training a pony to jump?

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RoyalSapphire

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I have a 7yo 14.1hh gypsy cob who i want to get jumping, nothing big even just 50-60cm will do me just fine. problem is she doesnt want to learn how to jump. she is stubborn, always has been, i dont mind it but she knows the jump will fall down and tbh i think she actually enjoys knocking it down. Any suggestions, speed/impulstion doesnt matter you can be going at a lovely canter and shell just stop dead then walk through it no matter how much u kick (is also very unresponsive to artificial aid, an if you give her a smack with whip sometimes shell stop dead from whatever shes doing and just wont move no matter what u do, its like shes saying "go on give me another smack see how that works out for you") i have progressed slightly (through treat training, only food seems to motivate her) as we can now do pole on the floor in trot where as before, again, shed just stop and walk through them not caring if they went everywhere, but raise them and she just treats them like poles on the floor still and doesnt raise her legs up enough, crashing through them. im sorry if it sounds like i abuse my pony, i dont i actually rarlyuse my whip just if shes in a particularly stubborn mood but she is very unresponsive to it and honestly does not care! help!!
 
Michen said:
Get a decent instructor
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You don't sound as if you have the experience to train a pony to jump and the more you try the by doing the wrong things the longer it will take to train her properly, smacking her will not make her want to do as you ask, she is not being stubborn she just doesn't understand, I am sure she never says "give me another smack", you need someone who can help you train her to enjoy her work.
 
So, when your pony gets near a jump, you give her a wack with the whip? This is to encourage her to enjoy jumping? Not sure I follow your logic.

May I suggest you tackle the problem from the other direction and teach her that it is to her advantage to jump -- and not because jumping allows her to avoid unpleasantness, but rather the reverse?

As an experiment, I made a small corral for my youngsters and fed hard feed inside. When the ponies were used to going in for a few handfuls of feed, I put a rail on the ground across the gate. I'd raise it a few inches every day. Quite soon, they'd pop in and out when they felt like it to see if there was any feed left or they'd missed some. I've now got a jumping lane which works even better. Judge for yourself....

[video=youtube_share;F62euTb6goA]https://youtu.be/F62euTb6goA[/video]
 
I have just seen that you have an instructor, if they are any good they should be getting you able to do trot and canter poles properly and gradually adding a low fence when the pony is using the poles well, it is all about getting the pony looking at what they are doing, understanding about using themselves and having the experience to pop a jump in at the correct time, if they cannot get the timing right they are not going to be much use so maybe look for someone more experienced.
Not having an arena will hold you back as you get into the winter but if you get going now she should be jumping within no time, I usually have them popping a small, 60cm or so, grid after a week or two however green they are, once they can do ground poles well jumping should be relatively straightforward.
 
Dry Rot said:
So, when your pony gets near a jump, you give her a wack with the whip? This is to encourage her to enjoy jumping? Not sure I follow your logic.

May I suggest you tackle the problem from the other direction and teach her that it is to her advantage to jump -- and not because jumping allows her to avoid unpleasantness, but rather the reverse?

As an experiment, I made a small corral for my youngsters and fed hard feed inside. When the ponies were used to going in for a few handfuls of feed, I put a rail on the ground across the gate. I'd raise it a few inches every day. Quite soon, they'd pop in and out when they felt like it to see if there was any feed left or they'd missed some. I've now got a jumping lane which works even better. Judge for yourself....

[video=youtube_share;F62euTb6goA]https://youtu.be/F62euTb6goA[/video]
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That is great for getting them started, you just need to make sure the boundary fences are good otherwise they may go off exploring!!
 
Take her for lessons somewhere else then. Your understanding of how a horse thinks is completely wrong. She's not knocking it over deliberately she just doesn't understand or isn't strong enough to carry out your wishes. We have just started a little pony we broke less than a month ago over poles and X poles. The first time over them of course he knocked them down, he didn't know to lift his feet! Second night of training and he did much better, correct training, and the jockey is only 7. No smacking involved or needed!
 
