One step forwards two steps back.
We have just got back from showjump training with Jazz. I am thankful that I said to myself that we could not expect unbroken progress with him, because we certainly haven't got it :-)!
On the good side, he travelled brilliantly. For the first time in several journeys, he was not hobbled and he did not paw. He loaded fine, but I did need the chifney. Considering that he was leaving Zippy on his own, that was understandable.
Zippy was madly careering around the field as we drove up the road, but when we got home he was undamaged, unsweated, and quiet, so that has been a good experience for him too, to be alone.
Considering the fact that both of them must think that Tetley has been eaten by a lion, they are behaving extremely well. I have also changed their routine and they are now out full time, with access to the yard and stables if they want shelter.
But the showjumping itself was very disappointing. He seemed tired, which was perhaps due to the recent change of routine. It is impossible to know if they are sleeping at night. He just was not mentally, or physically "up for it" like last time. To be honest, it felt like I was having to make him jump, almost against his will. He did some horrific leaps into the air over anything with a back bar on it, and I have no idea how I stayed on. He had lost the idea that seemed so clearly understood last time, that showjumping is about one fence following another. And he had lost all his confidence over anything with width to it.
I did end by getting him to jump reasonably fluently over a small course. And I feel that we have learned an awful lot between us. Him:
- that his job is to jump and I expect him to try for me
- that silly refusals at things he is perfectly capable of will get him nowhere but turned and re-presented at the fence.
Me:
- that I have to set him up in front of me,
- that speed does not help,
- that dropping the contact does not reassure him that I will not sock him in the teeth, it just makes him less secure and more likely to throw a jump where I will sock him in the teeth!
I'm disappointed not to report wonderful progress, but it's unrealistic to expect that with horses, isn't it? I'm still learning how he works, just as he is also learning how to do the job at all. Some way to go yet!
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 3:20 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
it's bound to be two steps forward one back. so long as it doesn't become two forward three back ...
Can you jump at all at home? Years ago when I was still eventing/jumping, we taught Russell R. over tons of small fences. The key was to make all kinds of gymnastic exercises. Short one strides, verticals to oxers, and vice versa. Lines with tricky turns, etc. I must have jumped hundreds of cross rails in front of bigger fences, and tons of 2 foot obstacles, all designed to teach him he could jump from most anywhere, and that he could handle whatever kind of fence he faced.
Once he learned to adjust himself and gained the confidence in his own ability to "get over," raising the jumps to competition heights was no problem at all.
You could start with a simple rail on the ground a stride away from a little jump and build from there. I am suspicious that despite the fact he was started over fences before you got him, he has never had any real gymnastic training. It truly is the key to riding successful courses.
Some websites with ideas:
http://showrider.com/showrider/jumpertips.htm
http://www.horse-canada.com/articles/HSgreatgridswithchrispratt08.03.htm
http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~rose/equine/jump.htm
I know this sounds like a lecture you really don't need, but were I going to train an eventer again, I would definitely be doing lots of little fences. Russell was one of the most totally confident jumpers you could ever want to ride.
In the meantime, don't be too discouraged with Jazz. Learning curves with youngsters are an interesting adventure. Sometimes it takes a few times before the light bulb goes on in their heads.
Dropping the contact before take-off. This is what I tend to do, but at my one and only cross country instruction session on this horse the instructor (Tot Wall) said I should keep the contact and think of it as holding his hand. I was also tending to tip forward, so I had to think "sit upright and hold on to his mouth" It worked. Such was the success of the session that I felt brave enough to enter my first Trec competition.
I can hardly believe that I used to do BHS eventing, (and that was in the days of no intro or pre-novice) I am now such a wimp when it comes to jumping. Just shows what 3 children and 10 years out of the saddle can do!
The only thing with Jazz is - keep practicing, easy things that he can enjoy. Maybe, as you say, he was a bit tired and this was a one-off.
Judith
Thanks Claire, it is that way, isn't it?
Jean I only have enough stands at home for two spread fences and it's only spreads he has a problem about. Also his issue is "new" fences, so he will jump one fence, in blue, in one place and then refuse an absolutely indentical fence elsewhere that has green poles instead. So I do need a lot of jumps around to get him through that. Like you, I am a big fan of gymnastic stuff. While we are not doing grids, we are just moving around the arena and turning to different fences from different directions. I did discover that a much shorter approach resulted in him jumping and not refusing.
It's the children Judith! - the only female eventer who ever performed at the same level after having children is Mary King. And she rode with the first one as a five month foetus at the Olympics, so that tells you the balance of her priorities between competing and the children! Most mothers just lose their nerve when their children depend on them, and it's surely how it should be????
The more I think about this morning, the more I believe he was really tired. I think I should have not done the session but when you have driven 20 miles and paid £20 already, that thought doesn't really cross your mind, even though it should.
C
I was still too ill to go to the stables today but Dave went out again for me. Tetley was in for the night and totally chilled. He had eaten all of his hard feed and had a hay net chock full. The staff noticed that he was a little warm so they took his rug off. Dave feels that everyone is looking out for him. Tomorrow I hope to ride, while Dave cleans the stable. What a deal for him! Well, I do cook dinner every night!
Having children changes a lot of things - especially the chances you are willing to take and it certainly is for a good reason!
I also think that the days where you think you have made no progress or learned nothing are deceptive.
ML
I'm not terribly surprised that they thought he was too warm. When I left they were planning to give him six kilos of conditioning cubes today - anyone would be warm stuffed that full of food :-)))) But what a stables, eh, to even notice that one of their liveries is too warm and needs to be rug-free??
We're all looking forward to you actually being able to ride your horse ML. And also full of praise for Dave cycling 5 miles each way to make sure that he is OK.
It's great news to hear how settled he is. I shall sleep well tonight.
C
Good news about Tetley it's a bit of a drag getting your dream horse and then falling ill though I would be gutted.
Caroline, Jazz is still young and all my horses seem to get a dip in their energy levels when they first go out I think its a culmination of a change in the water content from hay to grass, extra exercise from 12 - 24 hour turnout, as you say you dont know how much sleep/rest he is getting on a night time. When mine first go out I try to fetch them into the stable for a couple of hours in the afternoon before exercise just to try and give their guts a rest. I'll go back after an hour and its amazing how many times I find them snoring their heads off. After this interim they tend to settle back into work again with loads of gusto
Anne
Anne that was really useful info about the youngsters appearing tired by being turned out. I haven't noticed it in other years with other horses, but I can certainly see it in Jazz, he is half asleep most of the time.
C
Post a Comment
<< Home