Jumping Expertise needed!!

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lcharles

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Hey Everyone,

I have just got a dutch warmblood 17hh who has done plenty of elementary dressage but he was put as a companion when he started napping and wasnt doing as well at dressage so anyway...I have him, he's gorgeous, i am keeping him as a companion still but wanted to hack him out and see if he'll jump etc to make his life abit more fun! He has been going nicely and yesterday I thought i'd see if he'd jump. I wasnt expecting anything amazing as he's probably never jumped and he's 11 now but thought i'd give it a go! I put a tiny jump up...literally about 1ft 9 so he just sort of stepped over it, i put the jump up to about 2ft 6 so he had to pick his feet up and he jumped it with all four feet at the same time, like a cricket! It was funny but he did knock it down before jumping it again in a cricket kind of way but cleared it!

Now i know he's a big horse and the jump was small, do you think he needs a bigger jump? I didnt want to push him if hes never jumped before but he seemed to be enjoying it and really tried...just has a bit of a retarded jump style!! I didnt want to put the jump up in case he did his cricket jump again and hurt himself as i dont know how high he could jump in this way! Is there anything i can do to make him push off from his back legs and follow his front legs over? He can't jump with all four legs at the same time...maybe its just because he doesnt know what to do?!

What is the best thing to do? Keep practising and see if he works it out? Leave the jumping - would rather work on it though as he seemed to like it! or put the jump up and see what happens?!

Must add i only jumped the jump about 8 times in this spring-bok fashion and then left it...maybe in time he'll realise its not the done thing?!

Is a dressage horse just a dressage horse or a potential jumping, all rounder?

All suggestions welcome!!

Thanks
 
Hiya did you buy the horse or just or loan or what? Welcome to the forum btw!

Cant say what he is just from that description really but I would be careful because you never know what has happened in the past, and horses dont normally get sold as just a companion because they nap if they are genuinley sound and able to be ridden!
 
Oh I know the people who had him before, they are very kind, genuine people and they used him as a companion because they had another horse to work on. I'll try and film him doing it perhaps!

I know he hasnt jumped before, or really done anything other than hacking out but hes such a softy and gorgeous its a shame to just be a companion. Even if he just hacks out it would be nice for him!

Thanks!! x
 
I'm less tactful than Snowysadude, and will say that it sounds like he has a physical issue.

Good quality horses are not normally given away (or sold) as companions. Napping is bad, yes, but if it is a purely behavioural problem then a professional should be able to resolve it. If my dressage horse suddenly started napping and underperforming I'd assume he had some kind of problem. Do you have any more info about your horse's background, and why he was passed on as a companion only?

Dressage horses are taught to use their back ends and know where all their legs are. Even if he was never taught to jump as a youngster (which is possible I guess), hopping over a little fence is no different to asking for a big canter stride, which he certainly knows how to do.

When a horse jumps like this, to me it says they have problems with their back legs. The only one I've found that consistently cat-leaped was a pony who turned out to have a gammy hock, which the owners hadn't thought to mention. Some green horses cat-leap, but it's normally the babies that don't know how to coordinate and balance themselves, not established horses.

I'm sorry to rain on your parade, and must sound like such an old grump! If your boy is having fun with you doing a bit of hacking then I'm sure you are giving him a new lease of life! But I would take this as a sign that you need to call a halt to the jumping, or at least have him physically checked out before you go any further.
 
Thanks Steorra, no your being an old grump. He wasnt given to me as a companion, he'd just been used as a companion in the last year. They said he's worth trying anything with, i know them quite well and they would have said if he was solely a companion due to physical issues. I think he was dressaged too hard and didnt get a break and sort of had enough.

I think loose jumping him is a good idea and if all else fails he can stay as a companion for my showjumper - reason i originally got him!

I wonder if it is because he's green. As a dressage horse he's very nimble and atheletic but would the hard work from before put strain on his joints, muscles etc so he's like a 11 year old in a 17year olds body?! x
 
Try following another horse if you have that option, as then he can learn from seeing for himself. Also lots of pole work on the ground, trot and canter poles and elevate them to get his head round where his feet are going and how hes moving them then eventually build grids and he should get the hang of it :)
But i wouldn't put it higher untill hes jumping correctly as it could overphase him & cause injury as you said.
A very good exersize i do with my two is to put a pole about 3 (human) strides before and after a fence, so they take of after the first and land just before the one behind, it really gets them lifting once they've landed and making a nice shape - do this after the grid work if all goes well.
Also a very helpfull book : 101 jumping exercises for horse & rider By Linda L. Allen
Hope this helps, good luck
 
Oh Brilliant! Thanks, i think you're right about leaving the jumps small dont want to knock his confidence or hurt him (or me!)

Ill try some grids and defo the pole before and after! x I get all excited but dont want to push him too soon or quickly! x
 
lcharles said:
no your being an old grump.
Click to expand...

Alas, too true sometimes :D

lcharles said:
He wasnt given to me as a companion, he'd just been used as a companion in the last year. They said he's worth trying anything with, i know them quite well and they would have said if he was solely a companion due to physical issues. I think he was dressaged too hard and didnt get a break and sort of had enough.
Click to expand...

If you're sure it's not a physical issue then I think that loose jumping him would be a good idea - give him a chance to work things out for himself. A placing pole might help to start with, and you could work up to doing little grids.

Also I think that some big horses can scare themselves in the arena and hold back if they don't feel they have enough room. Depending on how big your schooling area is, you might find he'll make a better job of jumping a little log out hacking where he has plenty of space.

Some horses do just get stale with dressage, especially if they don't have a varied enough life. It does sound like that could be the problem with this horse. But like I said before, I'd be a bit conscious that there might be a physical cause for his little oddities, and take care not to push him (not that I think you are).
 
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