Hoping to write our first XC report but

[stilltrying]

Instead I have a sore hand and a massive dent in my pride. : (

I decided to take the plunge and take the big ginger one to a hunter trial yesterday. He’s been feeling good, looks fantastic and we’ve done a little XC schooling and popped the odd fence at home.

Bit of background….several years ago, after enjoying a season of unaff eventing and then a season of BE intro we had problems. A collapse at an event followed by a veterinary workup, which showed nothing wrong. Saddle got changed, shoes came off, things went well for a bit but took a turn for the worse, which culminated in me face planting in spectacular style, after he committed to a fence and decided to stop too late, and subsequently hit the fence. I wrote an epic thread on here about what to do next, and the advice ranged from veterinary work up, retire or pts. I chose to ‘retire’ him from jumping. We’ve since dabbled a bit with BD, popped the odd fence at home, did the odd bit of XC schooling, and generally enjoyed life.

Anyway he’s been feeling good, better than ever, and I do miss XC…I have XC dreams!….and as our local BE venue was holding a hunter trial I thought we could enter the smallest class. After all 2ft6 isn’t much of an effort for a 17h horse. We have been XC schooling a couple of times this summer and he’s felt like his old self – a bit too keen, but bold. After the rainfall we’ve had the ground conditions were perfect and the course was up to height but straight forward.

Into the warm up – he was a little excitable but rideable and cantering around just felt fantastic, really balanced and strong. There were 3 x warm up fences, a small log, a slightly bigger roll top mobile fence, and a bigger log. Popped the little log 3 x times in a controlled fashion. He has a tendency to rush, and if he is going to have a wobble it will be at the start, so I turned in trot and just ‘allowed’ canter. All fine. I decided to try the roll top fence. I turned in quietly, he saw it, set off in canter, and as he approached I felt him have a good look. I sat back, pushed on, gave him a little tap behind the saddle and at the point of take-off he bottled it, hitting the fence and almost going down. I bent my finger back on his neck but stayed on, and he limped away whinnying. I hopped off and trotted up and he was fine, just knocked himself I think. By this point he was just pouring with sweat, got himself in a state. I hopped back on, and popped the log a few times and withdrew.

I’m just really sad that its got to this point. I don’t think I’m asking too much of him, he could jump that height from a standstill. Yes I was nervous / excited and I know they pick up on that, but I did ride him positively. My non horsey OH suggested I have some XC lessons, but it’s the fact he hits the fence that I can’t get my head around. I could handle a run out, or napping, or just stopping! But to commit then stop… if we were going quicker it could have been very nasty.

Not quite sure of the point of the post….maybe after some reassurance that at the age of 14 its time to call it a day. (he’s 14 not me…I’m old!) : (

 

[HannaST]

It seems like you've done all the right things so far, yet it's still not going your way. Question is, will you ever trust him enough to confidently do what you want to do? After what's happened? XC can be dangerous and at some point, I think you have to realise he might not ever go round Badminton. So, will you be happy pottering around like you've been doing so far, maybe coming a bit further but maybe not? If not, it is worth considering selling and getting another one. Don't feel bad for him - he doesn't have any ambitions and will probably be happier if he's not being pushed too far, and you could be happier with a horse that is more naturally suited to your ambitions. But if you really love this horse - maybe you want to stick with him. It's a gut feeling thing - what would you have liked everyone to recommend?

One thing though - have you had his sight checked? Maybe that's why he is being confused... I'm sure there are other things that can be checked (X-rays, bute trials etc) but in my opinion it depends on how much you want to invest in an uncertain possibility of solving the problem...

 

[stilltrying]

It seems like you've done all the right things so far, yet it's still not going your way. Question is, will you ever trust him enough to confidently do what you want to do? After what's happened? XC can be dangerous and at some point, I think you have to realise he might not ever go round Badminton. So, will you be happy pottering around like you've been doing so far, maybe coming a bit further but maybe not? If not, it is worth considering selling and getting another one. Don't feel bad for him - he doesn't have any ambitions and will probably be happier if he's not being pushed too far, and you could be happier with a horse that is more naturally suited to your ambitions. But if you really love this horse - maybe you want to stick with him. It's a gut feeling thing - what would you have liked everyone to recommend?

One thing though - have you had his sight checked? Maybe that's why he is being confused... I'm sure there are other things that can be checked (X-rays, bute trials etc) but in my opinion it depends on how much you want to invest in an uncertain possibility of solving the problem...

Thank you : ) In short, i dont think i could ever sell him. I've had him 10 yrs and he was rescued by his previous owner, was in an emaciated condition apparently. Id love to have another horse and keep him but being at livery thats not an option. Although I do have an 'interest' in another younger horse, but that has sadly had all sorts of issues (there is lots of info on Teddy in the vet section!) but if he comes good then i'll have another ride.

I think its more a case of, he's a capable horse that looks the part, and I have come under a bit of pressure to do things with him (joys of being at livery!) So yeah, its more a case of reassurance that its not just about manning up and kicking on, its about staying safe too. He's had all manner of x-rays, bute trials, but his eyesight was never questioned.

 

[Batgirl]

I am not quite sure why him hitting the fence would change your opinion on having lessons. It sounds like a confidence issue all round to me, an instructor is the ideal person to get you both through it, IMO you could end up in a downward cycle of not trusting each other.

If it were me I would (and have) book lessons and see what happens.

