My horse, Power Ranger, is a 7yr old TB, with no background in dressage. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how we could make our canter more collected and balanced, to make hunter rounds a bit easier. He also has the habit of refusing jumps with flowers and other scary objects. He doesn't seem to be frightened of them, he just won't go over them whatsoever. His refusal is also not immediate, he just sortof powers down as we approach the jump.  HELP PLEASE!

Hello, thank you for the response to my post. Regarding his canter, it's great when we're jumping, it's just on the flat he seems unbalanced & rushed. He seems to really dislike cantering on the flat, but my arena isn't quite large enough to canter over jumps, so we have to stick to flat until our weekly lessons at a stable. And yes, I am anticipating his stopping very much. I know that he can jump these, because his previous owner showed him at 2'6" before, and what I'm having him jump are just crossrails. I do tend to get into 2 point a bit early, and then not give him enough release, along with bracing myself for his refusal. The mini cross country course sounds like a wonderful idea, please give me more suggestions if you happen to think of them!

 Keep in mind that a lot of horses have no respect for crossrails or really low jumps and don't think it's worth the effort to jump them. Reading between the lines, I'm wondering if you feel timid about jumping and your horse is feeling that. The horse that I learned to jump on was like that. If you rode him confidently to the jump, he was wonderful, but if he had the idea that you were worried, he'd peter down to an amble or he'd run out. His attitude really seemed to be, "We need to do this as a TEAM, you're not doing your part."

On your lessons, can your instructor put you on a lunge line and lunge you over a jump or two? That way you could do some jumping with your arms out to the side, which will help your position.

I'm a really timid jumper myself, and there are two things that have helped me the most. One is to actually measure the jumps on foot. If they don't come up any higher than my own knees, then I think to myself, "Why I could jump this myself! So of course I can jump them on a horse." The other thing is the old saying, "Throw your heart over the jump and the horse will follow." I imagine myself doing this as I approach the jump. Another way of looking at it is, the jump is nothing in itself. It's just an obstacle in the way of going where you want to go, which is the other side.

Hi pw-rangers!

Sorry to hear you've been having such difficulties. Let's look at one issue at a time. They may or may not be connected.

1. Collecting the canter. I don't know whether your TB raced or not, but remember, either way, TBs are bred to run. Most have straighter hind-end conformation in order to allow them to cover ground as quickly and efficiently as possible. In addition, in race training, the horses are encouraged to lean into the bridle and fall on their forehands while cantering/galloping. So, you're not only fighting a conformation issue, but possibly having to undo some old habits that were ingrained in his formative training years. Plus, if he happens to have a downhill build (withers lower than croup), that may make it even harder for him. However, don't dispair: You can still teach a horse to collect through proper training and time. No, he may not be able to do upper-level dressage, but it doesn't sound as if that's what you're hoping to do! ;-)

If you can get your hands on a copy of the March issue of Practical Horseman, we actually had a short piece on this. (Here's How, p. 73). The question was about "how to collect a 'racehorse' canter."  Kathy McClatchy outlines her three-step program for teaching a horse to collect. But, basically, one of the best methods is lots and lots and LOTS of transitions--both between gaits (canter-trot-canter) and within gaits (working trot-collected trot-lengthened trot). Make sure you horse is established and balanced in each gait before asking for the transition. And keeping him on a circle, particularly when you're doing your canter-trot transitions will help keep him from getting too strung out. Over several weeks and months as he gains strength and learns how to rock back during the transitions, you can take less time between them and start asking for more difficult transitions--canter to walk, halt to trot with no walk steps. The key is to start simple, make it easy for him and allow him time to build those muscles. (You wouldn't expect to be able to run a marathon right after you just took up jogging!) Set him up for success and build his confidence through good experiences, give it time and patience and you will start to see results!

2. The dreaded stopping... This is a toughie because you need to figure out WHY he's stopping. Is he afraid? Is he in pain? Is this something that started suddenly, or has he always had an issue with flowers and "scary" jumps? I'd first want to rule out any physical issues like teeth that need floating, sore feet, poor saddle fit, lameness... Once you are sure that pain is not the cause, then you can start addressing his fear.

 a. Have you done any "in-hand" sessions with him over the jumps? If not, here are a couple of ideas. Put him in a halter with a long lead or longe line. Set up a flower box (or two so it's about the width of a normal jump) with no standards. Bring him over to it and just let him have a long rope and allow him to be curious about it. Try not to do anything other than give him a long rope and let him sniff it, spook at it, walk over it--whatever he wants to do. Don't pressure him--just observe what he does. Wait until he seems a bit bored by it.

b. Once he's checked out the flowers from both sides, make a nice big circle in hand, get an ample, straight approach to it so he can see it coming and just walk him over it. Make sure you walk over it first so he can see that it's not a big deal. Just make sure you are out of his way in case he decides to leap over it. Just keep walking him back and forth over it until it's no big deal. Make sure to praise him EVERY TIME he goes over it. A high-pitched "good boy" and maybe a pat on the neck is sufficient.(Treats are probably not a good thing to use for this.)

