Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Is the correct expression new heights of despondency or new depths? We took Jazz showjumping today. SH and I had a talk about it and we decided that we would have to be very firm about the warm-up fences. I held him to the line and made it very clear what I wanted,and it worked and he jumped. He had no problem with doing 3ft 2 with decent spreads. The height issue and the spread issue are definitely gone. Another huge step forward today was that I did a course of four fences, and because his mind was wandering he was wrong for every single one. But I could see a correction with one last stride longer than the rest, asked for it each time, and got it each time. He has never allowed that sort of correction for several fences in a row like that before. But that's the end of the good news.
We learnt two bad things about him today. The first is that he needs to jump seriously at least once a week and if he misses a week his mind is not in the right place the next time. I can cope with that. Much worse, is that he appears to have a memory to rival those guys you see on the telly who can remember a whole telephone directory. There was a blue filler painted like a wall there today which has not been there before. The jumps are changed each time, and that particular one had never been there before. He has jumped a viaduct wall there. He has jumped a wall very similar, only red, in two other places. But he just knew that wall was new to that place, and he was not going to go near it.
I ignored it until we had him jumping fluently and then we set it low and worked on it. But he was horrendous. He had it fixed in his head that he was not prepared to jump it, and it took some pretty forceful "persuasion" to convince him that he had to. It's not the jumping that upsets him - in an attempt to avoid being turned to the blue wall, he tried several times to jump a much bigger spread fence, in the wrong direction, and had to be strongly pulled away from it to stop him from doing it.
So I'm hugely despondent. We have been working on this now for fifteen months, and after all this time he can still take a violent dislike to an innoccuous fence of no size. I have no confidence at all that we will get to complete even the showjumping in events we were planning to do this season. And as far as I can see the chances of him completing a cross country with only four refusals is pretty much zero. Fed up? You bet!
I'm not prepared to completely miss another season. If he isn't more fluent by the middle of February then I will look for a "Tia" to take on for the summer. If anyone knows of a maximum eight year old, minimum 16.1hh who can jump 2ft 6, is sound without competition illegal drugs and is cheap, let me know. I don't give a hang what its flatwork is like, I can cope with sky high dressage penalties. I just can't cope with another year without getting my cross country fix :-(
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 2:14 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
That is frustrating. Gotta think on this one. I do know that "memory" thingie though. My Russell had a problem with ditches since I'd forced him over one when he was a "kid." Did a cross country and I used the crop to encourage him to jump a ditch combo. (Probably didn't need the crop but used it anyhow because I knew of his refusal tendancy.) Well over a year later, met that fence again in a competition and I couldn't get him within 10 feet of the darn thing.
Jazz's memory is working in the opposite direction "remembering" only the good jumps. The only thing I can think of is for you to beg, steal, borrow all kinds of weird looking things that can be used to adorn some little jumps at home. Then set up all kinds of very strange obstacles and just get him used to the idea.
Hopefully, he will now jump a blue jump OK in the future. *sigh*
One more thought. Could be too that doing the jumps in the same place has now worked against you. Before you give up, is there a new place you could go to with all jumps he's never seen before to try him? Sometimes horses react more to new things in familiar places than new things in new places...if that makes sense.....
Yes, I can understand your feelings.
By now you would hope that he would jump round any low set of show jumps first time, whatever the fillers, etc.
I can only suggest that you just keep taking him to the nearest clear round competitions and just keep going, every week, however awfully boring it is.
(Thinks, cold dark nights at our local indoor clear round - yuk, yuk).
He has had some interruptions though, what with the operation and then the bad foot. Better tell him it is now time to stop messing around and do some real work!
Or else!
Judith
in the meantime, you could go knock all the locals for six with his dressage...no help, i know....
Until I got this horse, Jean, I would have assumed that he picked up his memory from you. I know better now. As far as I can tell, a memory like that has no benefits at all and is a complete curse. If I could take Jazz somwhere new every time, we would probably be OK for showjumping. But with the winter weather as it is, the only certainty I can get of being able to train is indoors, and there is only one indoor with showjumps within a reasonable travelling distance.
I can't decide whether clear rounds will be good for him yet Judith. I'm afriad that he'll refuse and get to leave the arena, and that'll teach him a really baaaad lesson.
Dressage isn't my game Claire. His dressage is pretty fantastic now, but competing in the rain in winter is not my cup of tea at all :-(((
I have begun looking for cheap horses on the web. If Jazz comes right I can sell it, and if he doesn't I can compete it.
Well i aint got any advice im afraid!
His mindset sounds like polo in that once he's made up his mind he's not happy about something nothing will change it believe me i tried!
At the old yard he shied walking past the cow pen every single day for 3years, nothing would convince him it was ok.
I agree with the 3rd horse option would take away some of your frustration and then you can just take Jazz at his own pace.
////every single day for 3years
That's what I'm afraid of Nicola. What if this is just "him" and he's never going to be any different?
C
Oh C. I am so sorry. I agree that the third horse potion is the best. Every horse gets you a better horsewoman, as they all bring their own challenge ^-^
Maybe you ought to ask the advise from S-J expert to take a hard look at Jazz to see if he is a S-J/cross jumper.
He might be better at Dressage ???? It would be better to sell him as a Dressage horse and buy another WB more adapt at jumping ...
Clear Round Jumping - I was thinking of something pretty low, so he really has no excuse and could do it from a standstill if necessary, just to get in the habit of jumping first time what is in front of him.
You can practice bigger fences in training sessions, but make the competitions so easy that he gets more confident.
Just an idea - you know your horse after all.
As for something to buy - now is the time, before the prices go up in the spring. Go along with cash and get a deal.
Judith
I understand the idea Judith, but the filler he refused to go near yesterday was less than two feet high. That's why I'm so despondent.
We have totally cured his belief in his ability to jump, that wasn't the issue, he just didn't like that fence. He was refusing to go within ten feet of it, not refusing to jump it. If he does that in a competition situation, even clear round, he'll be made to move on after two refusals and rewarded for his unreasonable behaviour. I can't afford to take that risk, he would get such a bad lesson and with his memory it'll stick!
Muriel I don't need the pain of paying a trainer - Jazz won't currently make either a showjumper or an eventer. What I need is a crystal ball gazer to tell me whether he ever will. Have I already wasted an enormous amount of physical and emotional energy on him or will another year see him right?
I'm reasonably OK with buying another horse to event for the summer, but I desperately want to know what no-one can tell me, whether in a year's time Jazz will overcome his excessive over-reactions, or not. I love his character and his performance and I'll wait if it will come right in the end, but will I just be wasting another year?
Oh well, Zippy will come on line next year, and he's a different kettle of fish altogether. He's as brave as brave can be. And when he's not sure, he just does what his rider tells him. Now that's eventer behaviour!
It's lucky that I was busy today, it kept me away from Jazz. No good would have come of the two of us being together today - I feel so angry, and that's not an emotion that you should handle or ride a horse with!
C.
I was not saying to pay someone ^-^ I know you *grin*
But in your horsey entourage you must know somebody who has a great experience with eventers , a pro but a friend.
I know that Gigi could tell you if Jazz will overcome his problem. But he is a real pro, who trained FEI level Show-jumper, and he rode many many many horses.
Jazz is beautiful horse, you won't have any problem to re-sell him at a good price.
sounds like its time to go hunting with him.
rained off for one week, possibly two Mandeigh. Did you seem my pix of Zip cos you didn't comment?
Muriel's answer is my main blog today!
C
I did indeed see the pics....geez he's compact isn't he!
Bugger about the rain. we've been frozen for weeks....oh to have an indoor school!
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