Starting to despair ........

[Doormouse]

My 6 year ISH is just not getting the hang of jumping at all and worse still she seems to hate it the more we do.

Last year she was very laid back and almost sluggish off the leg and therefore very hard to school. I gave her a holiday from March to May and since coming back into work she is much more forward in the school although so spooky out hacking that I have to have a dressage whip to keep going forward.

I have just started jumping her again and she really is awful at it, I did loads of grid work last year and she is fine when she has poles to tell her where to take off but if I take them away and canter her at the fence she just panics and flings herself and always gets right underneath them.

I have tried putting a small fence either side of the school and just letting her hack round the outside and jump out of her stride, she did this reasonably well 2 days ago but when I took her in the school today she got herself in such a state because the jumps were still up and I couldn't settle her to do any flat work.

I just don't understand what i am doing wrong, I am clearly frightening her but how do I teach her to work things out for herself?

 

[L&M]

Could you have some lessons? It is a lot easier having somone on the ground to help.

 

[Doormouse]

We had a lot of lessons last year and I agree that it is much better with someone on the ground as they see things you don't but I can't seem to find anyone to teach us who doesn't just do grid work or trot work, seems to be a shortage here for some reason.

 

[Luci07]

Can you ask for recommendations? maybe a trainer who will focus on canter and pole exercises so that you both get over the worry about jumping?

 

[flirtygerty]

Not into jumping, but could you not take her to a hunter trial, solid fences that even my horse and I could step over, I believe horses will jump something solid looking, when they baulk at poles.
Give her the fun side of jumping, like I say I'm no expert but if it's fun, it must help