Jumping, what should i do?

[ycbm]

How does he feel about little xc fences @ycbm ?

Maybe natural obstacles might help to get his confidence up and reduce the chances of a dirty stop.

Sadly not ? I found out about the dirty stop when he produced it at a fence made of 3 half round fence rails nailed side by side, so it was all of a whole foot wide, on supports about a foot high. He really isn't the bravest of boys ?


ETA the dirty stop tends to be produced at anything new. New shape cross country fence, new filler. He's never done it at a fence he has already jumped before.
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[The Xmas Furry]

I'm 4yrs behind you ycbm, also done the bigger stuff in the past from chasing, pre novice and novice to 1.20 sj.
These days I have a pretty willing pony partner (tho xc isn't her favourite, but sj is great) but I stick to 70/75 with occasional 80s in training sessions. B is quite capable of popping a metre, which we've done just a few times a couple of years ago but I couldn't get excited.
My main thoughts are, I go out solo so I want to minimise risk and I have nothing to prove to anyone, this is my 'fun' and I can leave grinning and maybe wishing I'd gone bigger....
I did blip off early last summer from a very uncharacteristic emergency stop a stride off, v unlike either of us, 1st time I've hit the deck in 8 years but lots jumped since then.
That said, if a dirty stop was something that was more than an annual event, I'd probably be thinking quite hard about pressing on.

 

[GoldenWillow]

My mare had a "dirty" stop, no warning at all hindquarters under her, go to lift shoulders up then drop shoulder twist and spin. I fell off time after time after time. In her case it was a lack of confidence and two years later she was 100% reliable and took me competing successfully far higher than I'd have ever thought although I competed successfully in County shows on a JA as a junior. There is no way now I'm older that I'd have been able to, or wanted to, persevere jumping her I don't think.

With J we've done enough jumping that he's happy and capable to go round 80 course then I hardly jumped anything for around three years for various reasons. This year I've done more but only as and when I've felt like it, with no goals in mind other than to have fun. I have no desire to go competing and mainly ride on my own so am a lot more cautious. The 30 yr old me would have thought I'd miss jumping hugely, the older me isn't bothered at all and all I really want to do is for J and me to have fun and enjoy ourselves whilst working him in a way that will mean he stands the best chance of a long, fit and healthy life.

I'm not sure if that helps at all but maybe what I'm trying to say is do what feels right for both you and Ludo, whether that is to continue jumping, playing around with jumps occasionally or never leaving the ground again.

 

[irishdraft]

I'm 62 & have a new rather stressy mare but she does seem to be a reliable jumper so far & I do enjoy a jump. My retired hunter had a dirty stop exactly as you describe not so much hunting but competing, I gave up with him competing as it starts to undermine your confidence & then riding, so for me I wouldn't be doing much jumping with a stopper.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I don't ride anymore but I'd never been very confident jumping

When I had mine, there were times at the end of a grid i probably went up to 3'6", but I was hopeless at seeing strides so not knowing if I was going to get perfect take off led to my "fiddling" which probably hindered my getting a good stride. He was also very spooky. Scopey and probably could have done around 1.20 if he wasn't messing about, and with a braver jockey.
However because he was spooky, he was prone to a stop. Because I lacked the confidence, it all turned into a viscous circle as I'd ride defensively, and steadily, as I thought the steadier I go the more likely I am to stay on if he stops. Which hindered the canter, so messed with the striding, and also confirmed to him he was right to be scared as I was sending signals there was something to worry about!

I then suddenly got the "what ifs" e.g if I come off and break something I can't drive to work...

In the last few years I had him, we didn't jump at all. I would happily hack solo including galloping though, but jumping terrified me

It's the stopping, mine got better during the years I had him and did jump but I never trusted him and was never sure if he'd go or not. Even when he was taking me I'd be sat thinking if you stop I'm more likely to come off. I think one of the final straws for my confidence was I landed him in the middle of a not particularly big spread because I was trying to influence the stride. There were some lessons he'd fly round courses, but it was always at the back of my mind he was prone to stopping and the what ifs outweighed any enjoyment from jumping. Spreads absolutely terrified me because of the width element.

