Massive dilema!! Please help

We've sometimes found that when young young horses send poles flying. When Jonty was three a local instructor came to view her and we loose schooled her over some poles, I don't think she left one standing!
Yet now she happily jumps round 4' courses.
I would take this horse XC schooling, and with very thin boots on just in front.
You need a good three or four sessions of her actually clearing fence after fence to re-teach her brain that she needs to lift her legs higher.
Then put up a decent sized course at home and see if that's made the difference.
The other thing that made me wonder was you said after an hour, well if you are jumping even with rests for an hour that's way too much for a 5 year old.
Layla has the same problem in that she knocks poles, but add fillers and she is fine. I would find some big fillers and use them right up to pole height, use anything and everything like solid type fillers to make her respect them.
My other suggestion is take her to a BSJA accredited coach for a lesson.
We took ours and she advised it was the approach that was causing the problem, with the rider trying to place the horse too much. We went back to cantering over poles and by the next lesson the mare happily jumped a whole course without touching a pole.
It is frustrating, but at 5 you have time to see what you can do.
Did she show a super jump when you viewed her originally?
 
Kelly
A lot of good advice here - can I add - please get her back checked. In the photos she looks tight through her back and although she is giving the fences a lot of room she is not rounding through her back at all - says to me that something is tight or pinching in there. Young horses are susceptible to pulling something as they are not always balanced and can throw an awkward jump.
I hope she comes right for you - she is stunning but I would be throwing all my efforts into finding the right people to help me - back person and instructor. I know someone good in Tunbridge Wells but I don't think they would travel. If you can get yourself there it would well worth it.
 
The other thing is that at 5, her back end may not be strong enough to propell her over...

Wanna swop, i've got one that clears 1.20 with about 20cm to spare
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No thats a fair comment, problem was the bit was too harsh for her so she wasn't stretching over the jumps causing her head to come up.

Now she is in the Myler she is stretching out a lot more and we're not having that problem anymore. Also she is knocking mainly with her back end.

Thats why i said them pics weren't that good really as her technique has changed quite a bit since then.
 
She looks a little bit untidy with her front legs, but that is just being a baby and you can train a front end. Do really steep X poles so that it encourages her to snap up more in front and thats about the limit of my helpful (?) contribution
 
sorry if this has already been said, i have read the replies. have you had her backed checked in the last month? You say shes not making a good shape over the fences, but have you thought that it might be related to back/teeth/tack? If you havent had the following checked in the last month id get them done again, as 'tweeks' can happen even if youve had her done recently.

Also i think jumping for an hour solidly at home, trying to get her to clear one fence is not really going to be productive for you or her. She was probably mighty p!ssed off by the end of it, as you were too.

my advice is to give her a month off the jumping, concentrate on her flat work and hack her out as much as possible. then re-introduce the jumping SLOWLY. she sounds to me like shes going a bit stale.
 
Although it's hard to comment from these pictures my observations would be that:
She is knocking fences down (behind presumably) because she's launching herself at the fences and tense through her back rather than lowering her head and basculing. She will continue to drag her back legs thorugh the fences if her head is in the air. She is giving these fences lots of air, so is trying to clear them.
She doesn't like hitting the fences and if she's doing so because she's tense and rushing then the whole experience will stop being pleasant for her, before long she's might start stopping.
Putting them up higher will result in her really scaring herself.

I sound critical, and don't mean to as you are clearly doing all the right things, but think you're being too hard on her and on yourself. Young horses often knock fences down, they do grow out of it.
If she were mine I owuld concentrate on flatwork, and exercises to get her stretching down and round, then polework exercises to get her basculing, then slowly raising the size of the fences. It is also important to ensure you are balanced, if you are holding on to the front end, she can't stretch and use her back end, a good instructor will ensure you aren't doing that.
there will be a good trainer out there and the season has hardly started so there's plenty of time.
 
Hi ya

Yes she did look tight over her back but it was due to the bit restricting her as i have changed to a Myler and she is stretching a lot more now and using herself better. Will get some new pics tomorrow as those dont really show what she is like now.

I was thinking of getting her back done next month anyway so we'll see if there are any underlying problems there.

I dont have my own transport so this is where the massive problem comes in as instrcutors that will travel are VERY hard to come by.
 
I have tried all that already, she had 2 months off from jumping over Christmas and came back worse than before.

She is tight in her back over them pics but she is making a much better shape now i have changed her bit and is stretching a lot more as she is not so restricted in front. Her saddle was checked 2 weeks ago and her back is being done next month so all that needs to be arranged is for her teeth to be checked.

I didn't want to ride for an hour believe me but i also didn't want her thinking she could trash every single jump she went over so i wanted her to clear at least one and end on a good note which we done. I wasn't jumping her solidly either as she gets quite worked up and excited so did quite a lot of walking and flatw work in between to keep her calm.
 
