I've ruined my horse (could be lengthy..)

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Ahrena

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Last year I had a fantastic find and got a lovely one eyed 13 year old warmblood on loan . He was meant to be a riding club horse to have a few months of fun before I went to uni after my old pony was retired due to navicular and the other not having the brain to compete.

When I went to view him, his owner has quite novicey and had lost her confidence on him as he can get quite hot whenjumpinh. Spoke to her yard owner who had been competing him who said he was doing discovery and had done be. After digging and meeting his old old owner I discovered he had been a very successful show jupmer, winning a lot of fox hunter classes.

Anyway in time we affiliated eventing. I remembered my passion of the sport (had forgotten has hadn't done it for years) and I withdrew from uni, packed our bags and joined an eventing yard as a working pupil.

Over the winter I was consisttly jumping him 1.10m - 1.20m at home and competed in several NC over the winter successfully. The first job didn't really work out and in February I started at a new yard. I receive a lot more lessons here and until yesterday hadn't really jumped over 1m as was working on technique.

After 5 great runs pre-novice so far this season, with all clear xc and the last three d/c and getting placed (and beating my boss 3 times running) I entered my first novice. Boss was very very encouraging and confident we were ready, and considering he could of done the last 3 on the buckle with my eyes shut I was pretty confident and excited.

We were meant to go to west wilts but that cancelled. I had a lesson last weekend instead jumping in the jump paddock and I got a duff stride and he skidded and fell over. Boss got me back on and jumped a couple of courses and he seemed fine. Had his back lady out asap to check him. She treated him and then he needed a couple of days off. So only got to get back on him yesterday for nunney. Schooled for a while then put up some reasonably big fences to get my eye in.

I couldn't see a stride what so ever. I wanted to start jumping bigger a few weeks ago so i wouldn't clam up and ride poorly with nerves but have only been jumping in lessons lately (did mention it to my boss but never happened as he was working on my technique).

I kept missing and he actually put a stop in. Managed to pull myself together in the end and rode ok. Then today..thought the sj actually looked quite small and defo jumpable. Did an ok dressage, not fab but given he hadn't been ridden all week I was pleased. Then show jumping...well to cut a long story short I was riding ok. Getting decent strides. He stopped once warming up.

In the ring I ffroze a bit into fence one, got a bad stride and e stopped and I fell off. Got on and rode ok to the last where I had another duffer and he stopped again. Jumped it ok but retired before the xc.

I am devasted what I've done to him. He literally never ever ever stops, he jumps from any angle, any stride, any fence, absolutely regardless of anything. I've had him lock on to the 8 foot hedge round the outside of the school before when he was feeling very fresh (I obviously didn't let him jump it but you know), out hunting he's come through a pack of 7 horses all stopping at a hedge right in front of him and jumped it. He NEVER stops.

So 4 stops in 2 days is devastating. I've never had a decent horse before that I could do what I really love and now I've ruined him because I'm such an awful rider. I'm entered for stonar and nut well court novices but will obviously withdraw.

Sorry for the woe be me post just needed a rant really as I'm so upset what i've done to him.
 
Firstly, I doubt very much you have ruined him! Sounds to me like you have both and a confidence knock. How about taking things down to well within comfort levels, make it easy and work back up?
 
I think my sister could have written this post... She had an awful round where the warm up went wrong and Reg wobbled and then it went a bit dead in the ring and he stopped 3 times (he never stops) and scared himself doing so.

You haven't ruined him. You didn't beat him round, you didn't underprepare either of you or anything like that. You had an unfortunate run up and need your confidence back, as does he. Drop down a level and have some fun and that store of confidence you've built up over the past year will benefit you both and you'll refind your mojo.

Don't panic!
 
Thanks guys. A good cry and half a packet of biscuits later I feel a bit better already.

Just so scared he won't come back as honest and genuine as he was. I've had such an awful time with horses before I got him, 1 pony that completely packed in jumping (was eventually diagnosed with navicular so that may of been bothering her for a while before she went lame) and 1 pony who turned out to have an awful mistreated background and back problems so just napped and reared constantly until she was reschooled with NH ways but still will never compete...so I'm so scared that maybe I'm just an awful rider and should basically be shot.

As stonar is quite soon I'm wondering if I should just completely withdraw or perhaps see if they can put me in the be90 just for a really easy peasy run then back to pre-novice for a while. But I don't want to look like a pot hunter...
 
