Jumping with ears back, pain? bad attitude? nothing to worry about?...

Chloe_GHE

Chloe_GHE

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On Sat I schooled Jack its been a while since I've sat on him as mother has kindly stepped in with hacking duties meaning during the week I only pessoa him twice and then school/hack at the wkend this is making things easier as trying to get back muck out and ride 2 after work was getting a bit much with other commitments too.

So....after schooling on Sat I popped a tiny x pole and a whopping 2ft upright
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on him to see what he felt like. Jack feels very stiff and clunky compared to Soap but actually watching the vid back he look 100% better than he feels, but he jumps with his ears back....and this niggles at me a bit...he is very keen and takes you into the fence no thought of stopping (ok it was only tiny) but he has a real grumpy look on his face and his ears back over the fence, and he also puts his ears back in canter transitions.

Now he has had EVERYTHING checked after his broken leg and he works fab on the pessoa, fab in the field, fab out on hacking but lazy and reluctant in the school. I think this is just habit, and switching off coz he doesn't want to work, he goes fab on the pesso in the school too...

Bit baffled really....don't think for one second it's pain related as he has full clean bill of health from vet physio farrier etc so hoping it's just a quirk of his this lazy attitude.

Am taking him xc schooling next week and think this will perk him up with it being on grass and more forward, but does anyone elses horse jump with its ears back like that?....it's probubly nothing but he does look like a real sour puss, and I would like him to be happy in his work. He is a grumble bum any way from years of stable lads just yanking him about and throwing stuff on him, but he has got so much better and now only occasionally pulls a face when being girthed up....

maybe xc will put him in a better frame of mind....
 
Our little ginger one...haha...the amount of people that say "are you sure he's right?" because he jumps with his ears flatback and tends to throw in a fly buck. His back is in perfect working order, as is everything else [apart from the grey matter between his ears
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] it's just his preferred style. If you does a flybuck before a jump off, you know you're gonna get a good 'un [this pony clocked up 5 or 6 wins in 4 shows
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] He's a bit of speed demon too so we say it's his way of streamlining
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Some of them just do that - look at Anna Warnecke's 4* horse, Twinklebee. It went round Badminton this year looking really sour with its ears right back but it made the time!
 
as long as you've had everything checked and are confident that he's physically ok then i would think its just his preferred style and nothing to worry about
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Maybe he's doing it for aerodynamics?... no idea why he likes to jump like a grumpy old codger but needless to say if he carries on this way his mizzog face will ruin every comp photo we ever get!
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A lot of racehorses/pointers have an extremely tough time in racing, especially anything that has to go over fences- if they are considered to not be 'doing it right' then they are beaten and have stones thrown at them and are chased round and round a loose schooling pen, with whips galore thrashed at them, until they are considered to be 'jumping properly'.
Combine this with being asked and asked and pushed and pushed forever more once on the racetrack. Your boy at age 14 will have been drilled and hammered a fair bit and may or may not have had the harsh treatment, so what I would do with him is very very short bursts of schooling and jumping. LOTs and LOTS of praise, rewards ( titbits/polos, allow him a good munch of grass. If jumping/schooling, literally only do 10-15 mins and then when he has done at least ONE good thing right ( however tiny) then jump right off, take of the saddle, and lots of praise/reward.
Also bear in mind it's going to take a long long time for his muscles to adjust to working into a 'riding horse' way. So you need to nuture him not only mentally but physically and just treat him like a damaged/sour 4 y.o. It will take time!

He will have had a long tough life, probably cantering 5 miles plus a day, 6 days a week, with two long sprints a week on top of that, for 8 months of the year. he will have done that since a 5 year old so he has given more than enough of himself to humans- so you need to show him that you appreciate every little thing that he gives you!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Your boy at age 14

[/ QUOTE ]He's only 11!
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I think at 14 I would not be bothering to rehabilitate him too much and just keep him as a happy hack. Yes I vary things to keep him interested, and keep most school work under 20mins, but he takes about 10mins of arguing before we have the good stuff but this 'resistance period' is getting less and less. He is so sweet and loves affection and I give him lots of praise and treats and he is a totally different horse to the switched off sour puss we got a year ago. I want to get him enjoying himself again so and keeping things short and sweet, it's sad that all the fun things eg cantering out, galloping and jumping have been ruined for him
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I think he will rediscover a lust for life though I am seeing glimmers of it
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My pony sometimes jumps with his ears back - but mainly it when he wants to go faster and I won't let him!
 
<font color="blue"> If jumping/schooling, literally only do 10-15 mins and then when he has done at least ONE good thing right ( however tiny) then jump right off, take of the saddle, and lots of praise/reward. </font>

It's a long time since I heard such a good hint. We always finish early on a good note, and if jumping, over a low cross, then rider off, pedals up, girth and noseband loosened and walked down to rest in hand with horse under no impression other than he's done well!

My son rides one who looks permanently 'sour' and I do wonder if it's personality. Like people, maybe some horses are just grumpy and unsociable?
 
Oops, sorry!! was convinced he was in his late teens!!
Sounds like he is coming on great and that he is really beginning to change for the better!!
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You can really tell he is one of the good ones because whever you praise him eg if he's on the lunge and lowers his neck and I say 'goooood' he then lowers a bit further. He is so clever and keen to please just need to convince him that the school is fun too!
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Have reschooled 2 from racing but both had escaped relatively unscathed with only one season, poor old Jack has a lot of mileage
 
Mine does this on a couple of occasions too Chloe. I explain to my (very non horsey) mum that it's my horse's 'unimpressed face' when I co*k up
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Digby can be a bit like this- they are never flat back but he puts them back and pricks them foward once he has landed- sometimes looks really miserable!
 
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