Horse Bearing Down/Leaning On the Bit and Tanking - Advice Needed

[thecolorcoal]

Hey all,

Not the first post I’ve written about this horse, but a not-so-new issue that is showing up yet again and this time in an, arguably, more dangerous scenario.

My horse had 7 months off of jumping to recoup from an unfortunately human-made injury. We started riding her again in March (primarily dressage) and she has been back to jumping since June. Pre-injury a pain symptom was bearing down on the bit and tanking off with the rider, unable to slow down. The answer at the time was a twisted corkscrew. She jumps 2 ft x-rails and verticals and we have not been able to progress with trainer because of this issue.

All pain issues have been taken care of: we got a custom fitted and flocked saddle from a highly reputable fitter/dealer and it’s due for a check at the end of the month, and a high-end fleece pad the saddle was fitted to. She is on an ulcer-treatment plan at the moment and we are a week in (we are on it for 3 months as it is a ranitidine/powdered omeprazole regiment which does not work as effectively or as quickly as gastroguard but is cheaper and more budget friendly), as she was showing symptoms so this is taken care of and the symptoms are slowly dissipating (girthiness, balkiness, tenderness around stomach, minor colics).

When we jump, she is either a) really excited or b) terrified and wanting to get it over with. With jumps or exercises that she’s never done before in areas of the ring that are spooky her rushing is anxiety-induced. On the side of the ring that is safe she will come back immediately to me and the rushing seems to be a balance issue/perhaps excitement-induced. It’s very interesting to see how she jumps different fences at different sides of the area, as they are all the same height and x rails since we can’t graduate because of this problem.

I find that because her jumping style is inconsistent I am tense. If I feel her start to charge underneath me my first instinct is to get tight and HOLD her, sitting really deep in the saddle to try and contain her. This doesn’t work and what happens is she gets even FASTER and explodes over these fences, and on the other side she runs with her nose between her knees pulling, pulling, PULLING, me down onto her neck while she runs blindly around the ring with no power steering, no breaks, and since i am being pulled out of my saddle i cannot sit deep, or frankly sit at all because it’s my 160 lbs vs her 1000. This leaves me balancing off my stirrups. A stop or a buck could send me flying because I am holding on by a thread and it’s due to her compassion that I am not tossed off. I’ve started running her into fences in my desperation to get her to stop. It is very unsettling and scares me because I have no control and I am at her mercy. It makes it hard to jump anything or progress through my training, because we are constantly going backwards and backwards and backwards to places where she will not do this.

This horse and i used to jump 3’ oxer and vertical courses . Now we can’t even make it over a 2ft x rail without me bursting into tears of frustration and fear and having to go BACK to polework every. single. lesson.

She is an OTTB with very few “back to the track” moments. Holding with both reins, as I often do, does trigger this grab-the-bit-and-run, but pulling with my outside rein is so hard to do because that doesn’t work as quickly as I would hope and what ends up happening is the two of us get in a huge pulling match and we both become upset.

I lost a lot of trust in her before her 7 month layup. She was in pain and reacted as such, but I took some very, very bad falls from her bronco bucks which left me questioning her reliability. I love this horse more than my own life and she is my partner and best friend, but in “work” it is hard to give her the benefit of the doubt and I think she senses this, too.

Please help. I want us to get back to competing and doing what I consider the “big jumps.” She does not refuse but she just gets stronger and stronger and stronger and will not slow down no matter what I do. She also goes from a super quick trot into a slow canter which builds and builds and builds into a hand gallop on the flat, me pulling the entire time and it only makes her move faster.

I know this is not the right way to ride but my survival instincts are kicking in during these moments and I go back to 6 year old me, all hands and no leg or seat.

She is in a D-Ring, stainless steel ovation lozenge bit for flat and jumping. I do not know if I need a stronger bit because she’s reluctant to seek contact with any bit but something that’s friendly and inviting, but the drawback is these bits do not have enough bite to get her to stop when I really need her to. I have no control and no finesse and she is not listening to my aids AT ALL.

I do have a trainer, and I ride with her twice a week. I flat 5 days a week and she is jumped twice a week. She also is professionally schooled at least once a week.

Thank you for reading and I appreciate your feedback. I will answer questions as they come up.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

I would suggest a few lessons on a trusty schoolmaster for your confidence, and some training for her with a good trainer, for her confidence. Once both of you are on the same page, then back over poles, grids, and more grids together.