When I stopped jumping we still played around with poles the rare times we went in the school and he really enjoyed them so that could be an option?

I did fall off mine once before I got him (had him on loan before) because we were jumping in the school with the floodlights, was approaching a tiny innocuous plain jump, thought everything was fine, he stopped at the last minute, jinking to the left, I carried straight on! Because I'd never fully know if he was going to go, jumping position tended to become a half seat, which added to my lack of security, as if he took a long stride I'd feel left behind

Reading your story about the wall (mine hated fillers) I don't know if I'd want to jump him! He sounds very like mine was but at least he'd usually start to get sticky if he didn't like something, before the brakes went on. If it was last minute I'd have come off a lot more!

Mine sounds like he was exactly the same - if the jump changed, and at fillers the spooking was present and there'd be stops. Its why although he had clearly hunted before, given his reaction to hearing a hunt in the distance, I never had the bravery to take him, as I thought if he stops at one of those and I come off, I'm up the creek without a paddle especially as he was a pain to catch. Yet being so spooky and self preserved made him careful and he very rarely had poles. I was also out with 2 friends riding once, they took a hunt jump (only about 2'6", both theirs whacked it, mine apparently had his knees right up, and also went first time!)

 

[Lyle]

If I was in your situation, I'd probably stick to using jumping as gymnastics for cross training. As Im sure you know, there's so many excellent jumping exercises to do, that don't involve height but do involve correct training and intelligent riding. Will also build his confidence over time

 

[Cortez]

Do you want to jump? Do you want to jump more than your horse does? I’ve never been particularly interested in jumpy gallopy stuff and the past 15 years or so have all been focused on other types of riding so I just didn’t. With bone spurs, arthritic or not, I would be thinking of jobs that didn’t involve leaving the ground.

 

[Peglo]

This is my ignorance here so I apologise but if you fell off and smashed your arthritic wrist like scats has recently done to her ankle, would they be able to fix it? I hope so but I keep thinking of the pain in your wrist after bracing yourself on.

I have no doubts you’ll do what’s best for Ludo anyway so it really is up to you and what you want to do.

 

[w1bbler]

Ask yourself are you jumping because you really want to jump, or because that's what you've always done? Are you getting a buzz from it still despite the smaller heights.
I'm younger than you, but have quit proper jumping & don't regret it

 

[ycbm]

Ask yourself are you jumping because you really want to jump, or because that's what you've always done? Are you getting a buzz from it still despite the smaller heights.
I'm younger than you, but have quit proper jumping & don't regret it

I really enjoy teaching horses new things and it's obvious he's got a proper pop in him, so I wanted to see what he could do. There will never be a thrill like the stuff in my avatar and my hunting pictures again, though, and the risk is overshadowing the enjoyment. If I add in the hock spurs, and how flipping perfect he is in every other way, I'm moving towards forgetting about jumping. I will be sad not to pop the fence on the fun rides, but not sad enough to do the jumping that would be needed to get him to where I can do them safely.

 

[ycbm]

This is my ignorance here so I apologise but if you fell off and smashed your arthritic wrist like scats has recently done to her ankle, would they be able to fix it? I hope so but I keep thinking of the pain in your wrist after bracing yourself on.

I have no doubts you’ll do what’s best for Ludo anyway so it really is up to you and what you want to do.

The problem if I broke the right one is that there's a very long bar in it from when the bigger arm bone was smashed to pieces, and it will break at the wrist joint and/or at the elbow, which I've already been warned would be extremely difficult to fix.

This is beginning to sound like a no brainer, isn't it ? ? I knew it would help talking about it to horse people.,
.

 

[Peglo]

The problem if I broke the right one is that there's a very long bar in it from when the bigger arm bone was smashed to pieces, and it will break at the wrist joint and/or at the elbow, which I've already been warned would be extremely difficult to fix.

