How to introduce a young horse to cross country

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

I've taken hovis once before to the local XC to have a look around, a play in the water and we popped over a log (a tiny one!!).
Now the yard is talking of going again which will be fun and i'd like to try a little bit more with him.
But how do I teach him to XC? He jumps show jumps but I have a real fear of him not respecting XC jumps enough. He "knows" if he hits a showjump they fall off but obviously thats not going to happen with a XC jump. So how do I get him to respect them so he doesn't hurt himself?

 

[stencilface]

I taught my very green, but honest horse to xc by going round a UK chasers courses with a 'nanny' for him. Turned out the nanny went over some of the fences following me as he didn't like some of them!!! Needed the nanny to help us do the 'scary' things like getting our feet wet though. I think schooling with a friend, or a pairs xc is a good way, as the pressure is off and the horse can learn from a friend.

I wouldn't worry about him knowing the fences are solid, I am sure he is aware that logs are hard!! He may catch himself a couple of times but if he is careful enough he should learn that they don't move, so he needs to!

I think as they know that showjumps fall they hit them more (esp if they have bigs legs!!) My sisters horse used to get crickets scores in sj sometimes, but has rarely hit an xc fence - I think they realise when they can't take the pee soo much!!

 

[Kenzo]

Establishing the basics of jumping anything is obviously very important for your both you and your horses safety, you dont want any nasty experiences to spoil your young horse however, as long as you keep things simple, build your horses confidence up slowly and stick to small inviting fences at a slower pace (even trotting and just bobbing over)nurse him round then I'm sure you will be fine and not have too much to worry about.

You may even find that XC schooling will help with your horses SJ providing you know what you are doing or wanting to acheive.

Just remember...dont get too carried away with what everyone else is doing, you need your horse to concentrate and be in tune with you, sometimes if can benefit them more going on there own, but that depends on the individual horse.

Just take it easy and let your horse enjoy his little play about and keep safe.

 

[saskia295]

I'll keep an eye on this post too as I am in the same boat with my young chap.

 

[Horsemad12]

I have been schooling 4 times now.

The first time EVERYTHING was scary and we just could not work out steps and ditches.

Last weekend we had our 4th session and from the very beginning she was keen and knew what she was doing. I planned to keep things small but ended jumping most of the intro course. Was still a problem with ditches though!

My next step to to do a small HT and see how she coped with the atmosphere. I am going to just do the mini course so it is well within her comfort zone.

Hope yours progresses well and interested in how peoples youngsters coped with the first full round?

 

[ladyt25]

Is he a spooky horse generally? I would really just say just go fro it, don't think about it. Follow another 'nanny' horse if you feel better like that but I would also suggest rather than just jumping one fence and moving on to the next fence, try to put a few together that way you are looking for your next fence so won't be as inclined to think too much about just one on its own (if you get what I mean). If he jumps normally no trouble then you may just find he is no different, ride positively and don't worry if he stops/skows to 'have a look', i assume they will just eb small fences so just kick on - yes you may get a funny hop/jump/leap over but he'll soon grasp it.

Some horses just don't see xc as a big deal at all, others think everything's a lion in disguise. When i first x-countried mine (he was 4 and had only showjumped) we were not exactly elegant. In fact my first comp the comentator was about to say I'd refused at the 3rd fence (or something) until my horse proceeded to climb over it (it was a tyre fence)!

Basically, be confident, see it as fun and I'm sure you'll have a good time. Oh, and he'll soon realise it's better NOT to tap his feet/legs on the fences!

 

[josephinebutter2]

I haven't jumped my younster under saddle yet, just starting on the lunge at the mo, but took her to a local XC course just for a hack the other day and took her through the stream and up the steps and played at herding the sheep

Just make sure you keep it simple and fun and he should work it out for himself.

Don't worry about doing anything tricky or with related distances on your first time out as you want him to learn to enjoy it. Pick nice inviting fences with good clear ground lines so it is easy for him to work out, then build it up slowly from there.

Also good to have another horse with you which is good xc to give you a lead if you need it the first few times out.

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