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Echo the others really. It sounds like you are having issues with ridden aids more generally as well as trying to encourage her (not smack her) to jump. You need a good instructor who has the experience to help you. You are going to be more limited in the winter of course; but I see from other threads that you are in Pony Club so hopefully there are loads of rallies etc you can get out to. Possibly also look to getting out to other venues to work? You need to work to get your pony to respond correctly and willingly to ridden aids. It all just sounds like a horrible fight for both of you right now. Stubborn is fine - planting is not.
 
be positive said:
That is great for getting them started, you just need to make sure the boundary fences are good otherwise they may go off exploring!!
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After I got over the first 30 years training my dogs, I realised that there is something called "awareness". It is simply awakening the animal to the fact that it CAN do something, or awakening an underlying instinct if you like. It applies to all animals and especially to children. How often do we hear people say, "Oh, but I can't/couldn't do that!". Show them how and build on that success. Simple really!

I used to stay with a show jumping family in Ireland. Every morning, the son of the house would take his latest prospect around a course of jumps a few feet high. I asked about this and was told it built confidence. The horse got so used to success that it never occurred to it that it couldn't jump anything it was presented with.

Of course, it can also work the other way around which I suspect may be the OP's problem.
 
Some horses are not good at jumping, if you want to jump then perhaps getting a horse that is talented in this direction would help? Forcing a horse which has no talent for a task and does not enjoy it will rarely end in success.
 
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I can't see why any horse won't enjoy jumping if it's trained properly and is not physically unable to do what is being asked. 50cms is not a big ask for most animals.

I've bought loads of horses that have never jumped and brought them on to be decent jumpers able to jump up to a metre track (which is all I want to achieve with them). Not a single one of them has been bred for show jumping, yet they have all turned out to be keen and honest jumpers who rarely touch a pole.

I can only think that if you train them correctly and they are sound, there is no reason to not enjoy it.

I can't take the credit for the correct training as I've always had lessons with each of them from a really good SJ coach which naturally has helped me to do it right.
 
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FfionWinnie said:
I can't see why any horse won't enjoy jumping if it's trained properly and is not physically unable to do what is being asked. 50cms is not a big ask for most animals.

I've bought loads of horses that have never jumped and brought them on to be decent jumpers able to jump up to a metre track (which is all I want to achieve with them). Not a single one of them has been bred for show jumping, yet they have all turned out to be keen and honest jumpers who rarely touch a pole.

I can only think that if you train them correctly and they are sound, there is no reason to not enjoy it.

I can't take the credit for the correct training as I've always had lessons with each of them from a really good SJ coach which naturally has helped me to do it right.
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I've certainly met horses which don't enjoy jumping, and many others which are completely untalented to the point of being dangerous. I live in Ireland, where the whole reason for riding is to jump, and where there are very many badly trained and badly ridden horses. If the horse doesn't want to jump, find something else for it to do.
 
I agree with FW most can learn to jump small fences, I would say up to 80cm's rather than 1m courses but then I have had some extremely untalented animals through my yard, I have had very few that did not obviously enjoy it so were not pushed, others that did once they had learnt it could be fun but it does need to be introduced carefully and thoughtfully, some find it physically difficult, heavy breeds usually, they often prefer to do xc type fences rather than coloured poles in a restricted area.

I am currently working with an 8 year old who had done nothing, he is loving it and has started taking his rider into the small jumps ears pricked and really trying despite being rather a chunky boy that is build more for comfort than speed or jumping, he may never achieve anything near 1m but should easily have fun round 70-80 in the near future, it helps that his flatwork is correctly established which I expect is lacking for the OP.
 
Take the horse out hacking. Get it travelling forwards and take a lead from an experienced horse. Find some small logs.
For me this is the best way to teach a horse to jump. The youngsters all learn to hop over little solid stuff before doing poles in the school.

Dryrot I love that video.
 
Cortez said:
I've certainly met horses which don't enjoy jumping, and many others which are completely untalented to the point of being dangerous. I live in Ireland, where the whole reason for riding is to jump, and where there are very many badly trained and badly ridden horses. If the horse doesn't want to jump, find something else for it to do.
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So have I and I've seen people produce the same miserable and ungenuine horses time and time again. My point was with the right training on a blank canvas, or at least, an unspoilt canvas, the horse should enjoy it. If it doesn't, you say find it something else to do - I would say examine my training methods or it's soundness as well!
 
