Working on adjustability with a hot head!

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

Just looking for some help with my horses adjustability around a course/ability to collect. When he is super fit and ready for eventing he can become quite hot when showjumping and just wants to be left alone and fly around the course. Even pole work gets him pumped up because poles are just SO EXCITING!

Usually I like to leave him off November/December, hack in Jan and then slowly build up fitness in Feb/March. This year I’ve taken a different approach - I brought him back into work in December to get him fit a bit earlier so that we can iron out any bumps a bit earlier in clinics and lessons with a realistic insight into what he will be like at peak fitness in late spring/summer rather than him being an angel because he’s actually a bit tired and unfit and then being the opposite when we get out and about

My main issue is that when he gets speedy over jumps and he needs to collect on a related distance or certain line he completely ignores every aid, head goes up and off he goes! It’s almost like all he sees is the second element and he forgets you’re there.

The sickening thing is he can collect!! And really well!! We spent a lot of 2024 getting many dressage lessons, competing at Novice dressage and even did a couple of unaffiliated elementary tests. But as soon as jumps or poles on the ground are thrown into the mix he wants zero interference from the rider.

He really enjoys jumping and polework, it’s really motivating for him, he is absolutely game for whatever fence or filler you throw at him and he loves to please after a clear round but having a bit more rideability and adjustability around a course would be great. He’s not dangerously galloping around with me or anything, it’s just frustrating to know that you maybe wouldn’t have had that pole down in that line if you had collected a bit more - but he just won’t let me when there’s jumps involved.

So any ideas on what I can try between now and my lesson next week would be much appreciated!

 

[TheMule]

It’s just very dull repetition of what you want I’m afraid- every single pole has a halt transition after it until he will canter a pole and pull up smoothly and quietly within a few strides. Then you do the same thing with a jump. I pair it with a voice aid and then release of pressure and praise once stood still.
And you do that until you can turn it into a half halt rather than a halt. And then you start doing it in the middle of long related distances, and then in courses. And you keep reminding them of it by going back to the halt when they go to take over again

 

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

It’s just very dull repetition of what you want I’m afraid- every single pole has a halt transition after it until he will canter a pole and pull up smoothly and quietly within a few strides. Then you do the same thing with a jump. I pair it with a voice aid and then release of pressure and praise once stood still.
And you do that until you can turn it into a half halt rather than a halt. And then you start doing it in the middle of long related distances, and then in courses. And you keep reminding them of it by going back to the halt when they go to take over again

This is what I have been unknowingly trying! It just feels and probably looks very messy because he’s not happy to pull up, but I just need to get comfortable will it not being pretty for awhile until he gets the picture I think!

 

[TheMule]

This is what I have been unknowingly trying! It just feels and probably looks very messy because he’s not happy to pull up, but I just need to get comfortable will it not being pretty for awhile until he gets the picture I think!

You have to be very clear in what you want but it should click quite quickly. If he responds to a food reward then I would stop and treat to help him really get the message

 

[paddi22]

I had a similar horse and a trainer said to me 'you don't need it to be pretty, you need it to be effective' and that always stuck with me

 

[Titchy Pony]

Basically what @TheMule said. But you can actually start in walk if necessary, then trot before trying at a canter.

I did this with my hot-heads. Walk over a pole and halt. Walk towards a pole, halt, walk over pole, halt. Walk over pole, halt, walk over next pole. Trot over pole, halt. Trot towards pole, halt, walk over pole. Trot towards pole, halt, trot over pole. Trot over pole, halt, walk over next pole. You get the idea.

Ideally have a bunch of poles scattered around the school, so you can generalise to different poles, mix it up as much as possible to keep the horse listening to you instead of engaging autopilot. Once you've got the poles on the ground sorted, start doing the same with a couple of small jumps interspersed with poles on the ground. Food rewards do work really well for this kind of thing.

 

[CastlelackSportHorses]

Just looking for some help with my horses adjustability around a course/ability to collect. When he is super fit and ready for eventing he can become quite hot when showjumping and just wants to be left alone and fly around the course. Even pole work gets him pumped up because poles are just SO EXCITING!

