XC Woes

[RHM]

Go to 60cm courses/competitions and practice 'cantering' around the course, i.e. going across the field, on her own, different jumps, field boundaries etc. once she is confident cantering round the field you will probably find the height can be racked up quite quickly.

I’ve hired courses and she absolutely flies round. It’s just at competition she does it ?‍ If no one is there it’s like being sat on a completely different animal. They are odd creatures! Think it’s going to be a case of slowly building her confidence in the whole thing!

 

[RHM]

Yup that was our issue, I did always wonder if I could find 20 friends to park their cars next to fences . . . .

Sounds like we might be able to get a few cars together judging by this thread ?

 

[ester]

Lol at the time I think I did make a comment about the levelling effect of a 14.2 when you’re an advanced eventer ?.

I also got a cracking good photo of him out of it; where I’m not overanalysing my position as it’s not me ?.

he was good enough at other stuff (and an older pony anyway) that we did what worked better. I’d love the chance to have an XC schoolmaster in future though.

he had been ok with previous owner I think but she was a better rider than me and he didn’t have a blond girlfriend in tow then ??

 

[SusieT]

I’ve hired courses and she absolutely flies round. It’s just at competition she does it ?‍ If no one is there it’s like being sat on a completely different animal. They are odd creatures! Think it’s going to be a case of slowly building her confidence in the whole thing!

That's what I mean - 60cm competitions - so the jump is not really a factor.

 

[MagicMelon]

I have the exact same issue. Great in training, competition the handbrake is on the entire time all the way into each fence which she'll literally slow down a mile away coming into it until we literally have no impulsion whatsoever. Come round again and she jumps fine the second time. Its very early days for her, literally it was her third XC in a competition environment. So Im going back down to 70's (so she can literally trot or jump them from a stand still if necessary) and I hope to get her to a hunter pace so I can go round following someone else on a speedy horse. Surely then she would want to follow it and get moving. Sadly there's very few XC events in my area these days... But if you were in a better area, see if they have any hunter paces or pairs classes?

 

[RachelFerd]

It does ultimately boil down to a basic schooling issue - do they GO when you say go? Under any circumstances.

Crack this, and you crack the issue.

 

[RHM]

It does ultimately boil down to a basic schooling issue - do they GO when you say go? Under any circumstances.

Crack this, and you crack the issue.

Absolutely! And the answer is no ??

 

[RHM]

I have the exact same issue. Great in training, competition the handbrake is on the entire time all the way into each fence which she'll literally slow down a mile away coming into it until we literally have no impulsion whatsoever. Come round again and she jumps fine the second time. Its very early days for her, literally it was her third XC in a competition environment. So Im going back down to 70's (so she can literally trot or jump them from a stand still if necessary) and I hope to get her to a hunter pace so I can go round following someone else on a speedy horse. Surely then she would want to follow it and get moving. Sadly there's very few XC events in my area these days... But if you were in a better area, see if they have any hunter paces or pairs classes?

Nice to see I’m not alone at least! We do have some local Hunter trials coming up so going to give them a crack and see where we are!

 

[Bernster]

I have the exact same issue. Great in training, competition the handbrake is on the entire time all the way into each fence which she'll literally slow down a mile away coming into it until we literally have no impulsion whatsoever. Come round again and she jumps fine the second time. Its very early days for her, literally it was her third XC in a competition environment. So Im going back down to 70's (so she can literally trot or jump them from a stand still if necessary) and I hope to get her to a hunter pace so I can go round following someone else on a speedy horse. Surely then she would want to follow it and get moving. Sadly there's very few XC events in my area these days... But if you were in a better area, see if they have any hunter paces or pairs classes?

Yep, that’s the issue I had/have with finnegan. Grinds to a halt at fence 2/3 away from home, get him half way or towards home and it’s all guns blazing. Haven’t done so much with him lately but the last outing we seemed to have cracked it. Got him really motoring in the warm up, worked on ‘on and back’ in the pace, trotted boldly straight into the start box and off we went. Ended up getting massive time faults for being too quick ! but it was a real turnaround. We’d schooled there the weekend before too which helped loads.

 

[ester]

It's so tricky when they do go when you say go in every other bloody circumstance though, just not in the 1 circumstance which is tricky to replicate ?

It does ultimately boil down to a basic schooling issue - do they GO when you say go? Under any circumstances.

Crack this, and you crack the issue.

Bernester that sounds fab!

 

[RHM]

Yep, that’s the issue I had/have with finnegan. Grinds to a halt at fence 2/3 away from home, get him half way or towards home and it’s all guns blazing. Haven’t done so much with him lately but the last outing we seemed to have cracked it. Got him really motoring in the warm up, worked on ‘on and back’ in the pace, trotted boldly straight into the start box and off we went. Ended up getting massive time faults for being too quick ! but it was a real turnaround. We’d schooled there the weekend before too which helped loads.

Amazing! That’s what I did last time and I went into the start box feeling great and then they asked me to hold and it all went down the toilet!
Our most local course hires it out so could practice the week before. Won’t be the exact course but could still be useful!

 

[Aussieventer]

Just about every horse I’ve taken through the grades has started out as “drunk horse on xc” for the first season as there is so much to look at and atmosphere. I do teach my horses to look at the fence and jump so while there tends to be wobbling and spooking between fences to start with, I ride the first fence on a greenie with a very strong leg, bum in saddle and ready crop as it’s often the first fence that is the hardest on a baby course. I do try to do a lot of group and individual xc schooling and several small unofficial xc runs and hunter trials which will have fence judges but no loudspeakers or quite as busy an environment before I front up to a proper event. Also I will often xc school the day before a first event and practice leaving a start box and doing a little course/sequence of jumps. Importantly I don’t front the horse up to a height in competition I feel they need impulsion to go over until they are confident with the routine of warm up, start box, xc round. That way I can feel confident enough that no ifs or buts there is no option but over and make it happen. The facing up to fences happens schooling, they learn to lock on quicker if the kid gloves are off on the day provided you have done all the homework.