Stuff what other people think and do what you think is best for your horse and you :D A run at BE90 (if there's an open section, maybe slot into that though?) could do you both the world of good.
 
Dont worry, these things happen, and I am sure you havent ruined him. You really should talk to my daughter, she has had a few confidence knocks at Novice and every time she will go back down to BE100 open or BE100 plus (horse has BE points), have a blast and then move back up again. Honestly, if more people did that, the sport would be much safer.

I dont for one minute people will think you are pot hunting. In fact, people wont even think anything of it. Have some more nice confidence building runs, enjoy it - its meant to be enjoyed and then move back up when it just feels too dam easy.

This advice was given to me by some wise HHOers when my daughter had some right old knocks one way or another. Sometimes the route up the levels is easy, sometimes it hard, its getting there (wherever 'there' is for you - we are all different), safely, securely and having had a lot of fun that really matters.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Dont worry, these things happen, and I am sure you havent ruined him. You really should talk to my daughter, she has had a few confidence knocks at Novice and every time she will go back down to BE100 open or BE100 plus (horse has BE points), have a blast and then move back up again. Honestly, if more people did that, the sport would be much safer.

I dont for one minute people will think you are pot hunting. In fact, people wont even think anything of it. Have some more nice confidence building runs, enjoy it - its meant to be enjoyed and then move back up when it just feels too dam easy.

This advice was given to me by some wise HHOers when my daughter had some right old knocks one way or another. Sometimes the route up the levels is easy, sometimes it hard, its getting there (wherever 'there' is for you - we are all different), safely, securely and having had a lot of fun that really matters.
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Nicely said :) How's Bonnie getting on now?

FWIW, I always say "No one matters" in time to my canter because they don't. I think Baydale (or Dr. Seuss!) said "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind", and it's so true. The people who would make judgements just do not matter- all that matters is you feeling confident and happy together :)
 
One bit of advice from someone who's been there - if you suddenly couldn't see a stride/found it difficult/his jump felt different, it might not be you, there might be something physical. Every time something has gone wrong jumping for me, there has been something wrong with the horse.

Of course sometimes it's a nerves thing, sometimes it's a confidence thing, but generally if you've done the prep and something goes wrong, it's worth looking beyond a confidence knock if it continues.

I didn't, I listened to 2 vets who said it was my riding, it wasn't, but it took a long time to sort myself out after that.
 
^^^ ditto this. i had an amazing horse once, he would have jumped a house for me from anywhere and sailed round everything from baby stuff up to and incl 2* in spite of my duff strides, slightly clueless 'point and shoot' attitude etc etc. Then he suddenly felt different... and eventually stopped at something. HE was different. it was the start of his physical problems. Suddenly he didn't feel good enough to be able to use himself to get us out of jail if necessary...
Tr0uble's advice is v good, as is SC's.
Give him a few days off. sit on something else if you can, even if it's only over a x pole. get him checked again, slipping over can pull back muscles and all sorts.
then, when you are 100% sure he feels good, and his canter feels truly fantastic (and not before), have a play over a few things. see how he feels. if he's changing legs in front before a fence, suspect front leg trouble (been there).
good luck, and STOP beating yourself up!
 
Thank you very much guys. I really appreciate the support.

They couldn't put me in the 90 at stonar so am currently in the be100. If he doesn't feel right by then I will withdraw though.

Food for thought about the physical thing. He does have very mild arthritis in his hocks (I only know because he was vetted before I actually bought him [forgot to mention that] and as he has a thorough pin we had his hocksx-rayed) but he has never had a day lame or stiff even after events ect and is on a joint supplement so if he remains unhappy I will certainly get it completely checked again. At the time it was SO mild he has't received treatment as vet was positive he wasn't uncomfortable so plenty of routes to explore if it turns out that that has progressed.

At the moment I'm very inclined to put the seeing strides down to me as I'm not a great stride seer especially when I'm nervous and both yesterday and today I've been as nervous as I've ever been..but if it remains a problem I will certainly have it checked out.

He felt the same as usual in all other respects, at the moment genuinely feel it's a confidence thing as he was trying to fix my awful stride when he fell. Plus today (only just realised) was the first time he jumped on grass since he fell and both fences were goinng downhill as was the fence he fell at. Having said that, we did carry on jumping (I was in a lesson) afterwards a bit to not end on a bad note...

Once again thanks, if it continues I will give him a full MOT as he is far too special to risk.
 