Some horses don't enjoy jumping - Fergus doesn't, and it's certainly not my training that's to blame. He does it, sometimes even does it well, but he doesn't want to do it - he's not ungenuine by any means either, he just doesn't get anything out of it. Once you've had a horse like that, you realise that it's not as simple as "blank canvas + good training = will do whatever you want".
 
we had done xc and she jumped them and even does a sj if the course is big enough. She hates areanas so if she just has to go round and round, pole there or not, she does not enjoy it. However if there is a big course she soon gets into popping the fences as she isnt just going round and round and so sees it more as exploring and will jump same reason why i think shell jump xc. Problem is getting her into the habit of jumping as if its not a course and just the same cross pole again and again she just gives up crashing through. To all those who think i give my pony a smack before the jump and at the jump, etc, u have misinturpreted, i do not. I have an instructor who trys to get me to use the whip more than i feel comfortable with as, as i have said i rarly use the whip, mainly just carry it to brush the flys off her ;P but she is a very good instructor and we have improved loads with her so im definitly not getting rid of her before you suggest it!
 
So what is the problem then, if she jumps a big sj course then she knows how to jump.

It is hard to read your post but it seems as if she is only a problem if you jump the same x pole again and again, she then gets fed up and crashes through, the easy answer is to stop jumping before she crashes into it, you need to keep her interested, to challenge her so she wants to jump well, going endlessly over and over the same jump will make her bored, fed up and a bit like teaching a child by nagging them it becomes pointless as they stop even trying.
When I school any of mine we always start with a x pole but only do it a few times before moving onto the exercises I want to do, even the baby horses will rarely jump more than twice in each direction before doing something different as long as they are focused the fence will be put up or a second introduced, they will pop a few different things, finish before they are bored or tired and on a good note even if it means they have only jumped 7 or 8 times that session, sometimes they require more, sometimes less.
 
no she doesnt jump at all in an inclosed space only if there are no boundries xc/hacking/sj course spread over a massive field. never in an areana. Sorry im not making sense it makes in my head when im writing it :/
 
Please check fit of saddle and bridle, teeth and back.

Generally most horses once they understand the poles don't bite will pop over a small jump. Being uncomfortable will either have them rushing, racing over the jump to get it over with or will not jump at all

Talk to your instructor, or maybe save up and send the horse away to a trainer to be taught.
 
thank u. I do not know of any good trainers though, only one ive heard of has a few unpleasant stories going around about her training methods, and that the horses come back worst and scared :/
 
TBH I agree that some horses are simply crap at jumping. Whether it's because they don't have a good natural technique, they don't enjoy it, or something else.

The OPs horse might pick up on a hunting field or out cantering over logs but as soon as you get them back in a school they go back to switched off "I really don't enjoy this" mode. There's a difference between a horse who hasn't had much practice and a horse who just doesn't enjoy it.
 
i have started trying something similar to ur jumping lane. I did it today and although she didnt properly jump she didnt knock it down :) Ill let u know how we progress ;)
 
RoyalSapphire said:
I have a 7yo 14.1hh gypsy cob who i want to get jumping, nothing big even just 50-60cm will do me just fine. problem is she doesnt want to learn how to jump. she is stubborn, always has been, i dont mind it but she knows the jump will fall down and tbh i think she actually enjoys knocking it down. Any suggestions, speed/impulstion doesnt matter you can be going at a lovely canter and shell just stop dead then walk through it no matter how much u kick (is also very unresponsive to artificial aid, an if you give her a smack with whip sometimes shell stop dead from whatever shes doing and just wont move no matter what u do, its like shes saying "go on give me another smack see how that works out for you") i have progressed slightly (through treat training, only food seems to motivate her) as we can now do pole on the floor in trot where as before, again, shed just stop and walk through them not caring if they went everywhere, but raise them and she just treats them like poles on the floor still and doesnt raise her legs up enough, crashing through them. im sorry if it sounds like i abuse my pony, i dont i actually rarlyuse my whip just if shes in a particularly stubborn mood but she is very unresponsive to it and honestly does not care! help!!
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Hi, our 12h seems to have been v similar to urs and would literally walk through anything in front of him until we started doing balance work (lots of lunging and transitions) and also jumping logs when we were out and about (not letting him just run at them and rewarding if he jumps) . He is now jumping small jumps in the school (prob 30cm-50cm) and will even lift his legs for poles. We haven’t tried a raised trotting pole yet as thinknit would put us back again but just gave fun learning .

x

hope this helps and good luck.
 
? I didn’t realise ??‍♀️ Hopefully this might help someone else when reading through tho….. some of the posts I’ve read are probably old but I’ve still got value from them ?
 
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