Oh Kelly
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That sucks i don't know what to suggest but just thought i'd let you know you're not alone!
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I too have pulled out of Duckhurst this weekend as Blue's jumping has gone downhill of late. He's not knocking them like your mare but he's flying at them and trying his best to completely ignore me! So we end up with (the last 2 shows) 4 faults and a really messy round (BN and TB.95). I'm tempted to put him in a 1.05 class in the hope it would slow him down and get him to think more but don't wanna possibly overface him!
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Well she seems too most of the time apart from when it all goes wrong and we both get stressed out. Her ears are always pricked forward and she always takes me to the jump rather than me pushing her into it.

If we're having a good session then she does little rodeo's afterwards which she always does when she gets excited.

I'm not a mind reader though so who knows
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I would say she does but i could be wrong.
 
Kelly i honestly think from everything I have seen/has been said she has a lovely job and will do the job for you. However she is young, and will not be physically fully grown yet, and may be growing still. My boy is the same age, and was going beautifully on the flat, but has grown gain and now cant canter a circle! Please dont give up, and give her time, I know its difficult when you have a long term goal, but you will get there, just take a step back and have fun with it, lessen the intensity and just play by ear.
 
I am not expecting miricals (sp) of her and my only aim for this year is to get going comfortably round BN, dont even care if i get placed i just want her doing a few nice rounds before the end of next year. Thats surely not too much to ask of a 5yo is is??

I am more than happy to take things slowly with her but i have NEVER know a horse to jump this bad even at this age and that is what is concerning me.

I am going to get her back checked next month to make sure there is no problems there and i will beg my instructor to come out to me as she is worse at home so she can see what she is like at her worst.
 
I think what you are doing is right- definitly get her back checked because my horse Bailey if he has only a tiny bit wrong with him he will tense and be hard to work with.

I know your mare's a five year old and thats still quite young! Considering shes 17h isnt she? Thats a lot of horse to hold together especially since shes younger and will be more green.

Someone on another forum has a 17.2 who's now 7 but at the beginning of his 6th he wouldn't jump a BN DC. Now he has grown into himself and is physically stronger he is getting NC DC's and starting foxes.

She probably needs a bit more time to mature into herself as she is bigger. As others have said go back to grid work and steep cross poles. For gridwork maybe do 3 bounces of cross poles then a stride to an upright just to get her thinking again but keep the whole thing more fun for her. This will also make her more athletic and improve her overal technique.

Don't know if that helps at all but there is hope!
 
Sorry I dont mean to be sounding like I am getting at you, i'm not!! I go through exactly the same thoughts with G.
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I just think there is alot of promise there, and it would be a shame to see you passing up on that, but without seeing her in the flesh, its difficult to know what the best thing is!
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[ QUOTE ]
Why not ask a very nice and helpful Rambo to pay you a visit?????

[/ QUOTE ]

***Coughs***....

I think a decent instructor would be more use
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I'm sure we'll bump into each soon on the circuit though so will happily offer any assistance i can
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Please please please get her back and saddle checked! I go to clients frequently whose horses are constantly catching jumps and it can be simply due to back pain/badly fitting saddle.
If she jumps solid fences may be due to her being worried it will hurt to hit so its worth using her back. Poles are obviously easy for her to knock without causing her pain so maybe the soreness of clearing them (if she has shoulder/back/pelvic pain for instance) is more than that of knocking one.

If she has jumped clear in the past as someone above said, could be this has come on as she has changed shaped (esp. at her age) and hence saddle pinches or she isnt quite evenly muscled?

Definately worth getting both checked in my opinion.
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Sorry didn't mean to sound like i was being moody with you or anything as i am grateful for all the advise i get i was just trying to say that i dont think i am expecting too much from her, i could be wrong and maybe my expectations are too high
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If she just put in one jump to make me think 'wow' then that would give me some light at the end of the tunnel but she doesn't
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Her saddle was checked 2 weeks ago and she had changed shape and the gullet needed changing so was probably was quite a big factor but she doesn't seem to have improved at all!!

Going to get her back checked next month as like someone said she is quite young and could of tweeked something where she is not strong enough.

I have spoken to my friend too and she said she is happy to start taking me to my instructor as she is having trouble with one of her horses so would like some lessons too. Its just trying to get booked in now as she gets quite busy.

Would also like her to come to me first as Senza is much worse at home but that might prove to be difficult
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Hugs Kelly.

Ok I havent read all the replies so I might be repeating.

Remember she is still a baby, have you tried loose schooling over over some jumps - does she knock them when she is on her own so to speak. Also didnt you have your saddle checked recently it might be worth doing that again to rule out any problems there.

Please dont sell her she is so lovely.

