Youngster refuses ground poles

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EazyBreezy

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My 5 yo anglo arab refuses to walk over poles on the lunge. He will follow me over them if led and will even follow and sniff them when I'm placing them on the ground in arena.
He lunges lovely and listens to commands walk trot and canter. Will put up a fight to walk over them when ridden.
Help please!
 
Two possibilities. Either he lacks the confidence to figure it out for himself and needs a human to help. Or he has figured out he can avoid work by stopping. Given he is relatively young the best suggestion is probably to get some experienced help. Someone who can see what is going on directly and advise you. If you push him and he can't work it out you'll break whatever trust there is between you and might ruin his approach to work long term. If he is messing about and you take it too gently he'll only learn that he can mess you about which is potentially dangerous in the long run.
 
When I first started riding my old girl she was the same, I couldn't even get close to the lines in the sand if I had dragged the pole into position!
I used to happily get off lead her a few times and then she would be fine but after a while I learnt to wait it out and not back down and she would go over and quickly learnt it was easier for her to go that not as she wouldn't be doing anything else until we did! she was never the bravest jumper but she did get much better with time just needed a lot of encouragement x
 
Farma said:
When I first started riding my old girl she was the same, I couldn't even get close to the lines in the sand if I had dragged the pole into position!
I used to happily get off lead her a few times and then she would be fine but after a while I learnt to wait it out and not back down and she would go over and quickly learnt it was easier for her to go that not as she wouldn't be doing anything else until we did! she was never the bravest jumper but she did get much better with time just needed a lot of encouragement x
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He lunges over a pole with me at the end of it as a barrier on the left rein. As soon as we switch to the right rein he spins and changes direction. I left him for a good couple of months thinking he needed to mature some morextra but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference.
 
I would stop lungeing over them for a bit and get it sorted under saddle first (he'll get more confidence from you being there?), then I'd leave poles scattered about (just single ones) while you school round and over them. Just generally do flatwork and if a pole is in your way then go over it so he gets really used to it and they almost become boring. Then I'd start pairing the poles etc. before building up to a line of several.
 
EazyBreezy said:
Wish I could but no such thing as BHSAII in Malta. Will have to do it myself. Long rein over poles you mean?
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yes long rein here there everywhere ..... the horse has to do what is asked and you go on one step at a time.
Lunging is a skill to learn after the basic aids are understood, not before.
 
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I set up a channel shaped like an open ended hour glass and loose school them over the poles.

\___________/
.......|||||
___________
/...................\
 
MagicMelon said:
I would stop lungeing over them for a bit and get it sorted under saddle first (he'll get more confidence from you being there?), then I'd leave poles scattered about (just single ones) while you school round and over them. Just generally do flatwork and if a pole is in your way then go over it so he gets really used to it and they almost become boring. Then I'd start pairing the poles etc. before building up to a line of several.
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He listens more to me from the ground than on him. Working on it.
Just to put you in the picture, he was broken to sulky racing at a very young age probably as a yearling. He was then sold on to a riding school who eventually had him up for sale due to him being too much work. He's been at me for a year now. I left him be for 6 months or so to grow and be silly. Just kept him ticking with ground work, manners and lunging.
 
id make poles an every day thing, one in the stable, so he needs to lead out over it, one in a gate way, its a pole on the floor.. no horse should have an issue with such a thing, id give him a chance before a slap on the arse and told to get over the damn pole..
 
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