c. Once he has this down, and if he already knows how to longe, try it on the longe line. Place the boxes in the center of the arena so they're on the centerline. Put your horse on a large circle WELL AWAY from the boxes and get him walking. As he circles, slowly walk toward the flowers, keeping him at the end of your longe. (Just make sure that when you get there, you GET there as you don't want him to have a chance to go around them--that will set you back in the training!) See if he'll just walk over them at the end of your longe--cluck just before if he's hesitant. Make sure to praise him when he goes over it. Let him walk over it a few times and then switch directions and let him walk over it that way. Once he has this down, proceed to trotting over it. Then canter, etc. You see where this is going.

You probably don't want to do all of this in one session though. Start out with just the walking back and forth over it in hand. Next session, start with that--if it's no big deal, move on to the next step. If he "resets," take your time and reinforce the lesson. Once he has shown that he's mastered it, then take it a step further. Next time, start again at the beginning and build on it to the next and the next. This will help him connect what you want him to do as you make it progressively more difficult.

Once he's got it on the ground, then progress to the saddle. Start by walking back and forth over the box. Then trot, then canter. Again, praise and help him connect the dots. Eventually add the flower box under a crossrail, then vertical, then oxer, etc. (You might even break that down into steps--start with just the box, then add one set of flowers, then more.) Do it slowly over the course of several sessions. If he doesn't have step A down, don't go on to B before you see that he's got it. This works for any kind of new jump. As he progresses, make the questions harder and the jumps a bit scarier. This may be weeks or months down the road. Don't rush! The more time you take, the more confident he will be with each lesson.

I think between doing the transition exercises under saddle to teach him collection and starting out slowly with the scary jumps in hand, you're going to find that jumping single fences, then lines and then courses will just fall into place.

Good luck and keep us posted!

--Stacey

P.S. If you are not confident over the jumps, make sure to find a good professional to help you--either by riding your horse regularly or being on the ground every time you jump. Your fears will certainly transfer to your horse, particularly if he doesn't have a lot of confidence either. You don't want him to make a habit of stopping!

 Hi pw-rangers,

 I have an off-the-track TB, and the canter has always been his most difficult gait. I found it was mainly a strength issue with him. I worked a lot at the walk and trot, riding transitions, leg-yields, shoulders-in to strengthen his hind end. I also did hillwork once or twice a week--walking and trotting him up hills, even if they were just very gradual slopes. I also didn't canter him for a month. I know this sounds extreme, but it really seemed to settle him so that when I finally did canter him, it was like working from fresh slate. And when we cantered, I did it early in our ride, so he wasn't tired.

 Regarding the refusals, someone may have mentioned this already, but I'd have a veterinarian check out his eyes to make sure nothing is wrong with his vision, first. If that checks out, a couple other thoughts:

-- Desensitize him without jumping so that you feel comfortable. Put out lots of scary things around the arena and lead him up to them.  These can be tarps (walk him over them) or umbrellas or even a pile of leaves. (Be prepared for him to jump back). The braver he becomes in general, the braver he will be over fences. And he also will become more confident in you as he realizes you're not letting any of these scary things "hurt" him.

-- Have him free jump over the colorful fences in a jumping chute. Start with a simple crossrail to crossrail. When he's comfortable with that, add some flowers and see what he does. Without you on his back, he'll be able to figure out his balance, which will boost his confidence. Just be sure that you put the chute up against one wall and use standards and rails on the other side to enclose it, so he won't be tempted to run out.

-- Jump plain crossrails with plain standards for a while until you get your confidence back. There's nothing worse than being scared to jump and as George Morris says continually in his Jumping Clinic column, there's nothing wrong with stepping back and jumping crossrails. Really focus on maintaining your position over them. And work over different patterns so you don't get bored. Do circles, figure-eights over one crossrail, then add another crossrail to the pattern, so you're jumping two.

-- Finally, ask a good, sensitive trainer to ride your horse a few times. It will cost $, which I know we're all trying to save in this economy. But such a trainer can help your horse's confidence, which, in turn, will help your confidence.

 Good luck!

Hello

Regarding the jumping problem, what I would do if you can is find 3-4 poles and 1-2 low flower boxes with flowers in them, put the poles 8-9 feet apart, 2poles 1 flower box, 2 poles and another flower box, then ride your horse over them at the walk(make sure you are streight and in the middle) once you feel you horse does them well do the same thing at the trot, if you can in your 2 points, make sure to look up drop your heels and keep your shoulders back, again when your horse is doing well do the same thing at the canter. I do this exercise with all the young horses and the TB of the track it really helps them and I am sure it will help you to get your confidence back. Once you have this exercise under control, start to do the same with cross rails and verticals.

Best of luck.