refusing

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harrihjc

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Had a jumping lesson last night with a group of friends from the yard, and Flash has started throwing in really dirty stops
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He had never refused until we tried a water tray under a jump that was about 1ft6 about 2 weeks ago, then he stopped, had a look then jumped it the next time. But last night he was doing some really nasty stops at a filler, it was only about 2ft and he was on the right stride, going forward and I just can't understand it. It's not the height because we usually jump about 3ft, and he was fine with the other jumps which were the same size. Sometimes he would jump it, others he would just slam the breaks on at the last minute
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He has jumped both the water tray and the filler hundreds of times before so it's not that he hasn't seen them and is just being green.

I've never had to deal with refusing before, and was a mixture of mad at him for being so naughty, mad at myself in case it was my fault, and worried that he was trying to tell me something was wrong. Everyone said he was just being downright naughty and trying it on, and he has just turned 6 and has been somewhat 'trying' lately!

Anybody got any tips to help me nip this in the bud before it gets a nasty habit!
 
Sorry I may sound controversial here, but if saddle back etc is ok, he needs a bloody good smack. He has got to know he has to get over what you put infront of him, and it is your job you dont overface him etc so he trusts you. ALso, if things are only 1'6, trot into them, let him have a good look but keep him going forward, even if he goes from standstill, he has to get over it
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have you had back/teeth/saddle checked to make sure nothing is causing him pain?

otherwise the solution is just going to be that you have to get tough with him and make him jump - even if from a standstill! and letting him know you are the boss
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TOTALLY agree with KatB on this one..
Sometimes they just need a good pony club kick-kick-kick and whack (and I find a good growl works too sometimes! Though dont swear!) for good measure just to ensure that take off happens....
The naughty Sixes and Sevens -(im there at the moment with one too!)
 
I think you are going to get a huge variety of responses to this. Obviously you need to make sure this is not pain associated, have you had his back, teeth, saddle etc checked recently?

Apart from pain, only you know your pony. Yes, some will take the p*ss and perhaps he has learnt he can stop and the things that are a little spooky. Whilst i agee with the others that in this situation you need to be firm, i also think that you need to determine what the problem is.

When i first bought Fee, she would stop alot. I cant tell you the amount of times ive been eliminated in the past year! BUT, when she did, a smack really didnt do much to help - in fact, it made her mre uptight. In the end, i think it as a trust issue, because after going back to basics, she is a different horse!!

Its difficult, but things like trotting over small jumps will help, or having them so small that if he does stop he can do them from a stand still if need be.

Only you know your pony, perhaps it is the terrible six/sevens (i know of alot of horses that have played up at his age).

Hope you sort it soon.
N xx
 
back, teeth and saddle have all been checked within the last few months, but we are awaiting our new saddle and having back person out again so we start with a clean slate so to speak. He did get a good few pony club kicks and a smack because he was absolutely fine going over it until we added the filler that he's jumped so many times before, it was in a grid so his striding was spot on, I really think he was just being naughty! Problem with Flash is when he's stopped he absolutely roots himself to the spot, and no matter what I do he will not move, he does it out hacking sometimes if he doesn't want to walk past a plastic bag or something equally stupid, I've tried being really tough with him, and also tried being very calm and patient, but neither makes the slightest bit of difference!!
 
I do wonder if it is a confidence thing, but there has been nothing to shake his confidence in jumping because we've always taken things slowly wth him and he's never been pushed. The fact he was jumping exactly the same grid minus the filler effortlessly makes me thing it's not pain related, as surely he would have been misbehaving then too?

Another pony at our yard is exactly the same age and has just started doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time, also had back, teeth and saddle checked. I think they've been plotting together!!
 
Will he go backwards? If so, keep thinks small and back him up 2 or thre strides and then make him go from there. Turning them away means they have won!! Also you have to keep him infront of your leg whatever it takes, they are not allowed to drop behind your leg!!!