Usually I like to leave him off November/December, hack in Jan and then slowly build up fitness in Feb/March. This year I’ve taken a different approach - I brought him back into work in December to get him fit a bit earlier so that we can iron out any bumps a bit earlier in clinics and lessons with a realistic insight into what he will be like at peak fitness in late spring/summer rather than him being an angel because he’s actually a bit tired and unfit and then being the opposite when we get out and about

My main issue is that when he gets speedy over jumps and he needs to collect on a related distance or certain line he completely ignores every aid, head goes up and off he goes! It’s almost like all he sees is the second element and he forgets you’re there.

The sickening thing is he can collect!! And really well!! We spent a lot of 2024 getting many dressage lessons, competing at Novice dressage and even did a couple of unaffiliated elementary tests. But as soon as jumps or poles on the ground are thrown into the mix he wants zero interference from the rider.

He really enjoys jumping and polework, it’s really motivating for him, he is absolutely game for whatever fence or filler you throw at him and he loves to please after a clear round but having a bit more rideability and adjustability around a course would be great. He’s not dangerously galloping around with me or anything, it’s just frustrating to know that you maybe wouldn’t have had that pole down in that line if you had collected a bit more - but he just won’t let me when there’s jumps involved.

So any ideas on what I can try between now and my lesson next week would be much appreciated!

When you figure it out let me know!
My homebred and produced 16yr old ex 3* horse is the exact same, we jump 120 together and once she jumps into a distance I am no longer of any use to her.
Same with poles at home(we dont school at home), she will be beautiful on the flat but add in a pole and she just turns into a monster and wants to gallop at everything!
Shes WAY too brave for her own good, but after 16 years together I have just learned to roll with it and do things her way!

 

[KikiDee]

I have one exactly like this, it got to the point that as soon as I even came off a corner towards my line I had nothing - he had decided where he was going and what we were jumping and I had zero input into speed or stride! We were getting round clear relatively unphased, K finds it easy and is one of those that will find a 5th leg when he needs to so I'd never overly worried about not finding the perfect stride, but my current trainer took one look at him jumping and wasn't happy

He stripped it back with us and got pretty tough about not letting K dictate to me and putting me in the driving seat. Started off literally cantering over a single pole until I could put him on the exact stride I wanted over that pole and adjust the rhythm without speeding up. Then jumping everything from trot, then jumping a fence and halting afterwards, then we could canter into a fence but had to come back to walk immediately afterwards - then sometimes we allowed him to canter between fences, sometimes we'd make him come back to walk then pick the canter up again, sometimes we trotted into every other fence etc. he even made me jump into a related distance and then halt before the second part before jumping back out again (obviously we kept fences really small through all the training exercises so I could literally trot and pop). None of this was easy or came straight away at all, I spent a lot of time getting bogged off with and failing to walk when I should have been but he made us keep doing it until the penny dropped. The idea was to keep K guessing all the time so he was always listening to me for his next move and not just assuming we were cantering from fence X to Y and were going to jump it. It did massively improve his rideability, and allowed me to actually put him on a stride and keep him listening around a course, though we do still have to repeat the exercises at home fairly regularly when he starts getting cocky again.

 

[KikiDee]

This is what I have been unknowingly trying! It just feels and probably looks very messy because he’s not happy to pull up, but I just need to get comfortable will it not being pretty for awhile until he gets the picture I think!

Just to second it definitely wasn't pretty when we were 'in the process' and I spent a lot of time merrily galloping past fences wailing that my trainer was asking for the impossible I had to be really bloody firm about sticking to my guns that we WERE pulling up and by whatever means that was necessary. K often thinks being asked to slow down is a polite request up for discussion rather than something that has to be listened to Have to admit I genuinely didn't think we would ever get there until my trainer lost his patience with me one day and hopped on himself and promptly pulled my very jolly horse up in about 3 strides after the fence, and it made me realise that actually he was perfectly capable of listening but I needed to up my game and actually mean it.