Okay, if it was first time on grass since fall etc then I suspect I know what caused the problems this time... loss of confidence (him or you or both) = shorter, maybe hesistant canter, and if i can have a tiny moment with pointy boots on here... (and speaking from bitter experience as someone who used to get SO hung up on 'seeing a stride')... don't look for one, and don't get hung up on it. Let that idea go.
Enough top trainers discard the whole 'seeing a stride lark'... IF the canter is good enough, there IS a stride there, always. From a good canter, a bit off, or spot on, or a bit deep, all feel fine. And a good powerful forward balanced canter IS adjustable, so you'll be able to alter it a bit if you feel you need to, and it'll be on feel more than looking for the stride, I bet you.
sorry, just had to get that out of my system! Just concentrate on the canter FEELING great and then come to the fence in that rhythm. It really really is that easy.
 
kerilli said:
^^^ ditto this. i had an amazing horse once, he would have jumped a house for me from anywhere and sailed round everything from baby stuff up to and incl 2* in spite of my duff strides, slightly clueless 'point and shoot' attitude etc etc. Then he suddenly felt different... and eventually stopped at something. HE was different. it was the start of his physical problems. Suddenly he didn't feel good enough to be able to use himself to get us out of jail if necessary...
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This is exactly what happened with Murphy. Within a month we went from getting placed at BE intermediate to retiring XC at Novice after 2 stops at the 5th fence which was shared with the BE100 :o! Turned out he had DJD in his hocks.

I also had this to an extent with Millie, she went from making 1* feel ridiculously easy to feeling like she was struggling at Novice. She never stopped, she really was the most incredible horse, but it did turn out she had damaged her sacro-iliac.

Both horses came right with a bit of vet help, although Millie is now having foals and Murphy has dropped down a level with a new jockey.

Back to the OP, sounds like a loss of confidence with both horse and rider. If when you drop back a level you still have problems it may be worth getting a vet to have a look, just to rule out any vet issues. If all goes well, just take your time. It is very easy when working with/for a pro to get swept along with them telling you your ready to move up. I think they tend to forget when both horse and rider are nex to the level it is alot more daunting (been there got that t-shirt :rolleyes:!)
 
Very good point.

The canter really came together in my last few Pre novices, I really focused on the rhythm and it was all so easy, nice and forwards but not too much ect. And I definitely (in hindsight) did not get that today, neither in the warm up or in the ring. The warm up wasn't great - small area on top of a steep hill and I was so obsessed with strides I didn't focus enough on it.

I feel so wretched and awful about it. I so hope he regains his trust in me :(

eta: I think based on our results p.n. we were ready BUT usually when moving up a level in whatever sphere, I would be working at that level at home for a while until we were well established there which I thi k i neglected. I mean I did say to my boss that I wanted to get jumping bigger so I wouldn't panic on the day but it just never happened, I should of been more proactive
 
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don't forget, unlike you he won't be worrying about it, analysing it etc! next time you jump him, just get that good canter, then jump a few fences. easy. that'll overlay the slightly dodgy experience, he'll go 'oh great, mum's back to normal, this is easy' and you'll be fine. then do the same but a bit bigger.
the canter is EVERYTHING. it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that that's what you didn't get today. now, stop worriting about it and think about something else! ;) ;)
 
If you were at Nunney then I thought the SJ was not big but asked a few questions with undulations. The xc was a bold PN. Personally if you I would be inclined to get hocks checked and possibly injected to ease your mind do if you have any further problems you can rule out that side of it before working on his and your confidence.
 
To be honest,, I'm going to get him fully checked out at the vet. My mum agrees, it is so unlike him to stop and I think it's worth ruling out pain first, then we can take it from there.

I have ridden a lot worse over bigger fences in the past and he hasn't thought twice about it, he hasn't been known tomstop in 4 years. It could be a confidence thing but if I rule out pain then I will be more confident to ride him better as well. Plus I owe it to him to make sure he's comfortable.

Just like to say I'm really pleased with the support and constructive advice I've had on this thread :)
 
kerilli said:
^^^ ditto this. i had an amazing horse once, he would have jumped a house for me from anywhere and sailed round everything from baby stuff up to and incl 2* in spite of my duff strides, slightly clueless 'point and shoot' attitude etc etc. Then he suddenly felt different... and eventually stopped at something. HE was different. it was the start of his physical problems. Suddenly he didn't feel good enough to be able to use himself to get us out of jail if necessary...
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Exactly this happened to me too.

