please help me! showjumping disaster lol!

[siani1992]

so, on Tuesday i went to my first showjumping event and decided to do a 55-65 cm clear round, unfortunately it was a complete disaster, my 22yr old welsh d gelding jumper (that ive been loaning for 3 months now) was hot and existed before i even entered the arena, i decided to take him over a practice jump before entering the arena,.... he was fine until he cleared the jump, he just took off with me round the school and i couldn't stop him for a little while (this scared me as id never lost control of him before i jump at home with him and he is truley amazing), regardless i thought if give the clear round a go as he seemed to have cooled off, i was very very wrong i went in and he was fine over jumps 1 and 2 and then he did it again took of with me round the school and over jumps 3 and 4, i was trying so hard to slow him up but it was impossible, he lept over jump 4 from 3ft before the jump and the lack of control scared the hell out of be to the point i gave in n brought him out the arena, after a good pep talk i decided to go in n try again with more authority, i tryed trotting him round to clam him down but that still didnt work he was just to existed and couldn't slow him up and was at such a speed i couldn't make the sharp turn needed for the last 2 jumps , he went flying towards the arenas fence and threw in a dirty stop and i came flying off, he is never ever like this, and i admit it scared me to a couple of tears with a heck of alot of embarrassment , and now im stuck he not scared of showjumping if anything hes really over enthusiastic, i need help on how to keep him calm collected and under control and how to regain control of him if he does it again ( i know its not all his fault and its mine to for being so scared) and advice would be appreciated

P.s.

.His ridden in a snaffle
.i was told not to work him before hand cus it gets them existed (is this right or should i work him
.he has been in from the feild and in his stall from 10 am till 4pm (should i leave him out longer)
. his very very fit


any other info needed please let me know id appreciate any tips


below... a compitition we held at out yard (as u can see he can be amazing ) <3

 

[MandyMoo]

what is he fed on? how many hours does he normally go out for (i.e. do you keep him in only before a show, or is he normally stabled for a period of the day?).

even on a show day I would try and keep his routine as close to normal to avoid any excitement - and whoever told you not to warm him up at an event is wrong (in my opinion anyway)...I personally think that i what a warm up is for....you can take 20-30minutes to do some flat work, supple them up, get them relaxed and listening to you; try lots of transitions and vary the speed within the trot and canter (collecting up, extending out) to get the horses really listening to you.

at home I would suggest doing some grid work to slow him up - keep it small to build confidence. Also I would suggest if you're jumping fences, try and practise keeping a steady rhythm and sitting quiet, and once you land, try and bring him to a halt a fixed distance from the fence i.e. 5 strides after landing, set yourself the challenge and keep to it. Hopefully he will eventually learn that 'tanking' off after a fence isn't right and he needs to listen to you.

Really work on your flat work at home to get him engaged/listening and to teach him to respect you as a rider - you'll get no where if he doesn't respect and listen to your aids!!!

as for his bit, I wouldn't fiddle around with anything stronger...yet....as it sounds more like a schooling issue than a ''he is too strong, shove a stronger bit in''

best of luck

 

[siani1992]

what is he fed on? how many hours does he normally go out for (i.e. do you keep him in only before a show, or is he normally stabled for a period of the day?).

even on a show day I would try and keep his routine as close to normal to avoid any excitement - and whoever told you not to warm him up at an event is wrong (in my opinion anyway)...I personally think that i what a warm up is for....you can take 20-30minutes to do some flat work, supple them up, get them relaxed and listening to you; try lots of transitions and vary the speed within the trot and canter (collecting up, extending out) to get the horses really listening to you.

at home I would suggest doing some grid work to slow him up - keep it small to build confidence. Also I would suggest if you're jumping fences, try and practise keeping a steady rhythm and sitting quiet, and once you land, try and bring him to a halt a fixed distance from the fence i.e. 5 strides after landing, set yourself the challenge and keep to it. Hopefully he will eventually learn that 'tanking' off after a fence isn't right and he needs to listen to you.

Really work on your flat work at home to get him engaged/listening and to teach him to respect you as a rider - you'll get no where if he doesn't respect and listen to your aids!!!

as for his bit, I wouldn't fiddle around with anything stronger...yet....as it sounds more like a schooling issue than a ''he is too strong, shove a stronger bit in''

best of luck

his on over night turn out and brought in during the day to rest, as his on full livery most of the week im pretty sure that his fed on pony nuts and chaff,
i does seem he only does this at shows, hes very very responsive to my aids at home,

thank you so much for the advice !!

 

[cyberhorse]

That sounds very familiar! I ended up doing more work and schooling and then going in bigger classes when back in competition to give him something he thought was worth jumping and backed him off a bit.

Prior to attempting the bigger classes (still smaller than courses I could jump happily at home), I hired venues. This really helped, as he got excited off home ground and turned into a very different horse I needed to learn to ride. After these schooling sessions at the centres, I then went in on show day at the same venues more confident and that really helped keep him calmer. If you are going in a bit nervous, as is understandable, chances are you won't be sitting as quiet as you probably do at home which exacerbates the problem. Being very calm on show day is essential to prevent this type heating up. I warm up and then make him walk for a while before waiting ringside to go in. If a venue is busy I take him outside between the warm up and ring.

If you are doing clear round do not be afraid to pull him up and make him rein back after you have jumped a line and then pick up your canter and carry on, or circle if he locks on and takes off with you so he knows he does not get away with running you just because he's at a show. The whole point of clear round is to school the horses, so a good center will be happy with this providing you don't go over the top. Just remember if you use these methods round a course never ever pull him up right in front of a fence or you'll risk turning him into a stopper. I have even jumped a line sat back and headed straight for a wall which gave him something to really think about!

You have to have the mind set to school at a show like you would at home when you first start taking them out, clear round is excellent for this.

 

[Mike007]

Welcome to the trials and tribulations of the horse world. The thing to remember is that nobody else matters . You are only competing against your self . If you dont do better next time ,give yourself a kick up the ++++ but dont beat yourself up because you dont get a rosette.It is all about doing your best and to hell with everything else. It is about enjoying the moment. When you get it right at a fence (regardless of height),when you know you got it spot on. There are a handfull of fences and jumps that I treasure in my memory,over a great many years. They are as vivid to me now as the moment I did them.They might not seem much on the grand scale of things but for a given horse and rider and personal best , well , this is what counts.