 

[Ambers Echo]

All the above but just to add - for Lottie halts after jumping just wound her up. I did 7 miles of the Somerford Farm Ride halting after every jump - and she got worse and worse and worse. So I went back to the drawing board and adpated. Instead I started keeping her guesing about what we were doing before the jump so she could not anticipcate.

I'd have a x-pole up and I'd ride an oval, a few strides towards the poles, then turn away if she quickened at all. When she could ride a few strides towards th pole without quickening I'd extend the straight line of the oval, rinse and repeat. When she was quite near the jump and not speeding up, but turning smoothly away I'd let her carry on to jump it, then come back round and repeat with turning away. Then I'd have a few jumps up and never let her know whether we were turning away or jumping. I'd jump 3 in a row but as she began to take hold of the bit, I'd go back to ovals.

Putting in the discipline in front of the fences worked better than halting her afterwards.

 

[smolmaus]

All the above but just to add - for Lottie halts after jumping just wound her up. I did 7 miles of the Somerford Farm Ride halting after every jump - and she got worse and worse and worse. So I went back to the drawing board and adpated. Instead I started keeping her guesing about what we were doing before the jump so she could not anticipcate.

I'd have a x-pole up and I'd ride an oval, a few strides towards the poles, then turn away if she quickened at all. When she could ride a few strides towards th pole without quickening I'd extend the straight line of the oval, rinse and repeat. When she was quite near the jump and not speeding up, but turning smoothly away I'd let her carry on to jump it, then come back round and repeat with turning away. Then I'd have a few jumps up and never let her know whether we were turning away or jumping. I'd jump 3 in a row but as she began to take hold of the bit, I'd go back to ovals.

Putting in the discipline in front of the fences worked better than halting her afterwards.

I suppose the difference is if you are being bogged off with AFTER the jump, in which case stopping after the jump is the correction, but if you're being pulled IN to the jump your method makes more sense.

If they're dragging you into the jump and you're still letting them jump it then pulling up, they still get to practice the bit you don't want them doing.

ETA: I tried to explain the logic of the above to one of the Teens and she nodded away yes yes yes but turns out she also enjoys jumping too much and can't punish herself by not jumping the jump and just doing boring circles so the pair of them just continue to bomb round with no brakes

 

[Ambers Echo]

In course riding it's the same thing in the end! Most horses who bog off on landing have taken over before the fence. Even if mildly. If they approach in a rhythm without taking control you have much more chance of maintaining that afterwards. I did do some 'post jump bogging off' work with Lottie but I worked her down the gears to halt. Trying to do a straight line halt within a few metres of the jump - a la Lucinda Green - just annoyed her. But once she learned that after every jump there was then a controlled canter, trot, walk and halt it got her in the mindset of stopping after jumping without the fight. She did in the end become very rideable. It took some doing though!

 

[KikiDee]

I suppose the difference is if you are being bogged off with AFTER the jump, in which case stopping after the jump is the correction, but if you're being pulled IN to the jump your method makes more sense.

If they're dragging you into the jump and you're still letting them jump it then pulling up, they still get to practice the bit you don't want them doing.

ETA: I tried to explain the logic of the above to one of the Teens and she nodded away yes yes yes but turns out she also enjoys jumping too much and can't punish herself by not jumping the jump and just doing boring circles so the pair of them just continue to bomb round with no brakes

I think it's a bit of both. The whole point isn't to teach them 'slow down after the jump' or 'stop rushing into fences' - though that's the desired outcome - it's "listen to me". Which is why we have to switch it up constantly with K and keep him guessing, sometimes we stop after the fence, sometimes we stop before. Before I was too focussed on 'riding at fences' and I had to erase that out my head to be 'I'm riding my horse around the arena with some jumps in my way', and completely focus on that rideability between fences. I realised I often actually subtly lost control way before we even got to the fence, and my trainer taught me to correct that straight away because once he'd got the bit between his teeth and was charging at a fence (which was when I suddenly decided to act) I'd lost the battle. So now whenever we are cantering around between fences I'm focussing on softness and how he is responding, as soon as I lose that connection I have to do something about it. So if he gets a bit strong or I take a check and he ignores me, we come back to trot and regroup. If he tanks into a fence, we come back to a halt. It might take me half a lap of the arena to get that halt but the important thing is that we do halt eventually and I follow through, so he learns it's not actually optional. I'm probably not explaining this terribly well other than this approach has transformed my absolutely feral jumper who got kicked out of clinics for being out-of-control, to a reasonably polite horse to jump! (famous last words.... ask me again when I have to start jumping him again post his winter break )

