Jazz strikes again!
Dear me, this is most definintely the most complex horse I've ever been anywhere near! We took him showjump training this morning, luckily avoiding most of the rain. Poor Superhubby was endlessly putting up poles :-( Jazz warmed up in brilliant style, attacking the two fences we chose as warm-ups and looking for others to go on and jump. But as soon as we gave him the complexity of more than one fence at a time, on went the brakes. I would have shot over the fence all on my lonesome at one point, only he had the grace to chuck his neck up as he stopped.
He refused things he's seen a dozen times before. Then he started sticking a tiny short stride in before taking off. Time and time and time again he did it, resulting in a knockdown for SH to have to put up (and as he pointed out, the poles were sodden with rain and VERY heavy) and an awkward jump for me to sit to. Now and then he was bolder but only to the extent that he threw the most horrific sky-high four-footed take-offs and landings. By now I was thoroughly fed up, calling him a gutless wretch, and despairing of how to get him to perform.
I girded my loins, took a deep breath, and decided that ANYTHING was better than this habit of chucking in a short one before he takes off. I sent him on strongly, and I told him to take off early. And blow me down, he clicked into action and jumped a ten fence course spot on every time, totally fluent, bursting with confidence and without touching a pole. Quite why he decided to perform at that point is not clear. From where I was sitting, all I had done was ride him the way I had tried to ride him when he nearly put me on the floor earlier in the session. He's a puzzle and no mistake.
I think that he's a perfectionist rather than an out and out coward. He just doesn't want to "go for it" unless he knows he's got it right. But if he has it right, he'll jump superbly. I'm just so pleased that he finished on a good round or I would be so miserable right now!
We have thought out our strategy for the weekend's event, and we think that what we need to do is to warm up over stuff that is much bigger and poses him questions. If we get that right outside the ring, then hopefully he will produce the kind of performance that he ended on today inside the ring. Well that's the theory anyway!
Zip, meanwhile, I really must try and get you some photos of. He wasn't a spectacularly attractive young horse - made well and moved beautifully, yes, but hardly a horse that would have turned every head as he unloaded from the lorry. But now that he is older it's quite clear that he is going to be an absolute stunner. He's just one of those horses whose head suits being an adult rather than a baby. He looks so .... well ... the best word I can find is "Patrician", born to rule over the hoi polloi, and he knows it.
So Jazz has the massive personality, Zip has the looks, and they both ride like dreams but in completely different ways. Lucky? Me? I should say so :-)
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 3:20 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Whew! Glad you staying on. Gracious of Jazz to put his head up to keep you in the saddle. *G*
Well, my only suggestion is to school him posing situations where he jumps from the wrong spot so he learns that he actually can get over if he's not "just" right. Awkward distances over very jumpable fences set up with ground rails or crossrail setup fences at to set the awkward distance. It still seems to be a confidence thing coupled with some "attitude."
A gradually progressing warmup over something little set with a timing rail in front, gradually raised might get him in the rhythm for the more complex jumps???? Maybe you could figure out some routine approach that would set him up physically to figure it out sooner. I know he's not too keen about rote work, but he may be one of those horses that needs to establish a "habit" to get him ready to jump. Circle, go on, come back, go on, come back, jump a little fence in rhythm, do some ground poles, something to get him into the flow???????
I know you are a skeptic, but an animal communicator would be an interesting option at this point. You'd need to use one with a reliable reputaion, of course. I'd surely be curious as to what Jazz had to say about things. Wish they could talk with more than just body language.
Yes, please, pictures of Zip. And Jazz as well. They both must be blooming at this point.
"Glad you staying on?" Must be "Summer grammar" here. School is out and I, an English teacher, am on vacation. Apparently my grammar is as well! "Glad you stayed on!!"
We knew what you meant :-)
There's a new sign up at my schooling place that made me wince - brand new, very expensive, very posh and VERY big letters, it says
"We are a (sic)equine training centre not a children's playground"
As a teacher of English I guess you'll enjoy that one!
C
ps such a mystery Jean, why he suddenly clicks and can do everything that he insisted only minutes before was beyond him. We didn't lower or change one fence in any way, and the last attempt was totally superb. It makes me feel that doing too much in the way of training him to do awkward stuff is a waste of time, not to speak of £35 a time, diesel and training fees included.
He's interesting and no mistake!
ps I don't mean it would BE a waste of time, far from it, but it's how it feels sometimes!
I can't stretch as far as a horse talker though, sorry :-)
How about...you do have some jumps at home? Place them in the arena and then do a normal flat schooling session. Randomly, without any prep, just head him for a jump and jump. Maybe you could break through the mental barrier by making jumping just an afterthought, not the goal???
I think he'd treat that just like he does the warm-up fence Jean. He's perfectly happy to warm up these days, it's carrying on that was the problem yesterday!
C
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