sight of a trot pole his ears prick and I can feel him getting excited! He's brave out on a hack, even though he's a bit nervous of new things, and he enjoys exploring new trails. But the problem comes when I try to work on our schooling, he just seems to get bored and drags his feet, acts like a lazy riding school pony or like he's exhausted after 10 minutes riding.

I try to keep schooling sessions to a minimum, we hack both days at the weekend, jump on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday which he loves and is so well behaved doing, but on schooling days Monday/Wednesday, I'm really struggling to get him going forward and he also naps a lot, which is very unlike him. He just doesn't seem to enjoy schooling, even though I do my best to put as many shapes, transitions and movements into our rides to keep him interested.

Has anyone else had a horse that got really bored and unresponsive during schooling? Any help would be great, as I'm just training him to work on the bit but if we're not going forward properly then he gets overbent, which worries me.
 
Could you school when hacking? I do most of my lateral work hacking.

Mine goes flat when schooling too so I always keep a jump in the arena and if she goes sweetly when I ask something she gets to go over the jump. She's learned that by cooperating she gets to do some fun stuff.

Another thing to consider is pain - jumping and, to a degree hacking, bump the adrenaline levels up which can mask pain. If there is some low grade soreness it may only be noticed by the horse when the work is less 'fun'.
 
What is different between flat schooling and being on the ground between jumps? Do you use a different saddle or bridle / bit? Do you ride differently?

What's he like on the lunge? Is he forward?

What is he like if you flat school in and around the jumps without actually jumping or if you incorporate pole work into flat sessions?

Maybe you are doing too much in your flatwork sessions and he feels pressurised or just doesn't understand what you want / too many different things / rushing, how long are your sessions? Maybe they're not varied enough, do you incorporate lateral work etc?

According to your post you are riding 7 days per week, that's a lot for 5 year old, I'd be inclined to cut this down by 2 days or do groundwork / lunging on one of the days instead of jumping
 
I didn't realise you were riding 7 days a week - that's way too much, especially for a 5yo...

Here is the regime I use for my 5yo

Monday day off
Tues long lining flat work
Weds ridden jumping
Thurs day off
Fri loose jumping
Sat short hack to warm up but schooling as we go, flat schooling for 15 mins in the school, short hack to cool down.
Sun longer fun hack with a bit of fast work. If I jump on the hack (we have a quarry with xc jumps) then the weds we swap from jumping to flat work.

We only jump once a week under saddle and I also loose jump him once a week to teach new things. It has really speeded up our progression - grids, related distances, spreads, fillers - all done loose to encourage boldness before translating to the saddle.
 
That's an awful lot of work for a baby. I think if you cut that right down you may find he goes better for you, plus add in some real variety. School him on the lunge to your voice, then when on board do some pole work and practice getting him to work off your voice as well. Keep it short and interesting.

My 6yr old works five days a week, and will only jump once a week at the very most. He's lunged once a week, schooled once and hacked twice. That is enough to keep him learning but keep his brain working.
 
Ditto the others. Start by cutting your riding routine in half. Every horse needs at least one day off a week. You can't ride every day. That in itself might help with any low grade pain issues which might be affecting his flat work. Then try to keep jumping work down to once a week. He is only young and jumping is quite a strain - you risk shortening his ridden life by straining him now. I know its hard when he (and I expect you!) love jumping so much. But you can replace it with things like elevated poles and add in things like ground work and low level rick training to keep him engaged.

Reading back - you don't say how long you have owned him. I wonder if actually turning him away completely for 2 or 3 weeks would help more. You'd give him time to rest and recuperate from any strains and to think things through and assimilate his learning. Then he can come back into work refreshed.
 
7 days a week is too much for any horse imo, they need a break. Mine does 4-5 days a week and I jump once a week, twice if we're competing.

- Lunge x1
- Hack x1
- Jump x1
- Flat x2
- Polework x1

Is the 5 day routine. If it's 4 days I usually cut out lunging.
 
