Belgian draft mare help??

Question

okay i have a 6 year old belgian draft horse and we have just started going to big shows.We enter in the jumping competitions 12" to 2 ft 6 and she did really bad in the jumping but we did VERY well in the flat class people even asked if they could buy her haha but anyway when we entered in the equitation and suitability flat class the judge didnt even look at us, she didnt even give us a chance??!! Dont you think thats unfair?! And one other thing how can i get her to do a normal canter over jumps and not a crazy psycho gallop??

Answer 1

well draft horse weren't meant to jump. but some drafts do and they do it well. i think it all depends on the horse it self. and i think you will just have to work with your horse on the canter. oh about the flat classes. i think if they have good gait and they perform well they would be good for it. but i think that judge didn't look at you because your horse was a draft and some judges only like the warmbloods and stuff like that. and they don't even look at the other competitors that don't have those type of horses. it isn't fair. but good luck with the shows.

Answer 2

drafts are not good jumpers. about the judge thing. there's nothing you can do about it.

Answer 3

If you can't control your horses canter, then yes, the judge should not look twice at you. It is a big sign of inexperience. Also, could you do all the classes that you did with no stirrups? If you would fall off, or can't post, or can't hold 3 point with no stirrups, then frankly, you have no place going over fences.

Also, your mare's growth plates have not fused together yet in her knee's and back. And they won't for another 1-3 years depending on the horse. Stop crippling her when she's young and get yourself *blanking* educated.

Answer 4

Belgians are very sensitive horses! Just because they are big and "coldblooded", doesn't mean they aren't paying attention to all sorts of subtleties. Some of the most sensitive and reactive horses I've worked with are Belgians!

Racing to and after the jumps is related to her insecurity. She senses anxiety in that activity, and her response to take care of herself is to try to escape - that's what you're seeing in her behavior.

To help her through this, go back to the basics. Go slower than you think you should have to. Don't assume, "She knows this, what's her problem?" The issues is that she needs some sense of security that she's going to be okay, that her rider is there for her emotionally, and that those poles and standards aren't going to reach out and grab her when she least expects it!

Go slow! Back down to one pole at a time, on the ground, relax and breathe, lots of pets, then rest. Then move up to two and three poles, relax and breathe, lots of love, then rest. That's all you do for a week! When you feel her say to you, "Okay! Got it! Let's do a little more now.", that's when you add standards outside your poles, which are still on the ground. You spend another week trotting over poles with standards around them, expecting nothing more than fun, relaxing rides.

And again, when she's having fun with it, you put up a little cross rail, designed for FUN!!!

Sometimes it's hard to feel like we have to back track and rewrite our script...but the rewards are so great! There is no fault or embarrassment in doing what it takes to build a beautiful, trusting relationship with our horse, giving our horse every chance to be confident and comfortable with what we ask of her!

This little girl just feels over faced and lacks a sense of security. Doing this kind of work with her will bring her confidence up, strengthen your relationship, and give you a chance to work on your own jumping skills so that next time, you'll be the only one the judge wants to see!

Answer 5

Because Belgians are not known to be jumpers in the first place and yes, they do have a funny little gallop because they, frankly normally are not asked to canter.  They are called draft horses because they are bred to "pull" horse drawn vehicles...yes, some do ride, and they have very good dispositions, for the most part, but they are rounder boned, colder blooded, horses and are bred to be that way.  If I were going to continue to go to big shows with her, I would teach her to pull a cart and compete in that class, "Ladies cart class". In draft shows, they can also show in halter.

I would not be so quick to judge the judge....I'm surprised that you got what you did, frankly.

Answer 6

welcome to the world of horse showing.most judges make up their minds even before the show starts and tend to mark horses that they are familiar working with higher than breeds that they either don't like or are unfamiliar with.as for belgians they do great at flat-work because of their conformation and natural "flash" with their hooves,they have a collected look all the time and is natural for them.jumping can be a little bit of a problem for any draft horse that hasn't matured mentally yet but it will get better with time and practice.

to the two above me who said that the joints have not fully fused,you are wrong,drafts bones mature slower than light horses but by the age of 6 the bones have fused by then.they don't reach mental maturity until the ages of 6-8 as opposed to a light horse that will have mental maturity at the age of 4-5.

Answer 7

What you have to remember is when you go to a show, you pay for someone's opinion for you and your horse.

How can you tell if the judge was looking at you. If you were riding you had to be looking where you were going, therefore you couldn't be looking at the judge the entire time! She probably looked at you when you weren't looking at her!

As for the psycho gallop: try half-halts. It's when you pull on both reins hard but only for a second, then let go. If that doesn't work, when you are at home training, start cantering to a jump, point you horse at it, then stop before the jump. Then let the horse go again, then stop again. Do this all the way to the jump. Your horse should learn that rushing jumps is not the way to go and hopefully the horse will learn to respect that.

Hope that helps!

Answer 8

You should not be jumping your draft so young. Her bones have not stopped forming yet. Also they don't usually have a very good canter, they are not built to have a slow controlled canter. If she does not have a controlled canter, then the judge was correct to not allow you to jump! It would have been dangerous.

Take your time, work on the flat more. Once you get better working on a canter, then start over ground pole and work your way up. Over years, not weeks! She sounds like you rushed her into this. Take her to smaller shows at first.  

Answer 9

Welcome to the world of horse showing!  Many judges are biased based on breed or color even though they aren't supposed to be and claim they are not.  It IS unfair but you can't do much to change that, unfortunately.  That is one of the main reasons I quit showing...it took the fun out of it.