jumping issues

amy912

amy912

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my gelding (i havnt ever jumped him before, only had him 4 weeks) seems to be having issues when jumping, he gets all worked up and rears/bucks like his scared. i have managed to get him to jump and when he does he has the most powerful amazing jump i have ever seen. i have been thinking that maybe it could be that hes had an accident with his previous owner? does anyone have any exercises i could do with him to boost his confidence-hes only 7
 
Hes 7 , yes iv been riding a long time, once he got into the jist of it on the lunge, he jumped it several times in a row with no problems and acctually looked as if he enjoyed it and was jumping 1ft 9 like it was 4ft, so it like hes scared of touching the pole? His owners have said he can jump 1m10 which from what i have seen theres no doubt he can. Out in the woods, he will jump logs etc. but he doesnt like jumps within a school. Before previous owner he was imported from ireland
 
No. I only loan him. Iv got him on loan for a year. So i can give him back. Which is what i find odd. Surely if she had something to hide she would try to sell him rather than loan out?
 
No just loaning from a private owner. She recons jumping is his favourite thing to do, which yes in the woods he loves it. But in the school he hasnt been a fan. Im gunna try doing pole and grid work to boost his confidence again, but gotta wait till he heals firdt as a horse beat him up :(
 
amy912 said:
Im gunna try doing pole and grid work to boost his confidence again, but gotta wait till he heals firdt as a horse beat him up :(
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So the logical thinking would be that because he was injured by another horse he could still be sore/in pain from that and therefore not ready to jump!!

Is your horse sound??
 
No i attempted jumping before all this!! I wouldnt jump a horse with wounds. Hes been out of work for 3 weeks which is when he got hurt. I attempted jumping 3 weeks prior to the incident. And yes hes sound
 
not to put you off,could be totally different situation... but mine did loads of jumping before I got her and always was miserable as sin jumping. I think basically she was a failed jumping pony lol Would easily win you the first round flying round 100mph, but then very unpredictable whether she would do anymore. Usually ears flat back and stops at everything and silly bucks etc after jumps, in these moods she gets so worked up will not walk over a pole on the floor! She got worse as she got older, flat out refusing to jump anything unless it was 2ft, turns out she has hock arthritus. Now I only very rarely jump teeny weeny XC/ or logs on hacks etc and I only do it if she is 'in the mood'.
Some horses have just been jumped to death I think and they get sick of it in the end.
 
This could be due to almost anything.

First things - when were his back, teeth and saddle last checked?
If these have all been done recently and are ok, I would suggest getting a good instructor to come and assess you both, they should then be able to help to point you in the right direction.

But as other posters above, he could have been overjumped, not actually like jumping, or may have some veterinary issues.
 
I've seen plenty get worked up because of excitement rather than fear... and much more so in an arena hence you don't see it on hacks.

If on loan I would ring and have a chat with the owner about it and see if this is normal for him first :). It could be if you haven't seen the owner jump him.
 
If you've only had him four weeks and he has been injured for three of those. Maybe he just needs to settle down and for you to get to know him. When he is fit again make more enquiries with previous owner. When you have all necessary information work from there. Take a step back and restart with poles on floor etc etc. Then if he does quieten down only jump a course that is correctly built with proper equipment. Good luck with him and hope he recovers soon.
 
Maybe he's just excited. Mine is equally stupid if he isn't jumped regularly enough for it not to be a novelty.
 
amy912 said:
my gelding (i havnt ever jumped him before, only had him 4 weeks) seems to be having issues when jumping, he gets all worked up and rears/bucks like his scared. i have managed to get him to jump and when he does he has the most powerful amazing jump i have ever seen. i have been thinking that maybe it could be that hes had an accident with his previous owner? does anyone have any exercises i could do with him to boost his confidence-hes only 7
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amy912 said:
No i attempted jumping before all this!! I wouldnt jump a horse with wounds. Hes been out of work for 3 weeks which is when he got hurt. I attempted jumping 3 weeks prior to the incident. And yes hes sound
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I'm a little bit confused by the timescale if you've only had him 4 weeks but has been off work for 3.

Either way if you'd only had him a week it could be a lack of confidence or him trying it on or it may just have been sheer excitement at jumping. In your shoes I'd get an instructor out to see if there was anything obvious and speak to the owner to see if they have any pointers for you. I'd also do the usual teeth, back and tack checks to make sure there's nothing physically amiss.
 
Yes i was thinking this could also be the case, as out hacking with a different style of jump hes so much better and happier
 
Yes his owner has had all this checked recently before he left her. Yeah im going to get an instructor out, but watching him he didnt seem to be in pain, just like he is too scared to touch the pole itself
 
Sorry on my key pad has 4 above 7 so had a mistype, iv had him 7 weeks. Yeah i was thinking pole. When i tryed him over a jump it was litrally mad of 1ft 6/9
 
Sorry it was a mistype my 7 is under the 4. Iv have him 7 weeks now maybe just over and i let him settle first with lots of hacking. Yeah he kind of leeps before the jump, then befor he knows it the jump is in front of him and he doesnt hav a chance to get over it
 
Yeah that could be it :) thankyou, he does seem to leep a bit before the jump and he does prick his ears forward, but he leaps so much, before he knows it the jumps right in front om him and he doesnt get a chance to acctually assess what hes doing with his legs
 
My mare is exactly the same(well she doesn't rear) she will jump on hacks but hates coloured poles, she is scared of touching them and yes she was jump schooled before I had her so I think some idiot tried to make her jump in some fashion that hurt her. She clears a single pole on the ground by 3 foot, but once working on the lunge she will setle and jump in a rhythm.

I haven't addressed the issue with her if I'm honest, I have a dodgy back ( herniated disc) so jumping something that thinks a poles a five bar gate is somewhat disconcerting but Im sure if someone was able to consistently do so with her ( someone who can sit a huge leap occasionally) I reckon she would 'grow' out of it. She's a similar age to your too.

So I would advise get and instructor to help you work him through it, obviously ensure no pain causing it but it does sound like my mare which. Is all fear of. The coloureds!
 
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