My horse is an absolute s--t

[hadfos]

We went x-country schooling today

Well that was the idea...he has been jumping 3ft6 at home over poles

He was an absolute pig

Had to cancel going to showcross sunday,unfortunately they havnt got steps a foot high and a giant puddle to splosh in(that is all they could have for us to get anywhere

),oh and providing he didnt have to come off the step the opposite way we would be ok!!
Flatwork,lovely

Only photo of him jumping,it took me a 6 attempts to get him over this

,he almost stopped then leaped over it,i got left behind and tried to give with my hands but it didnt happen

He then jumped it lovely the other way,but from that moment in we got this..

He flatly refused to jump anything,decked me on a log

,i was so positive and really riding him to them,but by this time he had knocked the hell out of me

,my very experienced friend got on him(she events),i asked her to get on him,and the little pig just wasnt having any of it

,made me feel a little better as it proved it was him,and that x-country isnt his forte,he knew they were not showjumps and
he was having none of it!!Not the 1st time i have taken him,he went last yr and jumped everything 2nd attempt,lol!
However he loves water

So in all we achieved jack shite,lol,we argued with him for an hr and half and he wanted none of it

But he travelled well

 

[Cazzah]

Little sod!!! Bet you are really frustrated!! Some just don't 'do' cross country. Hope you're not too bruised? xx

 

[joeanne]

Obviously swimming is his forte not x-country!

 

[0ldmare]

Oh bless you, what a frustrating day. But at least you know it was him and not you!

 

[flyingfeet]

Just a thought - we used to have a horse that would show jump on a surface, but would throw the towel in X-country (I remember falling off 4 times in one session)

Turns out he had corns in his feet and refused to jump if he thought the ground was too hard.

Is he jumping on grass or a surface at home?

 

[hadfos]

Thanx guys

...frustrated wasnt the word,i was so cross with him.....he really let me down

,but he is an animal at the end of the day!!
I plan to swim the channel

,he may excel,lmao

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Just a thought - we used to have a horse that would show jump on a surface, but would throw the towel in X-country (I remember falling off 4 times in one session)

Turns out he had corns in his feet and refused to jump if he thought the ground was too hard.

Is he jumping on grass or a surface at home?

[/ QUOTE ]
He was jumping on soft ground today(nothing but rain up here

for the last 2 wks)....no excuses,he just absolutely hated it

,bless him

 

[mummyspurg]

Morning, Can't help but think that there may be an underlining problem, I've had a saddle pinch on the withers/shoulders as they come up over the jump, she created her own style of jumping, changed the saddle and she's winning classes, didn't really show on the flat, just a thought! Will he jump for anyone else, on the lunge?

 

[saskia295]

Oh no

how frustrating for you. Have you tried xc schooling with a very reliable nanny horse? Maybe he would get into the swing of it a bit more with a friend to follow to start with?

 

[Tiarella]

Oh no!

I was waiting for this post! You can always come and do the ODE on Doug, im already sh!tting myself and its two weeks away yet

Can you take him xc schooling with an experienced horse so he just follows them over? Was he actually scared of them? Or just couldnt be bothered to do them?

Is jumpcross like xc but the jumps knock down so theyre like rustic poles?

He is lovely boy though, dont think I have seen him before

 

[MardyMare]

I have the other problem - horse is fine over cross country (only tried little ones) but no confidence over fillers in showjumping. Maybe he just needs to find his feet. Have you ever been to Hoods in Lincoln - they have lots of little jumps that gave my horse lots of confindence (back when I could jump

) He looks really nice though

 

[ForeverBroke_]

My horse is like this both with SJ when its anythig besides a single pole , and under 2ft 6 - and cross country .


But, we're getting there. Just wish i could stay on a bit longer!!

 

[hadfos]

Thanx guys

I think it was a bit of both really...but more obstinate,the luck on his face said it all,lol!!
Actually we did hoods last yr,he looked at everythin but jumped it 2nd time everytime!A couple of his friends were with him that day

As you say hoods is much better,smaller fences,so plan is to take a buddy and take him there

 

[Daisychain]

Go with another horse and have a lead, make sure the fences are small enough for your horse to go over from a stand still if necessary, otherwise your just teaching him that he is able to refuse. If he stands infront of it then give him a bloody good smack, you need to iron this out straight away.

 

[ladyt25]

Ok, so just a thought - how old is your horse btw? Do you or have you just done mainly showjumping and is that all your horse has done?

If your horse is used to showjumping then I would ride the fences as if you are showjumping NOT trying to ride them as xc fences. I had to do this with my horse initially many moons ago as he had been brought on as a showjumper and did not get the idea of coming to fences other than showjumping style.

Therefore I would advise sitting up and deep in your saddle and holding him whilst pushing with your legs - treat him exactly as you would showjumping. The main point is to not drop him as you approach the fence as, if he is lacking confidence with them already he will just stop if left to fend for himself as such.

I still have to 'ride' all my fences on my horse and certainly if there are any fillers for example showjumping or anything I think he would like to have a look at first! Until the horse is confident to take on xc fences I find riding them as if they were showjumps works well.