Tips for schooling any horse

1 Make sure that you are not incessantly tapping with your legs - Every aid must achieve a reaction
2 THINK of what you want when you use your leg. The power of positive thinking!
3 Back up any ignored leg aid immediately with a sharp tap from the schooling whip
4 Never go around the arena more than once without doing something different - circle, change the rein, go up the centre line, across the short/long diagonal go from G or D to the outer track or visa versa.
5 INclude trotting poles and small jumps in your schooling as he likes to jump
6 School out on a hack, use lamp posts for transitions between paces and within paces.

Horses usually become lazy if they are constantlyridden around in a circle - which is an exercise done with an over energetic horse to restore calmness.
 
Thanks for all the great advice! He was worked 7 days a week in his previous home so I just kept on doing that, but yes he needs a day or two off (he is having a week off now after losing a shoe so I'll start retraining myself afterwards).
 
My horse is worked every day for health reasons and has done since she was 5 and she's happy as larry. Horses have 23 hours a day off so I wouldn't berate yourself that you've done "too much".

Probably he finds the surface hard work, is it deep? When the poles come out he probably has more adrenalin which helps him keep going when he's tired.

My mare used to die as soon as my dressage coach appeared and I'm sure it's because she knew it would be a lot harder work than jumping. Now she's a lot fitter and her flat work is improved, she's up for anything.

I don't have a school so I school on hacks and I take them to the beach specifically to school. You could school on hacks and what about doing 5 mins in the school then going for a little hack. Don't let him get bored and tired, keep it fun.
 
FfionWinnie said:
My horse is worked every day for health reasons and has done since she was 5 and she's happy as larry. Horses have 23 hours a day off so I wouldn't berate yourself that you've done "too much".
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I have to disagree - I think that jumping a 5yo 3x a week and working him 7 days a week is doing too much. I'd be inclined to give this particular horse a few weeks off over Xmas to chill out then bring back into work in Jan, doing 4-5 days a week. Of that, I'd hack twice, school once or twice and maybe jump or poles once.

A friend has a new 5yo who is schooling x2 (20-30 mins), hacking x1 or x2 (around an hour as he's shattered if out for any longer), and then having a lesson / doing a baby RC thing x1. I don't jump my 9yo 3x a week so I really do think it's too much for a 5yo.
 
I agree with others i think you are possibly jumping too much, even fit competition horses don't always jump 3 days a week. I know it is difficult with native ponies as they have a tendency to get overweight very easily which is why they many need a lot of exercising to keep them trim.

Is this a project pony you are hoping to sell on or are you planning on this pony being your main horse for the foreseeable future. If you are not schooling to sell then you should if lucky have plenty of time ahead of you to work on the schooling and to enjoy riding your pony. Do you have any lessons as your instructor may be able to give you some tips.

How long are you jumping for in your sessions, could it be the day after you jump the pony feels tired or a bit stiff and therefore less likely to want to go forward?

My new forest is of a similar type he likes hacking and jumping and I don't normally ride him more than 3 times a week in the school he gets two days off and i try and hack at the weekends weather permitting!. He is 13 and I have had him since he was 5 and I try and keep jumping to a minimum due to the strain it can put on their legs so would not normally jump more than once a week.

However he does seem a lot more engaged in schooling in his lessons than when I working on my own and I think this is because I am more focused and my instructors keeps things moving at a decent pace with lots of difference exercises which helps keep up both thinking.

I do spend more time in the school in the winter when the weather is not as good and it gets dark so early and sometimes I just use this time as exercise time doing a bit of interval training rather than just schooling.

I know there are a lot of horses that are produced working hard and competing a lot at 4/5/6 but I do wonder how long they last when they have been worked at this level for a long time and from such a young age. I read in an article in Horse and Rider by someone famous rider {cant remember who} who said he felt horses only had so many miles/jumps in them and his competition horses were often only jumped at competitions and he had he still had older horse out competing and he felt that was the part of the success keeping them going so long.

I think as long as your pony has sufficient turnout and is not overweight 5 days of riding is about right with one day of jumping, one day of pole work, one day of schooling and two hacking out.
 
