Jack's 1st xc schooling for 2 years & post broken leg!!! **video**

Chloe_GHE

Chloe_GHE

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Well today I bit the bullet and took Jack to pop some xc fences. I sort of bullied myself into doing it by entering us into a xc clinic in feb!! Oooops!
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I have popped the odd sj on Jack but never anything rustic out in the open so it was a case of 'let's suck it and see' to make it even more exciting the xc fences on the farm run adjacent to a grassy gallops where his previous owners used to gallop him for his p2p training!
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I popped on my BP just incase!

He was very fizzy, pogoing, crabbing, shaking his head, and trying to choke me on his ears but he did settle remarkably well, and in the end he was very balanced, soft and lovely and we had gelled. I'm so shocked by how responsive he is to your seat I was poppping some blue barrels and just waited and he waited then popped then I saw 3 long ones and pushed and he went, he is so in tune with the riders seat it's lovely to sit on
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He is very keen on tail shaking and so we got alot of 'turbo tail' it seems I might have an akal teke after all!
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He walked out all happy, positive and long strided on the way home and I am just so pleased with how much he is morphing into a lovely little horse
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So here's the vid Jumping Jack Fry! please excuse the initial defensive riding and the odd dodgy jump but how do you think we look at the end?.....do you like him?.... Oh and all the wonky movement, crabbing, head tossing, and 'turbo tail' don't worry it's not back/teeth/saddle etc pain induced it's just 11 years of baggage we have to work through trust me I have had EVERYTHING checked and he is A1 in body it's just his brain which is a bit ga ga!!!
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Ginger nuts and (you've guessed it!) choc frijj for all video voyeurs
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I think that the frijj would probably curdle with the rather nice Sauv Blanc that I have so I'll pass thanks
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I think he's got it all there, he just needs to settle a bit. A couple of observations: (and ignore me if you'd thought of all of them or I'm talking rubbish!) from the other side of the fence.

Barring what you've done with him he's probably never jumped from a trot before. Try learning to settle his head in canter first. Give him a nice long canter (not necessarily fast) and try settling him so that his head is still. Depending on the horse - and they're all different - this can take some skill. I rode our yard's renowned bucker for the first time today and he wanted to canter with his head slightly too low for my liking (knowing his propensity for chucking his back legs in the air and his jockeys into orbit!). However when I tried to raise his head an inch or two he got horribly offended and put his ears in my face. On the third trip up I found a head position that suited both him and me and made me feel slightly safer, but it was done with inifinite subtlety.

Once he's cantering happily and smoothly like this add a fence in - something like your barrels would be perfect. Pretend you're a jockey and just stay forwards and light in the saddle, leave your hands low and go on whatever stride he offers, without fiddling (not that you do!). Get him confident jumping like this, ie. what he's used to, before trying to make him too eventerish in his style.

Ignore me if you like but having ridden and jumped a lot of NH horses and PTPers I always find in the early days that it's easier to take the game to them - ride them in the style to which they are accustomed before gradually winning them over to the way of going that you want from them for their eventing career.

Good luck, and sorry for so much (possibly ignorable) advice!
 
well sorry i wouldnt want to jump him! looks tight in his back and his head and neck? i would work him on flat long and low lots of suppling and bending and get him to use his back and his brain!! establish a rythym and shape and brakes and do lots and lots of grids! well you did ask for opinions! nice and clean though and nice facilities!
 
Thanks GB don't worry I'm open to feedback the more the better.

Before we started popping anything I did canter him 4 times up and down that stretch of grass to get him to settle but he just shoved his ears in my face, even when I said here have all the rein he was so excited about being out and about he just sort of stiffly bounced abit faster. He only really settled by the end when he sort of opened up his back and let me ride him.

He is deffo much better in the canter I agree but I was being a bit cautious staying in trot at first coz I wasn't quite sure what apres fence explosion we might have!!!!

His past is a little hazy so it's tricky to know how to appproach stuff the last owners were RC types then before that p2p then before that apparently he did some RC stuff again and before that raced and then we got him as a result of his broken leg, it's tricky to know what he knows if yoou see what I mean?...

I will get out cantering aiming to settle him in a straight line he does have a tendancy to tilt his head and/or neck so any tips on sorting that?...

I think after a bit more work canttering on hacks so he realises it's not a race he will chill and become more rideable so I can actually have an affect. Sometimes he feels like he's in stiff pogo mode and his back has shhrunk 2feet!!!!

Thanks for the tips will keep them in mind for next time
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well sorry i wouldnt want to jump him! looks tight in his back and his head and neck? i would work him on flat long and low lots of suppling and bending and get him to use his back and his brain!! establish a rythym and shape and brakes and do lots and lots of grids! well you did ask for opinions! nice and clean though and nice facilities!