Sometimes horses have off days sounds like you had a hell of a one last night. The best thing to do is draw a line underneath it and start a fresh.

Could you make the jump more interesting so she has more to look at so to speak. Setting up a ground line with a placing pole might get her thinking and also help her with her striding. Do you have her is a forward enough canter when you jump her or is she going a little flat? Did you have the jump in the middle of the school down the long straight if you did she might be focusing on something and just rushing to the end of the school. Could you try a jump set on a 20 m circle that way the wall/fence will back her off a bit and stop her rushing.

Only a few ideas I might be talking out of my bottom but I thought I would try and help.

Dont get dispondant and just keep remember how far you have come so far. Id get out hacking to refresh her brain again, practise some canters shortening and lengthening - remember to keep that ball boucning underneath you.

Hope that helps

Hb x
 
don't give up on her, she's only young and she's a big horse, and probably still got a lot of muscling up to do. My 4yr old (nearly 5) goes through phases of absolutely trashing everything, he'll crash through 1'6" if he feels like it. I would say sort out some lessons, and take it slowly to build up both of your confidence. I think its far better to have a horse that knocks things down than one that stops.
 
Hi Kelly

Sorry to read your having a few problems with Senza.

If you need the number of a good back lady who comes out McTimony Chiropractor I can help I highly recommend her.

With regards to instructors there are a couple of girls at SG who jump. They have a male instructor but I can't remember his name. If he comes to us at SG I am sure he will go to you.

I am not a jumper at all but I have heard and its been mentioned on this post. That going XC helps as the fences are solid and don't give therefore it encourages the horses to pick their legs up and give fences more respect. Your going XC soon at our place maybe try and get over before and hack out with B and V??? I would but am horseless at moment.

Hugs, as I know how it feels to be to putting loads of work in and getting nothing back. I hope it turns out good for you. Stay positive!
 
Hi Kelly. I've emailed Bandit a couple of things to try which worked on Tica when we were having EXACTLY the same problems.
I think her technique has gone a bit out of the window but don't worry - we can fix it
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I will also text my trainer and see if she knows anyone in the area who would be able to help.
Good luck and stay brave x
 
Ok if she were mine, I wouldnt jump her at all for a month. Concentrate on flatwork, have some fun hacking, maybe go xc schooling but no poles.

She's young still, you know she's very capable and it sounds like an attitude thing rather than a lack of ability. By giving her a break and then only jumping her very ocasionally at home, you may re-discover some spark, to me she sounds slightly stale.
 
But i dont know how she can be stale
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I didn't jump her at all for 2 months over Christmas, she had a break for a month and then the next month it was just a few schooling sessions and mainly hacking.

I jump her at the most once a week (maybe twice if we have a show but i haven't been out since the 2nd Dec) and with the way the weather has been lately sometimes she hasn't been jumped for up to 2 weeks!!

Maybe she is bored of the sand school and the same jumps coz when i take her out to shows she is a lot better and i hired out an indoor school about a month ago and we had such a good session jumping up to 1.10 and only knocking twice in the whole hour (one of which was my fault) and i really thought we had turned a corner but the next time i jumped at home we crashed through everything again.

Bandit is coming down tomorrow to watch her and have a ride and then i will probably leave jumping for a while until she has her back checked and i can arrange some lessons. I have also got XC on the 1st and maybe the 8th so will just take her out to those for a bit of fun.
 
With the best will in the world, your school isn't the most endearing place for a youngster to learn to jump
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I agree, i don't think she is stale, i don't see how she can be...but i would re-iterate my earlier point, you need to get someone on the ground working with you and coming up with different ideas. You also need to get her out to some shows. There are plenty of horses out there who don't do the business unless they are put into a situation which stimulates them
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Maybe she likes playing to an audience
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Hi Claire

Can you give me the number for the McTimmony chiro (its Tina isn't it)?? I did have it but i have just checked my phone and i must of deleted it. God knows why
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And if you could find out details of that instructor out for me i would be really grateful, my instructor is really hard to get lessons with so trying to keep my options open and if he is up SG anyway then i am only down the road so he might be able to fit me in too.

I asked Vicky about going XC as a practice a couple of days ago but aparently most of the jumps have been shut off to save them for the show.
 
No it is definatly not the best school in the world and that brings up a whole load of different problems that i wont bore you with right now LOL. Half of it is also a lake at the moment too but not the side the jumps are on luckily.

I am trying my best to get instructors, honest i am!!! But they are like gold dust round here
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I have got 3 lined up at the mo i am just waiting for the details so i can get cracking and arrange lessons. I do think you have hit the nail on the head by saying she is not being stimulated enough at home as out facilities are very limited until the summer kicks in and then all the 'proper' SJs will be put in the front field again.
 
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