I think from experience, best get him completely checked out and back off the heights at home. Get that canter going, just tick around some really small stuff, practice not touching him at all in front of the fence, let him get a bit messy and survive. Just sit still and supporting with your body and legs.

You are both going to need to get your confidence in each other back, and until it is all right as rain at home, I wouldn't go out :)

I only ever jumped with my coach around, and when I started having troubles I found that I was relying too much on him yelling at me what to do coming into a fence. So I set up some jumps at home and just taught myself not to panick when I didn't feel a stride. As Kerilli said, if you have a good strong canter they can jump from practically anywhere. My worst habit is grabbing them and killing the canter, this is why I was actually better on the XC course when I was having problems that when I was SJ, even though that was our strongest phase by far.

So maybe go for a hoon around some smaller XC stuff and just both enjoy it again :)
 
The horse skidded and fell over a week ago. Regardless of what your"back person" says, when three quaters of a tonne of horse skids and falls he gets hurt ,even if they cant find it.His problems as I understand it, start from then. I so agree with what kerrilli says about the whole business of seeing a stride. But if he goes to engage his quaters and jump and suddenly it hurts. He will chuck the towell in. Speaking from experience ,strained ligaments hurt like hell, much worse than a fracture. I think that there is a separate issue that you have had a knock to your confidence too.Do you get the chance to school and jump any other horses. The problem with jumping one horse only ,is that you get into the habit of riding for what you expect rather than riding what is in front of you(hope that made some sort of sense). I am sure you havnt ruined your horse but I think you might have to rest him a bit and bring him back into work slowly (a bit of a ++++++ right in the middle of the season I know)
 
She did find soreness, she said it was surprisingly minimal But he did need treatment and had 2 days off following it. However I am going to get him fully checked out. If he needs time off or moving right back down I don't care, I just want him right.

I do ride lots of other horses at work, I don't often jump them but the grooms who don't have their own at the yard have jumping lessons on others, so if I ask I'm sure my boss will help me out.
 
Definitely not your fault, definitely is a horse in pain.. As above.. hope you get it sorted
You say you had him checked out/treated but not all therapists can find/locate pain that well.
 
Havent had time to read all posts in depth but I was in a position where my horse, who was known for jumping fantastically off any stride just started stopping- got to the point where she would stop at a ground pole , I took her out to a show as my friend was going and entered a class and I got eliminated at the first fence.. twice :o

Basically I'd lost my nerve in jumping, not for any reason- but my horse could pick up on it and I was trying to get the stride perfect because I was scared she would refuse at speed or topple over! Just got a bit wimpy jumping whereas I'd always been a daredevil before :p just got in to a vicous cycle. I just had to practise getting my horses nerve back along with mine as she stopped locking on to any fence because she probably didn't expect to jump it! It only took 2 weeks until she was jumping round a 2 foot course without hesitation- just had to get her to lock on again and me stop holding her back too much which is a lot easier said than done.

It was all reversible in a short space of time and I was convinced I'd ruined her and she'd never jump again! but she went out and won her 1m classes a month later :)- which isn't too small for a 14.2hh! (although I've got used to calling her a horse instead of a pony after buying a bigger one haha) Oh and she wasnt in pain so it is not always pain. I also found sticking a body protector on gave me more confidence to jump
 
The vet is booked to come take some blood tests and give him a go over. If there's anything suspicious then he will go for x-rays/scans. The more I think about it, I think it is definitely pain.

I mean...in one memorable jumping lesson I had to jump 1.10m planks without a ground line in trot with a loose rein and absolutely no leg, just to encourage him to think for himself and he never even hesitated.

Either way if we can rule pain out, we can take it from there. I do have 100% faith in my back lady, she managed to fix my broken pony when everyone else said she was fine but it could be somethinng unrelated to muscles or she could of missed something, everyone is human
 
I understand exactly how you are feeling. Completely different level, but when my George started to refuse I put it all down to me being a muppet and was heart broken that I'd ruined him.

It was his feet.

Second time, I thought I was riding like an idiot, and we fell. Arthritis in his fetlock.

We're so often drilled to think rider error before anything, we forget to be objective and assess the situation analytically. I think a full work up is the right way forward, maybe something as simple as he has changed shape and saddle pinching?

Good luck and let us know how you go

GI
 
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