XC schooling on your own

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Walrus

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I'm taking my boy XC schooling tomorrow, it'll be the first time we've been without another horse (and we've only been about 3 times previously anyway). The course looks quite nice with lots of little fences (perfect for us) and is quite compact with lots of fences in a few fields. I'm taking my non-horsey OH as my health and safety so we wont be hurtling off completely alone.

But any tips for how to approach XC schooling and how to get the best from it - previous attempts have either been a lesson at camp or a course which is 4.5 miles of tracks so more like a hack with jumps. We're hoping to attempt our first ODE soon (mini-ODE) so any helpful hints are appreciated!
 
Warm up sensible and tackle it in areas so that you aren't too far away fromOH(just incase)

Get a good rhythm and enjoy! :)
 
First of all be positive!

I like to start by walking over small logs, ditches, steps and water. Don't attempt to jump anything that you can't get over from a walk until you know he is going to go, so keep everything small. So basically set your horse up to succeed, and keep it fun and easy, going up in height should be straightfoward if you get the basics right.
 
If you want to jump a course, then I tend to warm up trotting around the XC course to see what's available at the height I want, and make a rough course from that. Then go back to the "start" warm up over a few fences in the area, then go off! If your OH is there, I'd get him to walk round with you so he knows where your going, so when you do the course, if your not back within say 10 minutes, he can come find you!
 
Thanks all, great advice - we'll start very small. My plan is definitely to start with stuff he can literally walk over so at least if he does stop I can walk him over them! The ODE is only 60cm XC so we don't have to go mental with the height, it's more just getting his brain into XC mode and making sure he understands what he's meant to do. Plus they have lots of steps and stuff so quite keen to see what he thinks of those. OH is more keen to have his camera phone out at the water - he's angling for £200 from You've been framed!
 
I go xc schooling a lot on my own- tend to jump only things well within our comfort zone, and do lots of horse-confidence building work over simple ditches and water etc. I save jumping the fences requiring more skill/bravery for when I have someone knowledgeable on the ground which a)makes me feel more confident, and b) means that if we do have a problem or a squiffy jump they can tell me why!
 
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