This is beginning to sound like a no brainer, isn't it ? ? I knew it would help talking about it to horse people.,
.

oh goodness the thought of another break on that arm sounds terrifying but I guess you could fall walking across the yard and break it so maybe that’s no reason to not jump.

 

[lannerch]

I think, in your position, you might have fun watching some one else, younger/capable/possibly professional, jumping your horse for you. BUT, if you are actually worried for Ludo's long term soundness then maybe just leave jumping out. Mind you, advanced flatwork can also stress joints can't it.

As regards risks to yourself, you are very experienced so will be prepared for the predictable situations, but, let's face it, there are always the unpredictable somewhere around the corner!

This is what I do, like you I am experienced have novice evented in my time , but I’m not as brave as I used to be , so I have a professional event and bring on my young horse. I can honestly say I love it as much as if I was competing now, get so proud of them when they do well, which they do.

I am lucky I still ride her when I want , may even pinch her for lower level eventing myself every now and then but only when she’s confident higher. I also will do dressage on her.

There is no shame in doing less when you get older, I found my confidence diminished with menopause, and quite frankly if you come off it hurts more .
Do what your little voice is telling you , its

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I'm 51 and I decided a long time ago to not jump anymore I definitely wouldn't jump a horse that puts in Shap stops, the most I do now is amble over a small log in the woods, I've got a leg full of metal and don't want to have a repeat situation like that.

I certainly don't miss it.

 

[cauda equina]

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves about what we 'should' be doing, even before other people start telling us what we 'should' be doing
Imo if you're doing it for fun it should be fun, just that
There are loads of things to teach him other than jumping; I was going to mention free jumping, but his hocks...

 

[Equi]

When buying hector I was told he will jump a solid wall with ease but won’t go over a cross pole. YO popped him over a few and said he does like them bigger than a trot cross pole so in my mind I have a non-jumping horse ? and at 17 and the size of an elephant I think my chances of keeping his legs good are better without jumping. Also I absolutely hate jumping.

Ao my bias opinion is to not jump and make yourself a classy riding horse. If you’re so inclined you can stick a younger more bouncy person on him to get some jumping but not all horses want to jump.

 

[cobgoblin]

Take up Puissance ycbm. May as well go out on a high note!

* I'll get my coat*

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I’m 52 and have actually started a bit of jumping again this year. I’ve pretty much always been a wimp when it comes to jumping but this is the first time in my life I’ve ever had a horse that is a reliable jumper and I’m only doing tiny jumps. I would not contemplate jumping a dirty stopper these days.

The NHS situation and lack of emergency capacity has made me more wary. Reading Scats journey especially the beginning wasn’t very reassuring.

 

[JFTDWS]

I have no interest in jumping big jumps. I do like playing around with technical exercises (and silly games, but I suspect you're above that sort of childishness!) using small fences over which I know my horse is confident. For an inexperienced or unconfident horse, that might be poles on the ground or only raised 6" so I know they won't even consider stopping. Specifically, I'm talking about unusual gridwork patterns, lines of skinny fences / mark-hitting precision lines, odd lines/angles, jumping single buckets / barrels, technical exercises off a neck rope - training games rather than athletic jumping games, probably with more in common with working eq or extreme cowboy/trail.

I find that adds more variety to the horse's work than traditional jumping, and it comes in handy out hacking or in general life when you encounter odd things. I also do it because I currently only have a field to ride in and the ground is invariably not good enough for me to want to jump larger fences on, and it's not possible to put together a decent course because of the topography.

 

[ycbm]

Definitely not above childish games! Just not got the attention span for the precision stuff like firing arrows around, i might kill someone ?

 

[JFTDWS]

Definitely not above childish games! Just not got the attention span for the precision stuff like firing arrows around, i might kill someone ?

Whilst I do shoot arrows over fences, I don't recommend it on something that isn't 100% reliable to jump. Too much commitment required!

I'm talking really childish games - carrying cups of water / egg and spoon / mug shuffle / flag race / bouncing and catching a poloX ball / tilting down tiny grids, popping balloons while jumping - probably not what you want to do if you're trying to avoid a creative and unusual injury!