Just to clarify, i wasnt advocating beating your horse over the fences, but if they are that small, they can walk over them
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No excuse for not going forward at all.
 
Mine started refusing as I started hesitating

I have to admit to being not very friendly to them, as I'd rather them go through and destroy the fence than stop.

However problem was them eyeballing things and then me hesitating a stride before the jump.

Gridwork should help with the rythm and creating lots of scary jumps at home!
 
another thing worth thinking about is how are you riding him into the fences with the fillers.? now he has stopped a couple of times you may be subconciously (sp) riding him differently thinking 'you will get over this!' and if he is a youngish/sensitive horse he may just be weary/backing off as you are riding him different from normal.. the reason i mention this is because it is what i do sometimes (getting less and less tho).!! its a hard habit to break (for me anyway), some horses don't care and just come in the same but Andy is quite sensitive when it comes to jumping so i have to be careful i don't push him to much with my seat (even do it without realising) into the bigger/brighter fences as this is when we have problems..
 
Kat, flash used to be able to go backwards but has recently decided he won't do that either
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I'm not sure if I'm hesitating, the first time I definitely didn't as I didn't think anything of it, the only change was the addition of the filler that he's done loads of times and not looked at, so it was totally unexpected. I always have to really ride him into the fences because he's so lazy, the second you drop your guard he's decided he's finished work and switches off, he's very backward and it's difficult to keep him infront of my leg.

I did get more determined about it tho, I was thinking 'you will do this!' because he has no excuse, but then he'd jump it with no problem a few times, then he'd just stop again.
 
I agree with the above about not letting him get away with it.

As an alternative idea, it may be that the problem is that he has jumped these things so often before. You may be best going and doing something completely different with him, preferably away from his yard, and not jumping those fillers for at least a couple of weeks. Challenge him by taking him places he hasn't been before, jump him bigger (away from home), take him cross country, teach him some lateral work he doesn't know, get a lesson from somebody different. Do something different and challenging every day for a couple of weeks and you may find he loses interest in stopping at a couple of boring fillers. I wouldn't normally suggest show jumping him at all (i.e. give him a break and do other things) but you say he is jumping very well apart from the bogey fillers. He looks intelligent and athletic and he may just need stretching. By pressing the issue with those particular fillers you may not achieve anything.

Obviously if you try this approach and things rapidly get worse then I suggest you get some help from someone - there are BE and BSJA trainers in Kent who would assist.
 
we do have a BSJA trainer, he was there on hand to help with horrible pony last night and said he really was just being a sod! We only really jump once a week, the rest of the time is hacking and schooling. We do want to get out and do some shows, but haven't had the chance yet this year, and now I'm a bit concerned about going and him acting like a tit. I might see if I can take him with other problem pony to rent the jumps after a show and get him going somewhere different and see how he is.
 
agree with daisycrazy, i would be inclined to forget about the fillers and going to shows for a little while - avoid making a big issue out of it by trying to do too much. take him XC, hacking, sponsored rides - have some fun and get him thinking forwards in his jumping again. you do not want this to be become a problem in future, esp at competitions. in the meanwhile ask your instructor for some excersises to help get him quicker off your leg as this will help you ten-fold in the long term with his jumping.
P.S is he the coloured in your sig.? if so he is gorgeous.!
 
yeh he is the coloured in my sig. Thanks for all your advice everyone, I'll see if there is anything different we can do. We've been working on trying to get him more off the leg for over a year, but it's very slow progress! I think we need a change of scenery, but unfortunately because of bad weather (its just mud here at the mo!) and lack of transport we haven't been able to go anywhere to do XC or any jumping since last July!
 
stupid question...but are you old enough to drive? might be worth thinking about b+e test? its what I',m having to do due to transport issues!
 
Yeh I'm plenty old enough to drive
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But don't have a suitable car or trailer, or any spare money so it's a bit of a non-starter!
 
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