[findeight]

Your root problem doesnt sound like it has has anything to do with jumps if you are only doing tiny things that don’t have any airtime or require rocking back to push off…does she do this with the trainer as well? Not sure I understand why she’s being “jumped” if she drags everybody around and wants to bronc on top of not understanding the concept of contact and obedience being required, not optional. She may just not know and nobody has taught her correctly.

Bigger bit isnt going to do anything. You either have too many holes in her training, her riders are inadequate or she’s got a pain problem. What was the injury and what kind of x rays and ultrasounds have you had done?

Cant tell more from just text, need links to pictures and hopefully a video. Hopefully it’s a training/riding problem that might require changing barns and trainers. If not, could be looking at back suspensories or neck/back trouble-both of result in the type behavior you describe, unfortunately they do require more sophisticated diagnostics to identify.

Oh, how old is the horse, how long off the track, who had it before you did, did you get a PPE with basic x rays when you bought? And was it sound during its race career? Race records and racing ownership records are public, all you need is the registered name spelled as registered or tattoo number. It’s worth researching as the horses past history can provide many clues to present health and behavior.

Also, how long were you jumping her 3’, how many times a week before she suffered the injury ( and knowing what that injury was will go a long way to solving this).

Figuring out why a horse is having problems is like a big jigsaw puzzle with no picture to guide you. The more pieces you have, the more you can tell what the picture is. Not enough pieces yet.

[thecolorcoal]

Findeight, thank you for your comment. I appreciate taking the time to respond. My answer:

This is an inconsistent issue. This is also not an upper-level horse and her career will max out at three feet if she ever gets there. 2 feet for us is large - i know it may not seem like much but she jumps all jumps with proper form. This is a horse who will not entertain using her body correctly if she’s even in the slightest amount of discomfort so I spend endless time assessing her physical condition and making sure she is pushing with her hind end. If she refuses to do that, I instantly know something is wrong because she is not naturally lazy nor unwilling, and will only refuse doing what is asked if it hurts. It’s not fair to make her work when she is in any pain.

Three vets did a lameness exam in a year, all from three different clinics and practices. Three vets found no signs of lameness. I had another vet do a thorough physical and we also found nothing. A chiro found soreness in her poll (she’s a cribber) and her withers (past bad saddle fit), adjusted accordingly. She sees a bodyworker at least once a month, who also assesses my saddle fit and does her own lameness exam. I want to make sure nothing is tweaked or out of whack, because this horse was brave to put up with severe back pain due to my ignorance when I first got her. They looked at her x rays and saw nothing of alarm that would disrupt the level of work she is doing. Her x rays will never allow her to be an upper level horse, but that’s OK - it’s just too risky.

We were not jumping 3 feet regularly, she was schooling 2’9. I have learned my lesson with this horse. We jumped A LOT (4 months, almost evert day) and while I am lucky that she got no residual damage from it, she’s now at 2 days a week because I am afraid too much jumping will hurt her.

We are also working in dressage and trying to get her to push into the contact. I’ve FINALLY, finally, got her pushing from behind (inconsistent schooling) and it took a ton of effort on my part (lots of leg and seat but we got it in one ride and she’s starting to respond quicker). Could she be confused? This doesn’t seem like “friendly contact” to me. I’ve felt this before in other horses and they did it because they didn’t want to stop running. I wouldn’t mind the strong gallop if I had some steering.

[FAW]

Typical of OTTB. All they know is to run. Seen Bernie Traurig work with students on this problem. Have to tried trotting in and when she wants to takeoff, pull her up. It takes time to correct this problem. Once she accepts this, then try another jump in the line and pull her up after she jumps the second jump. Hopefully she will get the idea and with strong half halts when she wants to get quick, she will listen to you. Patience, it takes a lot of patience. Make sure your releases are not hitting her in the mouth. Work lots of poles on the ground and then go to trotting over Xs

[CHT]

Do you have access to a good sidepull or even a rope halter? Try riding with one under your regular bridle (may want to remove the noseband), and have reins on both the bit and the bitless bridle (so you have back up).

Try riding predominantly off the noseband pressure, and see if this helps. Anxious horses tend to brace against a bit (anticipation of pain). The noseband makes sense to them (similar to a halter) but without the same degree of pain.

Chronic/long term pain in humans tends to cause the person to feel pain sooner. I imagine the same is true in horses.

You may also want to look into Equitation Science’s jumping exercise.

[thecolorcoal]

FAW - she actually is not all that quick UNLESS we are jumping. I researched thoroughbreds and OTTBs before I got her and had prepared myself for a much tougher road. However, I grew up riding warmbloods and had little exposure or experience to thoroughbreds. I’ve had her over a year and in the first year things were extremely easy. Now the real challenge is beginning. I had mentally prepared for this a long time ago and only now is it happening, if that is at all what you are saying.