 

[marmalade76]

If

I have no interest in jumping big jumps. I do like playing around with technical exercises (and silly games, but I suspect you're above that sort of childishness!) using small fences over which I know my horse is confident. For an inexperienced or unconfident horse, that might be poles on the ground or only raised 6" so I know they won't even consider stopping. Specifically, I'm talking about unusual gridwork patterns, lines of skinny fences / mark-hitting precision lines, odd lines/angles, jumping single buckets / barrels, technical exercises off a neck rope - training games rather than athletic jumping games, probably with more in common with working eq or extreme cowboy/trail.

I find that adds more variety to the horse's work than traditional jumping, and it comes in handy out hacking or in general life when you encounter odd things. I also do it because I currently only have a field to ride in and the ground is invariably not good enough for me to want to jump larger fences on, and it's not possible to put together a decent course because of the topography.

If I'd kept the Arab I'd have done stuff like this, mounted games, he would've loved it.

 

[Fire sign]

I really enjoy teaching horses new things and it's obvious he's got a proper pop in him, so I wanted to see what he could do. There will never be a thrill like the stuff in my avatar and my hunting pictures again, though, and the risk is overshadowing the enjoyment. If I add in the hock spurs, and how flipping perfect he is in every other way, I'm moving towards forgetting about jumping. I will be sad not to pop the fence on the fun rides, but not sad enough to do the jumping that would be needed to get him to where I can do them safely.

Gosh I really empathise with you … I did a fair bit of show jumping and some BE with my old mare when I was younger and braver and she was very clever and would pretty much jump anything you pointed her at .. I now find myself at age 64 with a new young horse , especially chosen for her steady nature and cob temperament …( after 2 bad falls breaking collar bone and shoulder )

We have just started jumping very low fences . She’s a straight forward , nice natured horse but she’s green and prone to taking off from absolutely miles away and I have to admit to being absolutely crippled with nerves ….. it’s so so hard especially when in a previous life you have been so gung-ho !

I always feel that if the tiniest thing went wrong with the jumping that I would jack it in

Honestly don’t think I could cope with any dirty stopping !!!!!

I suspect though that you are a much better rider than me as would definitely fall off if horse stopped .

Good luck with whatever you decide .. we are all marvellous for carrying on riding at all given our advanced ages … some days I have patted myself on the back for just hacking down the road at walk and getting back in one piece !

 

[throwawayaccount]

Gridwork x

 

[ycbm]

I suspect though that you are a much better rider than me as would definitely fall off if horse stopped .

Really short stirrups and knee rolls to jam your knees behind as they try to shoot off the flap ?

 

[cobgoblin]

Seriously ycbm , you have the experience, you have the skill. I'm sure you could overcome the dirty stop.
But the question you really have to answer is ' how well do you bounce?'

 

[AandK]

I think, having read the whole thread, I’d just stick to enjoying him on the flat and hacking, and just popping the odd log on a fun ride. If that’s an option?

 

[ycbm]

I think, having read the whole thread, I’d just stick to enjoying him on the flat and hacking, and just popping the odd log on a fun ride. If that’s an option?

I think so, he got quite good at little logs before I moved him away from the farm ride.

I will feel envious of the people popping all the fences on the fun rides, but I think I've decided that he shouldn't be doing the work he would need to do to get him reliable enough to do those on the day.

He's lovely to school, he's perfect to hack alone and in company at any speed, he loads himself, he's cheap to feed and doesn't get fat, everyone loves him, I can hardly complain ?

 

[Winters100]

He's lovely to school, he's perfect to hack alone and in company at any speed, he loads himself, he's cheap to feed and doesn't get fat, everyone loves him, I can hardly complain ?

Whatever you decide, enjoy him! He sounds absolutely wonderful, and I wish you many happy years aboard, whether this is plodding along the lanes, tearing around the forests, jumping, schooling, or any combination of these. As long as you are both having fun it really doesn't matter!

 

[Barton Bounty]

Do you ever feel he is going to do it? Or is it by surprise? Good that you stayed on ?