Jumping a non jumping ex racehorse...

J

Jerroboam

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Hello,

I have acquired my 5th ex racehorse to reschool and (hopefully) to become my next hunter. He is a gem in all ways, beautiful paces and a really chilled out chap. He was a flat racer and has therefore never had any need to take his hooves off of the floor.

However, he will not jump upright. I have had him now since April (he had been out of racing with his previous owner and she had started reschooling before falling pregnant). He will jump up to a 95cm cross pole but he will only jump upto 50cm upright. He doesnt point blank refuse he just either clatters the whole lot down or runs out to the side. Now I have had people watch how I ride him towards an upright and apparently there is no difference here.

When we first started our jumping (roughly 6 weeks ago) we took it right back to basics, walking around the wings/poles etc and have tried not to rush anything as he is a rather sensetive chap.

We always start our schooling with 3 trotting poles and gradually to a small cross pole and then move slowly onto something a little bigger.

I am just not quite sure what to do next... loose school him? Does anyone have any suggestions?

He had back done 3 weeks ago/teeth 4 weeks ago/vetted in April etc, he's in great shape!

Thank you in advance.
 
We started off in the school (just seemed like the logical place to begin) but then when it wasnt working I tried to pop him over some logs in our fields, which he was frightened of but much happier (they were literally twigs... 45cm maybe!) On our next session I then tried to move on to a little palisade that we have, roughly 2ft and he did the same again. Thank you for replying!
 
I started one last year that was clueless to start with, I found that by doing a little every day for a few days in a row then leaving a few days before doing another few really helped the penny drop without cramming too much into any session. Putting a x pole then a small upright 2 canter strides away also helped as the jump in got him thinking forward so he could pop the upright off of a true stride.
Work on getting the canter better, he will probably find it easier out of canter, plenty of related distances will make things easier for him to keep coming forward also putting something solid under the poles or plenty of poles under the top one will help him pick up more.
 
If he finds an upright less inviting then could you try making it look more inviting by putting up a cross right in front of it and starting off the with the straight pole at the same height as the centre of the cross and then increasing it (will be a small spread but might still be more appetising)?
 
Yes, I think this would really help him. I am so glad that you have had one who is a little clueless. I am so fed up of people telling me "well he wont make a hunter if he wont jump... blah blah blah". He is such a well mannered gentle horse and I don't really want to get cross with him and frighten him. I think we need more impulsion and a cross pole leading into an upright sounds like it would work. I have been doing 15 mins every other day for about 10 days now and just when I think he has improved he slips back. Thank you so much for your sound advice.
 
It's only been six weeks give it time, he is prob unconfidant with it so make the smaller jumps easy and fun.

I agree with the cross pole infront it will help.
Our flat racer did 81 races and in the two years we have had him he is just starting to jump a meter, on him been doing it loose jumping for a while, with my sister. He still has his "oh my god I can't possibly jump that!!!!" moments in the lunge pen and out over the xc jumps but quiet calm persistence is the key.
We did lots of loose jumping before riding over jumps too so he could build up the muscles with carrying a rider.
 
This will prob sound really daft, but when I was reschooling my ex flat racer, she wasn't really clicking with the jumping, so I took her out to the school when someone else was jumping and let her watch. I swear I actually heard the penny drop, the look on her face " so thats what you do!!!".
She was much better after that.
 
Not daft at all! I was going to get my husband to start giving me a few leads to be honest! Maybe I will get him to watch my showjumper first.... :)
 
my exracer was a disaster who hated jumping. I stopped jumping him when ridden and started loose schooling over small, easy fences. i also loosed schooled him with a horse he likes that loves jumping, so he enjoyed following her into the fences. That seemed to get his confidence up about jumping. Also started doing small grids to get him thinking. Then took him cross country and the natural fences seemed to suit him. Now he's great over fences and enjoys it. I started very slow and steady though and kept to cross poles till he was more confident.
 
My boy took ages to get it but I always found he jumped solid things better. So I got 2 really small plastic barrels and put them under the pole. He jumped it much better and grew in confidence and now he'll jump a straight pole or mini spread fine.

You'll definitely get there, sometimes they just seem to need a bit of time to figure things out.
 