I have noticed I am doing more of a crest release, whereas I was originally taught the auto-release. I have flat reins without any grip for just-in-case moments if I get left behind. It makes it easy to let the reins slip from my fingers and gather them on the other side. She is very easy to stay with, but it’s the chaos on the other side I am struggling with. Thank you so much for your advice and I will definitely implement it.

CHT, that is such a good idea! Do you think she still remembers the pain of the double twisted wire her old owner used on her? I’ve never used a bit stronger than a single jointed snaffle with her. I’ve ridden her in a hackamore but she does not enjoy the curb pressure. Thank you so much for your response and I am definitely going to try that as well.

[findeight]

Yes, she could be confused, fact I bet she is, but the worst thing you can do is take your leg off and drop the contact which they understand as a reward for not accepting it. Soft but persistent is the way to go and that is actually a major stumbling block for many riders less experienced in starting youngsters. Everybody focuses on getting them saddle broke without getting bucked off, that’s easy, It’s teaching them to accept leg and contact and understand when you ask for anything, it’s not their choice to say yes or no that is hard to teach them. It does require some sophistication and educated use of all aids by all riders all the time every ride. Don’t feel alone here.

Might find some lunging in PROPERLY adjusted side reins quite helpful in allowing her to understand what she is supposed to do and teach her to carry herself.

I also wonder if some lessons from a different trainer might ge helpful for your understanding and developing consistency in your riding and her response to the aids? I know…you love your trainer, they are your BFF but…with lessons and trainer rides you should not repeatedly be having these issues.

And, back to pain. You said she was checked repeatedly but never told us what diagnostics were used on what body part. Did they do flexions? Block each leg from hoof up? What x rays were taken of which body parts? Ultrasounds? Thing is, horses with back suspensory injuries won’t limp, no heat, flex OK but will act out like yours is doing. Theres a host of spinal problems including the neck that are invisible, non reactive to poking and prodding but create behavioral reactions to the discomfort they cause. Have you done any diagnostics on the spine from poll to tail?

We don’t care how she got hurt but it would very much help to know what the injury was. Maybe it hasn’t healed completely, many are off for a year or more with various things…like rear suspensories. So…can you give hs that piece of the puzzle? Nobody will judge and we don’t need to know how it happened.

Oh…a crest release is just another tool in tne riders box, not right or wrong just a choice depending on circumstances. But if you are jumping so low the horse isn’t going to fold your hip angle? You don’t need much of a release and definately don’t need to be leaning up on the neck, that might be getting her excited. Sit up, grab mane but stay IN the saddle, not ahead of it. Grabbing mane does not mean tipping forward…actually, neither does a correct crest release but that’s getting technical. Again…wondering if this is the right trainer for you.

[sdlbredfan]

It is time for an equine dental specialist to assess the teeth, if not already done. (If you did that already, and I missed it, sorry.) If it has been 6 months or more since it was last done, definitely is something I would check before assuming a stronger bit is needed.

[drafting_dots]

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is YOUR anxiety. Anxiety can make (and seems like you recognize this) you ride like crap. I’m speaking from very personal experience. I went through similar with my horse recently, where I had anxiety I honestly didn’t even really notice that kept creeping in. My horse got worse and worse, starting pulling and running away with me. After even just two rides of really focusing on me relaxing, letting go of him, and trusting him, he has made a world of progress. This was less than a month ago and he hasn’t run away with me in weeks.

It sounds like you have a sensitive horse who responds strongly to your tension. I think in a way the horse is confused, and might even think you are ASKING for forward. When forward isn’t the right answer, they start getting frustrated. Maybe you need to keep taking baby steps to regain confidence (maybe even you moreso than her) until you’re so bored you want to raise the jumps.

I also think it would be helpful to know how this horse behaves with a trainer. It’s concerning that with the amount of lessons and training rides you still haven’t made progress?

[beau159]

@thecolorcoal

She is in a D-Ring, stainless steel ovation lozenge bit for flat and jumping. I do not know if I need a stronger bit because she’s reluctant to seek contact with any bit but something that’s friendly and inviting, but the drawback is these bits do not have enough bite to get her to stop when I really need her to. I have no control and no finesse and she is not listening to my aids AT ALL.

I do have a trainer, and I ride with her twice a week. I flat 5 days a week and she is jumped twice a week. She also is professionally schooled at least once a week.

And how is she doing on the flat? Any resistance at any time there?

I guess what I would suggest is NO jumping until her flatwork is better, assuming she has holes there too.