On the up
Well it's a much better week than last week :-)
Zippy continues to come when he's called, with Jazz trailing along behind. He's also making it crystal clear that he wants to work for me, even when I think that he should have a day off. That's what Tetley used to be like too. It's so nice to have a horse be so positive about working for you.
Jazz went showjump training today. First good news, the rain held off. Second good news, he jumped at 2ft 11 straight off and he was confident and enjoying himself. We put it up one hole and he did 3ft 1 with slightly less confidence but still very capably. He was different altogether from how he has been up to now.
He did actually come out and warm up very lazy. Previously this has meant that we would have a right battle for 40 minutes until he agreed to jump properly. This time, one wallop for refusing a practice fence and he was suddenly in gear and bouncing. He stayed bouncing for 20 minutes and then got a bit tired and went flat. I worked hard to set him up again with a lot of half halts, circling away if he strung himself out on the approach to a fence. He realised what was going on, got back into the bounce, and completed four jumps, with the last three absolutely superb. So we stopped then and left an arena I'd hired for an hour after only 30 minutes.
The difference today was that he was clearly enjoying himself. It was grand. The only exception was a fence which we put up too high two weeks ago. Although we have never put it up too high since, he clearly has a memory of it and is still refusing it from time to time. I've never met a horse with such strong memory of things having gone pearshaped before. Of course you have a Catch22 once it's happened, because it's very difficult then not to ride expecting a reaction, and by doing so causing the very reaction that you wanted to avoid!
Still, great progress - a horse that finally enjoys jumping something! Only cross country to fix now and I might have an eventer for next season :-)
C
posted by cptrayes @ 3:17 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
What great news! So it does seem to be a matter more of confidence in his ability to jump something rather than just not wanting to jump at all.
When I was eventing Russell R. we faced a jump/ditch combo on a cross country course. Because he was sticky at ditches, I gave him a whack when he hesitated. We cleared it fine, but he was always very senstive to being hit. Some 6 months later, we were on the same course but that jump wasn't in it. We did ride past it, though, and as we did, I felt him veer just a little.
Fast forward to a year later. Same course with the ditch jump. I couldn't get him within 10 feet of the darn thing despite every effort. Talk about a long memory. And, to make it worse, the memory had expanded to the entire area around the jump. Never insult a Thoroughbred. *G* Or scare a warmblood, I guess.
What might work is focusing some schooling on that scary jump itself, first setting it at a cross rail, then raising it gradually until he realizes it really won't hurt him. Just pushing him over it at height just might not do the job of re-educating his brain.
What is good to hear, regardless, is that there is definite progress. I'd bet that "bounce" felt really good.
hey, well done! and glad the rain held off, but I think we're a lot better off up north than they all are down south!
We do start it low Jean, and he refuses it when it's low just because it's the same jump, I think. Obviously Russellish tendencies there :-)
Claire it's horrendous isn't it - the Army shipping in bottled water, it's like a Third World country in Gloucester :-0
C
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