Horse Help!!!?

Question

The Pony im training for my barn owners we are going to a show soon... he likes to refuse all jumps 1 time how do i stop him from doing that? and whne i canter him into the jump right before he ALWAYS breaks to a trot and before i normally smack him with the crop and he still breaks and i am giving him LOTS of leg ? and then if i canter him to the jump before we turn to it he will do side step away from the jump and he will not listen... we have a show coming up in exactly a week today and i dont want to take him like this i need help bad thankz

Answer 1

have another rider get on top of him. see if he trys this with them, they might have to hit him a few times to get his mind right, and when you get back on him he Will be so happy he will  jump all of the fences with no problems....congrats on your win next week.

Answer 2

I do not agree with the circling after a fence. This pony seems like it is just scopey and needs reassuring. Hopefully this will stop as the horse gets older. However some ways to help with the problem is to set up a series of fences in a small course, and on BOTH sides of all of the fences put two poles that are resting on the fence so even if the pony refuses he has to jump. Ponies can be tricky though. Also if the pony refuses to a certain direction lightly just play with the rein on the opposite side that he refuses and use the leg on the side that he refuses as a pushing guide and this should help him stay straight. Also sit back and dont look down at the fence, and if you not confident he can sense that. If he continues with the refusing after you have tried everything face him to teh side of the jump right after he refuses and smack him one good time with the crop on the BUTT not the shoulder, this will eventually teach him that if the side of his face is towards the jump he is going to be in trouble. It sounds like this pony is pretty green so make the show a learning experience not an experience where the pony comes away from it thinking that everytime he loads up to go somewhere its not going to be fun.

Answer 3

If you have a trainer why isn't he/she working on correcting the problem?

Answer 4

Two ways you can go about it.  One is doubling your horse.  Everytime you ask him to do something and he refuses then quickly take the rein and pull his head around to his butt and do tight circles with him at least 5 times and immediately get him back to what you were doing with him.  Keep doing this until he realizes, "hey, everytime I refuse I go into tiny circles that sucks so I better do what I'm asked to do.  Consitency is the key.  Do not let him take a break out of the circles urge him on immediately.  Another option with jumping is I worked with a hunter jumper barn before and everytime a horse refused a fence he would make the horse back until he felt the horse could not want to anymore and before the horse would fight the back up he would urge it on right over the jump.  I hope this helps you!  I always use the doubling and its always worked for me in everything from refusing to bucking and rearing.  After a few times of that, they realize its not cool to do it and they go on.

Answer 5

reward your horse more when he does good. I actually know nothoing of horses but it sounded good

Answer 6

Well if you are the one riding him, he is probably testing you to see what he can get away with and what he can't. Now sense you can't stop him from refusing that one jump, he probably thinks he can get away with it.

So (im no specialist at jumping but I've had sorta the same sittuation) maybe when he gets to that jump and refuses give him a smack on the rear. And yell at him. Then you can go try it again and if he does it AGAIN then really get tuff on him and start using a whip.

The same thing goes for when he sorta ponders off a bit. You have a show in 1 week. If you want him to win, you must get tuff on him. Even though it's always hard to smack a horse. The times come when you really need too, and this is a time.

I've had this problem only my horse wouldn't go around a barrel and would cut it off right there, when I thought she was going around it... POW! She darted off the WRONG direction. So I just had to get tuff on her but now she is an EXPERT and the barrels she goes right around them just nicking them. She's really good. lol

So I hope my adice worked for you, because it sure helped for me! But if it don't, I'm sorry! lol. Cuz I don't know really anything about jumps. But I tried! lol

Hope you do good at the show!

-mel

RIP Barbaro

Answer 7

There are a few different possibilities for you to concider. Does your pony have trouble holding a canter during your flat work? How big are the jumps? Any time you have a training issue you need to step back and look at the possible reasons the horse is misbehaving. Is he overfaced by what you're asking him to do? More importantly, is there a physical reason for the behavior? Pain can cause horses to behave in all sorts of strange ways. After determining that your pony doesn't hurt anywhere, start by using poles on the ground to trot and canter over during your flat work. Once you can hold your gait and keep straight over the ground rails, set a canter pole on either side of an x and incorporate that in to your flat work. Try not to make jumping  a huge ordeal, but work some fences in with your flat work. It is possible that your pony just gets a bit overwhelmed at the thought of jumping. Make it not such a big deal. And in reality, it sounds like you need more time to work at home before you go to a show. If the pony's not ready it will only be a bad experience for you and him, and the next show will be even more anxiety ridden. Better to take your time and make sure all your experiences are positive.

Answer 8

well let me see, are you harsh with your horse? because if you are he will not listen you need to show him that it is your way or no way but dont be mean. you need to win you need to show him who is boss because if you just let lose and let him do what ever it is doing, he will know to do it again and again. so show him that you are the leader and it has to do it your way, with out being harsh. if you keep show him that you are the ring leader, then he will start to do what he is told, dont let him win the battle.