 

[millitiger]

How old is the horse?
And have you done all of his training or was he already like this when you got him?

Older horses can be more difficult to change and it can upset them a lot. You need to work with them and perhaps not be as dictatorial as some suggest.

I bought one who was in a huge american gag, had been 3*** eventing and sold as a 'professionals ride' as he was so strong.
We had some wild rides to start but I learnt to work with him.
He didn't do poles on the floor at all, halting after fences would have greatly upset him and although strong, he was sensitive and didn't want to be 'told' too much as it made him nervous if he thought he was doing something wrong.

Circles in courses helped - I didn't mind getting some faults if I wanted to circle and get our composure back and take a breath.
Using my voice helped, not just to steady but to tell him when he was being good as that relaxed him and then he was less strong.
Being really aware of my body - any sign of my weight tipping forwards, would be a sign to him to accelerate off.
Light seat around the course, sounds counterintuitive but he didn't like a 'plugged in' feeling, again I think he found it dominating.

I only rode him in a snaffle and I really enjoyed him.
Biggest achievement was, after a year, at a show and someone came up to me in the lorry park to ask whether he was really just in a snaffle, as her and her friend couldn't believe I could hold such a big, energetic jumper in a snaffle and that he looked so polite!

 

[DabDab]

I tend to go for random small circles rather than stopping, but that is mainly to do with my own psychology and riding style. I prefer to keep the energy and general 'forwards' feeling and treat what I'm doing between fences as a rhythm and impulsion exercise. I find that I tend to either shut horses down or annoy them if I'm predominantly going for full halts. 10m canter circles, including playing with counter flexion and counter canter, are a far more instinctive tool for me.

 

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

How old is the horse?
And have you done all of his training or was he already like this when you got him?

Older horses can be more difficult to change and it can upset them a lot. You need to work with them and perhaps not be as dictatorial as some suggest.

I bought one who was in a huge american gag, had been 3*** eventing and sold as a 'professionals ride' as he was so strong.
We had some wild rides to start but I learnt to work with him.
He didn't do poles on the floor at all, halting after fences would have greatly upset him and although strong, he was sensitive and didn't want to be 'told' too much as it made him nervous if he thought he was doing something wrong.

Circles in courses helped - I didn't mind getting some faults if I wanted to circle and get our composure back and take a breath.
Using my voice helped, not just to steady but to tell him when he was being good as that relaxed him and then he was less strong.
Being really aware of my body - any sign of my weight tipping forwards, would be a sign to him to accelerate off.
Light seat around the course, sounds counterintuitive but he didn't like a 'plugged in' feeling, again I think he found it dominating.

I only rode him in a snaffle and I really enjoyed him.
Biggest achievement was, after a year, at a show and someone came up to me in the lorry park to ask whether he was really just in a snaffle, as her and her friend couldn't believe I could hold such a big, energetic jumper in a snaffle and that he looked so polite!

He’s 13. He show jumped up to 1.30 with his last owner and then got a tendon injury and was told he’d need a lot of time off and would be a long while before returning to that height. Did not suit his old owner who sadly wasn’t interested in him anymore after hearing this! I bought him fairly soon after he started his rehab and soon did some eventing with him.

Was very dubious about this as he was always said to be a “strong ride” and I wondered would XC be a disaster (being too careful as an ex showjumper and then getting galloped away with ) but he took to it like a duck to water and is honestly more suited to XC than showjumping as he can get speedy!

He was ridden in a gag SJ, I personally just ride him in a snaffle as I don’t find him strong I just find it tricky to adjust him between fences as above!

