Just about ready to throw the towel in and admit defeat

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eatonbraynat

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My cob is just being difficult when ridden i feel our progress has just gone backwards despite all back etc being done regularly and paying out £££ on lessons. Today after trying him in a wilkie snaffle for a while i put him back in his normal snaffle only to find that he now keeps putting his tongue over the snaffle. God i am soooo frustrated with things.

WTF am i meant to do, i just feel like selling him, i feel like i am crap
 
If you are spending a lot of money on lessons and not getting anywhere then I'd think about finding another instructor. There is no point spending hard earned cash on someone who can't help you to improve. I'm not suggesting you should expect to be made into a GP rider overnight but you should at least be able to see some steady progress.
 
I spent years trying to get somewhere with a horse that just wasn't right for me. They cost too much not to enjoy. I recently sold this horse and have brought another one much more suitable for me. I had forgotton how much fun riding could be!
 
Hi, sorry you are feeling low....

Cobs are quirky creatures - and do have a fun personalities.... (they are not fools). From your words - to me, it sounds like he's playing with you? By being a pain in the arse? How long have you owned him? Have you bonded with him properly? Is the instructor the "right" person for the pair of you? Sorry for all the questions but perhaps they may strike a chord......... Just think back to when you bought him, there was something about him that caught your eye!

Good Luck x
 
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OK you will get the normal how long and is your horse OK (all correct questions IMO) but the best advice my (non horsey) brother gave me when I was struggling with a particularly unhelpful horse "it costs as much to keep a bad horse as a good"

So, end of the day, this is supposed to be a pleasure (well mostly) and not something you dread or feel obligated to do. While we all have our equine down times, I would be inclined to sell on a horse that I couldn't click with.

(does work both ways - about to go up to see my progressively more expensive old mare who has seen the vet more times in 6 weeks than my boy in 6 years, but shes a keeper!)
 
eatonbraynat said:
My cob is just being difficult when ridden i feel our progress has just gone backwards despite all back etc being done regularly and paying out £££ on lessons. Today after trying him in a wilkie snaffle for a while i put him back in his normal snaffle only to find that he now keeps putting his tongue over the snaffle. God i am soooo frustrated with things.

WTF am i meant to do, i just feel like selling him, i feel like i am crap
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Hi eatonbraynat,
Try him in a Myler Mullen barrel,(Not the comfort snaffle) hire it for 30 days. I teach LOADS of people on loads cobs, cobbletts and coberettes and so far ALL of them have gone from gits to going in a beautiful soft way. Go for one size smaller than his normal bit. I also think dump the RT - sounds like they may be in it for the money instead of trying to help (this is my personal opinion and there are other opinions available). I have 3 cobs myself and one who did the tounge over the bit thing and this bit stopped all that. An added bonus is it is Dressage legal.
Good luck and here's to a once agian happy combination.
Bryndu
 
Thanks guys have had the said horse for 5 years and love him to bits. Only started working him end of last winter, we have come a long way but now feel like we have hit a plato and he feels worse now than when we started sometimes!!! He is 7.5 years old by the way and had a lot of time just turned out in his most important years i guess. We have had so much fun this summer doing dressage and out sj and xc but i now feel like i couldnt take him as he is not going well. Maybe i should take him back to basics this winter and just buckle down and get some good lessons.
 
Hi EB, I think we all go through stages like this! When teaching a horse something new it is easy to get so carried away with that that our other work suffers and we prehaps don't let them warm up as much as they need or get them as soft as we should because we are impatient to move on. I know I certainly suffer with this! When you know a horse can do something well it is very frustrating when you get on and they only offer it half-heartedly or resist you. When this happens it is important to go back to basics, remember that horses react to the moment, they don't think 'oh I did this perfectly yesterday so I should be able to do it perfectly today,' they think, 'oh no mum's a bit flustered or rushed or tense or moody, I don't like this situation' and then can't focus as well on their work because they become tense or switch off. I think your boy is probably resisting you because without meaning to you are getting on already feeling annoyed and so sending tension down the reins and so projecting it onto him.

I would work on trying to chill out, don't expect him to work perfectly everyday, get on with a relaxed attitude and just let things happen, let him work in gradually, if he is lazy let him be to start with, ignore it (as much as possible), have some trots and canters round on a fairly loose rein contact and focus on allowing him to go forwards (this also works for tense horses), work on lots of suppling exercises and you should find he gradually comes together by himself without the need for force or disagreement (not saying you do, just an example).

Also focus on getting him really through, working over his back, down and seeking the contact which should be light and elastic. To do this I would start by walking him on a long loose rein, then gradually take up the contact, but still on a long rein and encourage him to work into it by gently squeezing the reins until you feel him soften. Work on bending him each way and do lots of circles to get him really supple. Don't trot until he is working really well in walk, and he same for canter. Do lots of transitions and make sure they are all flowing and supple, still encouraging him to work deep and round, always seeking the rein. If he tries to hollow or run off, don't fight him as this will just create more resistance, instead just gradually encourage him down again, keep everything calm. Over time doing this sort of work he will get stringer and so will find working much easier and you be able to introduce harder things. I hope this will be of help to you, I don't want to go on too long but feel free to pm me if you need any more advice. I would try to stick with him a bit longer and see if approaching things differently helps, hopefully it will!
 
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