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chestnut cob said:
I have to disagree - I think that jumping a 5yo 3x a week and working him 7 days a week is doing too much. I'd be inclined to give this particular horse a few weeks off over Xmas to chill out then bring back into work in Jan, doing 4-5 days a week. Of that, I'd hack twice, school once or twice and maybe jump or poles once.

A friend has a new 5yo who is schooling x2 (20-30 mins), hacking x1 or x2 (around an hour as he's shattered if out for any longer), and then having a lesson / doing a baby RC thing x1. I don't jump my 9yo 3x a week so I really do think it's too much for a 5yo.
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How do you know if the op is talking about popping a couple of x poles during a 20 min session or having an hours lesson over a 1m track three times a week?! I suspect the former since the horse is tired after ten minutes of flatwork!
 
I know horses that need daily exercise for health reasons, however I don't think the OPs horse is one of them. I would only ride a horse 7 days a week if it needed it for health reasons or it was loopy after just one day off.

I think with youngsters they need to be brought along slowly and not rushed, minding them in the early years would (hopefully) set them up for success joint and development wise in the long term.

Agree that OP is not likely overdoing it on the 7 days of work or 3 days of jumping but I would still say that it is too much, and if the horse can at all stand to have a day off once or twice a week I would encourage it. It doesn't sound like he's tired after 10mins of work rather he is napping and not willing to work. In jumping and hacking he seems fine. Giving him a day off here and there would tell you if it's sourness or maybe something else at play.
 
FfionWinnie said:
How do you know if the op is talking about popping a couple of x poles during a 20 min session or having an hours lesson over a 1m track three times a week?! I suspect the former since the horse is tired after ten minutes of flatwork!
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We never jump higher than 50cm currently, and no longer than 15mins, as although he loves his jumping, he's still only learning! And as far as him being a native pony, he's a purebred yes, but he's very lean and muscular, 15.3hh and not at all built like your typical Connemara pony. If he has too long off work then he stops eating, doesn't go loopy but he acts very lethergic after more than 2 days off. I give him a day off on Mondays normally, but he's been losing shoes left right and center recently so having weeks off at a time waiting for the farrier. So yes, last week we worked 7 days because he was having a week off this week anyway as I'm away, plus he's lost another shoe -_- living in a clay mud area is a nightmare. I never work him for long because I have a busy college timetable at the moment and I'm not on holiday for a fortnight. When I get back he'll have had 10 days off, so I'm planning on redoing our schedule completely. Thanks again all for help!
 
Maybe he is telling you he is sore. Schooling involves a lot more focus and correctness, if he is loosing shoes a lot I wonder how his feet are feeling, sounds like they are possibily soft/weak. If they are sore then the schooling maybe hard for him, when hacking the ground is generally more forgiving. I have a 15.3hh connemara with a little bit of TB in him, as a 5yr old he tried so hard it was easy to override him. I worked him at that age 5days a week and when in the school (max x2 week) it was for 20mins as that is the same as an hours hack, I'd always get off on a good note and stop. I found that less was more with him, if you try to force a connie when they aren't ready, they back off and I think at that age they are still quite immature and mine was definitely still growing and changing shape.

As an aside he is barefoot as the shoeing destroyed his feet, he is now 16, if I had my time again I'd never have shod him I'm convinced poor farriery through his life caused him the problems he has had. Have a good look as how his feet are landing, make sure he isn't toe 1st and check he has a decent amount of well balanced heel, he is a native and they generally have great feet on them. Also, my connie can't cope with sugar so he has 100% fibre and does very well on it. Good luck, they are wonderful horses with personalities to die for!
 
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What does your instructor say about his schooling?

Connies can suffer from quite bad feet I think it is a genetic thing called HSWS that some Connies have.

I think maybe the inconsistency is the problem working him every day when his shoes are on or you have time and then leaving him for weeks when he loses a shoe and is waiting for the farrier or if you are busy with college.
 
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