strong but sensitive horse

[skye01]

Hi guys, i hope you're all keeping safe in these tough times!

Back in November i brought a new horse- chestnut mare, silly me!
Anyways i completely fell in love with her and brought her knowing she was going to be a bit of a project. She come over from Ireland a year and a half ago where all she done was hunt and team chase. Then a dealer brought her over here and then i brought of a lady who got her from the dealer and neither had done too much work with her.
So lets just say her flat work was awful, you'd take a hold of the reins and her head would just come flying up and she wouldn't want any kind of contact in her mouth. I got everything checked, new saddle etc and after playing around with bits we've found one that works super well for her on the flat and shes come on leaps and bounds.
She has always been strong when jumping so we have been playing around with bits for that, she has a super sensitive mouth and what i'm finding in the canter (especially when jumping) is she throws her head up or shakes it. I went showjumping last Friday and looked like a right noob with no control around the course because she just gets so excited! I'm certainly not complaining, its a lot of fun but it ends up me really hanging on her mouth, to stop or gain control between jumps, which i really don't want to do.

Apparently according to previous owner a martingale makes her worse but i'm tempted to re try as she hasn't reacted to anything we've tried with her so far? I've tried her in a 3 ring and a pelem with a curb chain. She works better in the 3 ring but once shes got a hang on it there no stopping! I know we've got a lot of work to do and a lot will come with the flat work! Then this leads being in the canter on the flat its either full pace going 100 miles an hour, bunny hoping trying- to go full on, or trotting. Is there any exercises i can do to help her out ? I have flat work lessons once a week and lunge her once a week where she does actually canter beautifully- it just seems to be when i ride her :/ ( sack the jockey!) I really don't believe she is being silly/ stubborn i think its much more of a she doesn't understand what we are asking of her.
What bits/ martingales/ bridles have you guys found worked better for a stronger horse ? TIA

 

[ihatework]

This is a huge can of worms that isn’t going to be solved by internet advice. You need a really experienced trainer and a lot of patience, to really re-educate both her body and her mind.

Completely pointless winging your way around a course out of control at the moment.

Im cautious about answering your question about bit/tack because that will only be a small part of the jigsaw puzzle. If pushed I’d say reduce/simplify the bitting - keep her comfy, then transfer the pressure by experimenting with nosebands. Martingale wise if she is v sensitive in the mouth she might just fight a running martingale, under instruction, consider an elastic standing.

 

[WineOClock]

I don't feel I have the experience to advise on bits etc, but just wanted to share that I feel your pain, as I've had a similar experience with my boy who came over from Ireland having roared about hunting but with no 'correct' education at all. The first year I owned him I thought he was a headshaker, he was so all over the place with the contact. I'm not brave enough to jump but I did aspire to do pole work as a tool to improve our flatwork, but it terrifed me at first as the canter felt like the wall of death. To help me feel safe and have some semblance of control I do pole work in a universal, and that helps. However the key, as I think you've identified, is flat work, flat work and more flat work. We've spent alot of time working on the canter and I now finally feel I have some gears and can regulate the pace; maybe something similar would help for you - perhaps playing with shortening and lengthening over poles on the ground. I don't think I'd attempt a course until I could easily regulate the canter over ground poles (but then I probably wouldn't attempt a course full stop )
Also, with my boy, we realized that chucking his head in the air wasn't only excitement, but also to do with lack of balance, and anxiety (as previous jumping had probably involved riders pulling him in the mouth and bouncing around on his back). Rushing with his head in the air was as much about wanting to get to the other side and get it over with, as about excitement. Again, lots of pole work has helped with his confidence and balance.
It sounds like you've achieved a lot in the short time you've had your mare, so just keep concentrating on the basics, improving the canter on the flat and playing with poles on the ground. I'm sure in time the jumping will start to feel more fluent and balanced.