Hate to be the bearer of bad news...but my lad never overcame his clumsiness over poles. Make any spreads or cross poles you liked for him and he'd clear them [He'd take a novice over a 1m40 spread], but uprights, he'll knock them.

Granted, he has improved to what he was like originally...but that was after lord knows how many trips, falls and knocks and twice weekly lessons with an Olympic trainer. When we were in 'full work' [ie, lessons/schooling/extra lunging work building him up etc], then, it got to the point where we could do a 80-90cm course and have a slight chance of going clear, or mostly with just one or two down. However....he still not have any style whatsoever and just could not see the 'point' in show jumping. He knows the poles fall.
So. I took him XC.

Well, he's a different horse out over XC fences. Have put him over every kind of fence and he flies them. He's just a XC machine. Granted, it is 'risky' jumping him, as I am aware how careless he is with his legs, BUT, he only has to knock himself once over something solid if he momentarily 'forgets' to then snap out of it and remind himself to actually pick his feet up.

So, after spending 2 or so years trying and trying to get his jumping up to scratch,I've retired him from any showjumping as it's just banging his legs up too much and to no avail. Going through all that just to jump a 80cm course on him, just isn't worth it to me now. So, all we do is hack and hunt and XC :) He's happy as larry with that life! He jumps absolutely anything and loves it.

Only thing I did find hunting him, was, to not jump any 'gappy' hedges. Made that mistake, and we both hit the deck. Slight concussion and superficial scratches later, we now know NOT to attempt any hedges which aren't filled in properly again! [Though granted, we'd jumped the ones previously, but horse in front came in too slow, half stopped then jumped it, and our striding was screwed up and we just didn't have the ability to come out of it unscathed as we went through the 'gaps'.]. Just something to bear in mind!
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/390000_10150477804541753_2093492029_n.jpg

If you do decide to keep at it, like I did to start with...I always found putting 'V' poles up on the entre of the jump helped him pick his feet up more or tying flapping plastic bags on the poles, or just popping your jacket or jump on the top pole :) And freejumping him through more tricky gridwork, though not great if they're inclined at rushing, I'd have a line of bounces out for him with equally 'scary' stuff on to really encourage him to pick his feet up. With then a stride pole, followed by a final larger fence with say a bright rug or something dangling from it...normally made him balloon it. Of course...that's all fine and dandy...till it went back to standard pole jumps on their own, and he'd just need that 'one' tap round a course, to make him re-remember that poles fall down, and then the rest would be a demolishon derby from that point on. :o



But not to dishearten you....

My point of this post was, just because they're awful showjumping, does not mean they're useless hunters.

I personally, detest riding a showjumping schooled horse out hunting...when you're going down a hedge or dyke, you do NOT want shortening strides or chipping in a short one! Good thing about my lad, let him gallop at it and he meets it wherever happily, he's got the guts to take a long one if needed and do the width required more comfortably than chipping and ballooning! Old land ladies horses I used to hunt for her...she had one ex-eventer and one showjumper. I'd take the ex-eventer anyday for that very reason! :)
 
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Thank you so much for all of your help! I would usually just take it out hunting on a nice jumping day and let it follow but having had two children I just need to have a bit more of a 'feel' for it. I think I will have a go at a few suggestions. We are lucky enough to have a xc at home so we will have a go at a few more this week. He's such a great horse otherwise I really don't want to give up. Confidence is key! Thanks all so much. Hannah x
 
All the best with him! :D

This is my lad I was on about in my post doing what he does best :)

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/321140_10150436757196753_739156758_n.jpg

Worker courses are a good way forward too....he's fine over a rustic course :)
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/320959_10150388928671753_1926675331_n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/206710_10150228177181753_119808_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/230947_10150259126361753_4248872_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/150591_10150111536626753_3221566_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/59315_483048451752_2715721_n.jpg

He's this genuine though....we may not be great round a course, but he'll trust you enough to give anything a go :)

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/162766_10150116162156753_7794652_n.jpg


Hope that gives you some inspiration :D
 
Thank you so much! Really pleased! He has the temperment to be a really good hunter and has been great on hound exercise so I really want to keep it all up. Thank you very much!
 
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