I cannot claim any of his flatwork as he always gets a sub 30 dressage and I barely ever needed to teach him anything new! So he does have an awareness that he needs to listen to me it’s just that he likes to forget

Edit to actually answer your question !! When I got him he was still in rehab so when brought back into full work he was always keen but I just assumed it was from being on box/field rest and not having jumped anything in over a year. His first couple of shows with me were oky however they would have only been about 80cm and he would not have been fit. Did notice more of this lack of adjustability when we went up in heights. I do wonder at times would he prefer a gag but I don’t feel I am experienced enough to jump around with one. I also feel because he can jump cross country courses in a snaffle there’s no need to bit up and it’s more a me problem!

 

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

I think it's a bit of both. The whole point isn't to teach them 'slow down after the jump' or 'stop rushing into fences' - though that's the desired outcome - it's "listen to me". Which is why we have to switch it up constantly with K and keep him guessing, sometimes we stop after the fence, sometimes we stop before. Before I was too focussed on 'riding at fences' and I had to erase that out my head to be 'I'm riding my horse around the arena with some jumps in my way', and completely focus on that rideability between fences. I realised I often actually subtly lost control way before we even got to the fence, and my trainer taught me to correct that straight away because once he'd got the bit between his teeth and was charging at a fence (which was when I suddenly decided to act) I'd lost the battle. So now whenever we are cantering around between fences I'm focussing on softness and how he is responding, as soon as I lose that connection I have to do something about it. So if he gets a bit strong or I take a check and he ignores me, we come back to trot and regroup. If he tanks into a fence, we come back to a halt. It might take me half a lap of the arena to get that halt but the important thing is that we do halt eventually and I follow through, so he learns it's not actually optional. I'm probably not explaining this terribly well other than this approach has transformed my absolutely feral jumper who got kicked out of clinics for being out-of-control, to a reasonably polite horse to jump! (famous last words.... ask me again when I have to start jumping him again post his winter break )

From doing a lot of exercises since posting this, I do agree with doing a bit of everything. My boy can get royally wound up if I’m constantly stopping before a fence and he begins to anticipate it (and not in a good way). So yes, for me keeping it changing worked and halting before/after or not at all was super helpful. Or changing it up and circling.

 

[Fingerontheneckstrap]

When you figure it out let me know!
My homebred and produced 16yr old ex 3* horse is the exact same, we jump 120 together and once she jumps into a distance I am no longer of any use to her.
Same with poles at home(we dont school at home), she will be beautiful on the flat but add in a pole and she just turns into a monster and wants to gallop at everything!
Shes WAY too brave for her own good, but after 16 years together I have just learned to roll with it and do things her way!

Well done you, sounds like you have achieved so much together as your homebred it must be incredibly fulfilling!

Well it’s only been short of a week but we did get somewhere yesterday. I had set up poles scattered all around the arena like others have mentioned and been riding over them on two different days but slightly changing it up each time.. He is the type that can get wound up if I did the same thing over and over so I was cantering to poles and pulling up before, after, in the middle of two, not pulling up at all, etc. he’s better not knowing my next move and listening than throwing his head up and anticipating.

I have to admit…. It was HARD work at the start and my boy found it extremely offensive that I’d dare interfere with him a couple of half rears and a buck here and there to try let me know who’s boss but after persevering for two days I managed to not only get him to halt between two poles on a related distance, I was actually able to turn a regular 5 stride distance into 8. This is such an achievement for us that I feel it is the equestrian equivalent of winning a Nobel prize

It’s probably an exercise I won’t do too often because he is the type of horse that would go a bit loopy doing the same thing each week, however it’s an exercise I will definitely do more often in other contexts as I did get results after lots of persevering ! Technically one you could do out hacking between two fallen logs. Was even thinking it’s one to try with XC fences on a related distance as he is a little happier to let me change things and interfere during cross country for some reason.

Will update maybe in a months time to see! I reckon he might start getting a bit more sweet over poles but actual fences will be another learning curve.