So sorry it is not all rainbows, I genuinely feel your pain!

 

[stilltrying]

I am not quite sure why him hitting the fence would change your opinion on having lessons. It sounds like a confidence issue all round to me, an instructor is the ideal person to get you both through it, IMO you could end up in a downward cycle of not trusting each other.

If it were me I would (and have) book lessons and see what happens.

So sorry it is not all rainbows, I genuinely feel your pain!

Oh I'm not saying lessons wouldn't be worthwhile, its more a case of, actually i think his way of refusing is dangerous, which is making me not want to pursue it by having lessons, if that makes sense.

 

[HannaST]

Thank you : ) In short, i dont think i could ever sell him. I've had him 10 yrs and he was rescued by his previous owner, was in an emaciated condition apparently. Id love to have another horse and keep him but being at livery thats not an option. Although I do have an 'interest' in another younger horse, but that has sadly had all sorts of issues (there is lots of info on Teddy in the vet section!) but if he comes good then i'll have another ride.

I think its more a case of, he's a capable horse that looks the part, and I have come under a bit of pressure to do things with him (joys of being at livery!) So yeah, its more a case of reassurance that its not just about manning up and kicking on, its about staying safe too. He's had all manner of x-rays, bute trials, but his eyesight was never questioned.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with "not manning up"! The people who put pressure on you might think you need it, but we ride horses to enjoy it, not to worry. If you want to spend the rest of his life hacking out on 20 minute hacks and lunging him, do it! As I said before - the horse has no ambition! To be honest, most horses have unused capabilities - give any horse to an olympic rider and they would get them further than we do, so it's all on a sliding scale anyway. Yes the horse might be "wasted with you", but so what? It's not like you didn't give him a good chance.

If you are happy with not doing BE etc, I would have more lessons, go to camps, just chill, and maybe, in a year or two, feel like you want to try again. Check out alternative routes, supplements, eyesight. But just don't put pressure on yourself to perform - you are not letting the horse down by not taking him competing, he doesn't know what he's missing anyway Maybe put the word out that you'd be interested in riding a potential eventer, and you never know, an owner might come along who needs a rider just like you.

 

[HannaST]

Oh I'm not saying lessons wouldn't be worthwhile, its more a case of, actually i think his way of refusing is dangerous, which is making me not want to pursue it by having lessons, if that makes sense.

If you feel it's too dangerous for you to enjoy it, don't feel like you have to. But if you do want to, maybe ask an experienced rider to take him round and see what they think - they are used to taking these risks!

 

[meesha]

I would have a lesson but with showjumps rather than solid obstacles but with the option to jump a few solids at the end if the instructor thought it a good idea after hearing what has been happening. You could (after explaining what has happened) ask if the instructor is willing to ride to see what he/she thinks. Ultimately though your safety has to come first and if after the lesson you feel unsure I would call it a day on xc, either that or try jumpcross (knock down fences ridden across xc ground) or hedge hopping (bit softer!)

 

[dixie]

I've read everything HannaST has written and totally agree with what's been said.

You've given him a nice long break, had a great time pottering around and started afresh. I can quite understand your concerns about him bottling it and it could have dangerous consequences if you are not both committed. Just because he looks the part doesn't mean he has the temperament to be the part, please don't feel pressured to do anything that concerns you. If you need your xc fix, is he happy schooling xc without the competition?

 

[stilltrying]

Thanks guys - feeling a bit better about it. : )

We did have a spell of lessons to try and work through this (over poles not fixed) and we'd do well until he got himself in a pickle with his legs, i'd see we were heading for a dodgy jump, freeze and he'd stop. So we stopped jump lessons and concentrated on flatwork. He's now much more balanced, and i'm less worried about a dodgy jump as his canter is 100 times better than it used to be, and it is no great effort for him to snap his front legs up if we get too close to a jump.

Yes he is happier schooling than at a comp. I'm a bit nervous at both but I think the atmosphere of a busy show just tips him over the edge.

I suppose i could try hunting him again - he was nappy as a baby so someone recommended hunting, took him 3 times and spent the next few years trying to slow him down!!

 

[HannaST]

If you're happy to stick to schooling - stick to schooling. Competing is too expensive, time-consuming and stressful to do it unless you love it!

 

[stilltrying]

If you're happy to stick to schooling - stick to schooling. Competing is too expensive, time-consuming and stressful to do it unless you love it!

This is true, I did enjoy eventing, albeit briefly, but i want my horse to enjoy it too. Clearly i'm too soft! : )

 

[Twiglet]

What's he like over poles, does he ever do the stop-fall-on-jump thing with them too? It does sound like a confidence thing.

Agree with the above poster who suggested having a lesson with poles and fixed in the same session and arena - it might be the sensory overload of warm ups/open spaces not helping his confidence.

Also, a cross country crash test dummy might be an idea - someone who'll be willing to have the battle a bit, and be able to stick on the dirty stops.

 

[khalswitz]

This as well. Some sj lessons, and even a jump cross lesson, would help pinpoint whether it is a confidence thing or not without the danger of solid fences.

 

[stilltrying]

Yes Twiglet he does this over poles too, although he hadnt done it for ages which is why i braved the comp yesterday. Obviously poles just fall down and he knuckles over them but yes we almost sat down. When it did happen in our lessons previously our instructor said it came from me freezing, which is why i tried so hard yest to be positive. Clearly not positive enough!