Help - with new horse - showjumping

live4thehorses

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5 June 2012
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Hi All,

Hoping I maybe able to get some good advice and tips on few little problems i'm having with my new mare.

Been riding her in a snaffle but all of a suddern she has decided that now when out showjumping (she's only 5 and i'm just bring her on slowly as she has only hunted in Ireland.),she has started to cross her jaw and with great difficulty i'm struggling to turn her on corners, I've have put her in a grackle and yet doesnt seem to be helping :confused:.

She is perfect on her flat work, it's just the jumping.

She's a very sensitive mare.:rolleyes:

I've had her teeth checked, her back etc

Just not sure what i can try any help would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
 
Because she's young and green you have the ideal opportunity to school her quietly through it. I had similar issues with my mare at that age, I got through it with religious discipline and repetition- we did lots of squares in our schooling instead of circles and everytime I struggled to turn her I put her onto a square until the turning was back up to scratch before carrying on.

A full cheek bit and an english (not high ring) grackle will help to a point too and I always ride mine in those pieces of kit, even now 6 years on as it's always her tendancy to bulge around a turn
 
As above.
Mine used to be a little like this. He used to (and still does occasionally) get a bit keen jumping sometimes and start towing me round corners and into fences that we aren't meant to be jumping :p.
I use a full cheek snaffle and grackle.
Clear rounds are good, iv'e done tons of clear rounds as you can pay for a few rounds and then just keep quietly jumping, if mine started to get a bit YIPEEEEE!! I'd just do a big circle, get his calm canter back and continue. Schooling at home if he started to be a bit boistrus then we go back to school work and do leg yielding and circles and transitions trot-canter and then when calm and listening then re-present to a fence.
I often jump fences while schooling.

Also just make sure you are turning with the legs, its easy to try and pull them around corners but it just gives them something to fight against.

Just have to be patient and calm and try not to get worked up. I didn't really mind my horse like this as he is just showing he is keen but he has to listen and do it properly and be a grown up boy. Not like a kid at a party who just gets so excited they run around screaming lol.
 
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