Horse only now refusing jumps?

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noradavies

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Hi guys,

Yesterday my mare starting refusing jumps with me for the first time since I bought her in October. Did a showjumping round of 60cm today and in the warmup again she was again running out. Did everything I could think of to get her over them, kept my leg on, contact, talking to her and even a tap of the crop but to not much avail at first. Eventually with all of that together she went over the jump but honestly, it’s really strange how all of a sudden she just does not want to go over the jump. Her teeth definitely need to be done and are getting floated next week hopefully, and during the week I will get someone down to fit her saddle. I am pretty sure the teeth could be the problem but also maybe she could just be fed up of jumping? I’ve jumped her three days this week and have heard sometimes some horses can get bored of jumping and will just constantly refuse until they have had a few weeks off jumping and performing much better after?

Would like to hear of anything else that could be a problem anyway x
 
ycbm said:
If this behaviour is new i would get a trainer to assess whether it's you, and if not then have a vet take a look for issues like arthritis in the back legs. How old is the horse and what's her history? Was she vetted when you bought her?
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Hi, she is a 11 year old thoroughbred and has had a stage 5 vetting when we bought her which she passed with flying colours :)
 
ycbm said:
That's good. Trainer first, then, followed by vet if trainer says it's not you. When I was young I could make the most reliable horse run out ?‍♀️
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Yeah definitely some of it is me, I tend to lose my leg contact just before the jump and I guess now she is taking advantage of that! But just to be doubley sure the teeth are definitely getting done regardless and will get saddle fitted :))
 
I’m sorry you’re having these issues. I think you may well be along the right lines when you say she might be fed up - personally my max for jumping is five times a month including shows, usually it ends up around three a month. Perhaps give her a month off jumping and see how she goes? Do you flat school her much?
Teeth and saddler are good calls - I’d also suggest getting your instructor or a more experienced rider to have a sit on her and tell you what they think. After that I’d go for the vet - they might suggest physio/chiro but at least you know you haven’t missed anything.
 
Hi, I share the horse with my sister and have mentioned to her today about giving her a break from jumping for a few weeks and instead hacking and just working on her flatwork in between. I’m not much of a fan of flatwork so I wouldn’t flat her that often, my sister normally does! But yes I will defo flat her and I hack often anyways :)
 
noradavies said:
Hi, I share the horse with my sister and have mentioned to her today about giving her a break from jumping for a few weeks and instead hacking and just working on her flatwork in between. I’m not much of a fan of flatwork so I wouldn’t flat her that often, my sister normally does! But yes I will defo flat her and I hack often anyways :)
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Schooling is really useful for getting to know and manage a horse. Perhaps I’m too much of a dressage diva but I don’t think I could compete a horse just off hacking and jump schooling! Have you had dressage lessons on your horse? I think a lot of people dislike flatwork because they get stuck doing the same things that they find boring - if you can increase your flatwork knowledge then suddenly it’s a lot easier and more interesting. 101 schooling exercises is a good book. Schooling will get her off your aids, get her better balanced and give her more power to jump with.
 
Goldenstar said:
Teeth ( by a vet with dental experience) saddle get the trainer to ride however I think the most likely thing is you have a soundness issue brewing with is rearing it head because you jumper more often than usual .
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she’s never reared on me and has only bucked a few times and she is sound as a bell, but yes I think the break will do her well because I’m pretty sure she’s just a bit fed up of it to be honest! ?
 
Also when we got her she was a bit fat from not being worked often and since October she has lost the extra weight but is maintaining an average weight at the moment. The girth we used for her 2 months ago is looser now so getting her a new one tomorrow!
 
Horses with bad teeth dont stop jumping if they are honest ,they just become more difficult to ride . And unless you are an absolute heffalump (which I seriously doubt ) the same applies to saddles, At a guess you are jumping 80 cm or thereabouts . You need a good trainer .
 
Bob notacob said:
Horses with bad teeth dont stop jumping if they are honest ,they just become more difficult to ride . And unless you are an absolute heffalump (which I seriously doubt ) the same applies to saddles, At a guess you are jumping 80 cm or thereabouts . You need a good trainer .
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I’m having a few lessons in the new year with a trainer x and I am jumping probably 80cm
 
She does sound like she might be school sour - she needs some variety and a break. Might you have the opportunity to give her a couple of weeks off over Christmas?
 
If she’s lost a bit of weight and potentially muscled up the saddler would be my first port of call. My instructor is a very experienced horsewoman but I wouldn’t have her fit my saddle, you need a qualified saddle fitter. Then I’d do teeth and physio as she may be sore from a potentially ill fitting saddle.

agree with others re not jumping so much. A jumping round is just flatwork with jumps. You need a horse that is supple, can lengthen and collect strides and is straight to jump a nice round and that comes from flatwork. Practice going over poles on the ground and aim for the centre of every pole. Do lots of leg yielding, whenever your horse starts to drift out of their shoulder (like they would to run out of a jump) leg yield them back to being straight. I think you’d notice a big difference from a few flat lessons.
 
ycbm said:
Most decent trainers are probably perfectly capable of fitting a saddle to an average horse and sadly too many professional saddlers are not. I think all owners should learn the principles, they aren't difficult. The number of tilted back, tilted forwards or too long saddles you are around is shocking.
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Ye her saddle fit perfectly two months ago but since then she has lost the extra fat and is starting to build up muscle
 
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