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I know, I know it looks like that but honestly he's not got an inch of tight muscle on his body he has been given the once over by our vet, and has regular physio and she said he is in peak condition, he also has very expensive custom shoes and the best farrier in the soouth who analyses every inch of his foot and sees him walked and trotted up on every shoeing.

I know it looks that way because it does 'look' that way but if you knew him like my vet physio and farrier then you would know it's all pstychological, which is proven when you see him float round the field. On the advise of my vet and physio they both said he is a complex little cookie who needs to go out jumping and cantering so that he forgets himself, They said he has had so much pain and bad treatment that he has just gone into self preservation mode and to get him out of these protection habits such as fixing his neck, and back he needs to go out canter jump and have fun so that he starts to go well without realising he has forgotten his habits, do you see what I mean?....

I would never jump a horse who is not comfortable or capable

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Well done Chloe!
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He's obviously not making it easy for you but it was clear that at the end of the session he was becoming much softer and more rythmic.

I'd echo GB's comments (very sound advice
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) and would just add that I'd like to see you put a neck strap on. Having ridden quite a few young and unpredictable horses
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, I find it really useful to tuck a couple of fingers under the neckstrap to keep me more secure in the saddle, and to make sure I don't inadvertently catch them in the mouth, so compounding an already difficult horse.

Good progress so far though!
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Thank you
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Yeah he isn't the easiest but he's not nasty so I feel pretty comfortable on him knowing he's not the malicious type just quirky. Neckstrap do you know I had exactly the same thought as you just after the first jump!!!!
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I will dig out an old leather for next time, I was thinking about popping a running martingale on and using that as a neck strap too but I think a martingale will probubly irritate him more than help so I'll brave it with just the neckstrap.

Lots of cantering for me then! I'm not complaining!!!
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If it was my horse I would have a running martingale added. A lot of racers all do their training in these. I think it will help you with your hands and keep him softer.

I quite like him and agree with GB that you have to let him make his own mistakes as at the moment you are dictating everything.
 
is a RM common practise then racing? I thought maybe the leverage and inability to fling his head about might p*ss him off and make his backing up worse. I guess I can give it a go....

Thank you I think he's gonna be quite special, but will stop nannying him and let him mess up on his own (I have a horrdi habit of always wanting to get it right every time, but you only learn through mistakes after all)
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No advice except that what you have already been given sounds sensible but just wanted to say that I really like him - once he started to settle it looked like you were both starting to really enjoy yourselves
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Really looking forward to watching you both progress over then next year.
 
When they are racing they tend not to have them but in my experience a lot wear them in training. I guess in racing its another bit of tack to go wrong.
 
Thank you

Yeah he was a dream at the end and so nice to just hack back home on the buckle and have him all content and worked just swinging along
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I will keep you updated with our progress hopefully by the end of the season he will be unrecognisable as the horse in the start of this video!
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I think there was a huge amount of progress through that video, you are obviously doing a fab job with him!!!! I don't know much about retraining racehorses but Gamebirds comments make sense when i read them and then re-watch your clip so i'm sure that will give you loads to work on.

Really like him though!!!!! Have to say if he was mine i think i'd have a running martingale on him too but obviously up to you as you know him.

Loads of luck with him
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Are you sure Jack's name isn't really Chance? I that you don't live in Australia? Because I swear he is the spitting image (in looks and action) of my friends TB that I hack for her as she is too scared!

He looks very happy! And the change from the beggining to end of the video is impressive!
PS very jealous of your XC facilities.
 
Not as far as I know, but next time he whickers I'll listen out to see if he has an ozzie accent!

we can do a swap if you like you come here to muddy damp wiltshire and Ill jet off to sunny Oz, deal?....
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Lovely looking boy
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I would suggest against the running martingale as I think your right and it will just irritate against him and cause him to fight against you-I suspect once he has settled down about the pogoing etc will naturally fade out, though I would agree on the neckstrap JIC!
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Another suggestion-and feel free to ignore me-but when doing your canter warm up rather than doing it on the straight, do it on a circle. IME I find a circle is a lot easier to settle a horse on than a straight line, you can circle them in/out, move them about a bit, open and close the stride and I just find it easier to get a nice stead canter and get the horse listening to me. But then that's just my opinion, feel free to ignore!
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Gorgeous boy though!
 
Hey Chloe, He looks like a dude to me (I have a black version
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Can I strongly suggest a neck strap or lec's suggestion of a running martingale. Then when you jump, one of two strides before place one hand on the strap and hopefully the other over the jump so you don't pull on his mouth in the air. I know your really trying not too, but seeing him look so sensitive when hes wild to begin with it might help settle him quicker.
Good luck

Oh forgot to add, I know it will feel like the stupidest/craziest thing to do but keep your leg on, only gently but it will help
 
He was at the same yard as my horses were when he came out of racing initially. Remember him starting his flat work and think he did some little fun rides. Always thought he was rather sweet. Feel free to pm if you want me to rack my brains about anything. Can't guarantee how good the memory is though. Small world hey.
 
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