I definitely think we’ll be going back to flatwork only for sure for a while as he has rocked my confidence a tiny bit. Also - mare has a sensitive back and mouth so I can’t pick up any bad habits of coming back early or not giving enough release. And I don’t mind the flat work. ESP with him bc he IS nice. I just wish I could make him fit into our lesson program somehow, but Trainer doesn’t have the faith in him to even trust him to be an up-down teacher on the lungeline so… that’s where I’m at. He’s expensive to care for too, so I just really don’t want her to put him down when he does have strong points.
This!! Thank you. And yes, if you know of some exercises outside of leg yielding and turn on the forehand/haunches I’d be willing to try it out! We’ve also tried putting poles out on the backside of the jumps but he’ll abandon the bad behavior for a little while and pick it back up when you’re least expecting. No doubt hard to pin down. But the ground work in the stall is definitely a good place to start.
Would you be able to have a massage therapist or some other body worker come out? Could help see anything, especially the shoulder! They can also suggest whether some other diagnostic or therapy could help like PEMF, red light, laser, etc.
Am a little confused, what makes your trainer okay with currently having him not being used for lessons, leases, etc if she has stated euthanasia is a route she considered?
Also, I don’t know your trainer but for awhile I boarded with some very competitive show jumpers and they all did quite a bit of dressage work! It sounds like you’ve done a bit of it already in your flatwork and dressage can be very beneficial, my first dressage trainer had her former competitive Danish WB at 17+hh happy and sound to show off some FEI movements even in her late 20’s. Of course his owner would need to sign off on this but just thought I’d mention it since he’s been cleared to ride.
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I think I’m always scared to try dressage exercises because I don’t have a trainer who knows dressage. While I’m very confident in my training, I would like to have some supervision when it comes to new exercises like that. That’s all. Do you know of any trainers that travel in Florida and would be able to come to the barn and show me a few things?
Where in FL? Doesn’t need to be exact address but vague area would help narrow down some trainers for those that are in the area. Virtual lessons are also quite popular if you find someone who’s a bit far!
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I’ve had this horse. Or his twin. I loved him, too, and took him on when no one else wanted him because of his nasty behavior. He was an angry, explosive horse. His previous owners famously told me, “He tried to kill us!”
Yet I loved that horse, and consider him one of the best horses to ride that I ever sat upon. But before I came to love him so much, I had to come to accept him for the horse that he was. He did not want to be a show horse. He didn’t particularly want to jump. But he ended up enjoying lower level dressage and also western dressage. In fact, he had actual talent! Who knew?
So I guess what I’m saying is that if you truly love a horse and want what’s best for him, listen to what he’s telling you. This horse you’re enamored with does not enjoy jumping. Discover his other gifts.
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Training and learning to ride properly and later train is something that is done all along, not a few tricks learned here and there.
Even international, olympic trainers ride under someone as “eyes on the ground” helping with the training, as we as riders can’t quite always tell what the horse is doing under us.
Best way to learn is to sign up with an instructor and go get regular lessons.
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Do you have any pics or video of this horse?
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You know that’s a good question about my trainer. I can’t answer it.
I would absolutely be willing to learn if it means prolonging his well being and I think he would be too! I’ve tried red light/infra red suits on him but didn’t notice much difference. We also have a theraplate which he gets on once a week. Anytime I do chiro for my mare we supplement with massage too so if I get him on the list he’ll be evaluated both ways. Will definitely give an update as soon as they can fit him in.
Sometimes I just wish they could talk!
I’m in the Tampa area. Are the virtual lessons the same thing as master classes?
To put things into a different context, “Don’t marry a man thinking you can change him”.
Or “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”
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They can talk. This one says, “stop jumping me.“ The problem is the people who don’t listen.
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Yes sorry didn’t mean for you to actually answer it, just theoretical as I would imagine she’d probably be fine with you riding dressage with him given he’s currently not very business-y, for lack of better wording.
Forgot to mention this earlier about lessons but if virtual lessons don’t work, some dressage trainers have a service where you send in footage and they respond, may be easier to do. Amelia Newcomb offers it.
Would definitely be interesting to see what the chiropractor & massage therapists think! Best of luck, I very much feel you on that last bit, would be so helpful.
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Not really, basically you set up some kind of camera and then the trainer watches, it’s live. You do need a person or robot to film you continuously though and some sort of bluetooth device so you can actually hear what the trainer is saying. It’s basically just a video call/FaceTime and you can probably pay with something like PayPal.
Masterclasses are great though!
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Horses do not use logic in this manner.
Sounds like a horse that shouldn’t be jumping, whether it’s a pain issue or mental one.
Then he should go out in a pasture.
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Also wanted to add onto this, I wonder if he may be launching himself in anticipation of any pain/discomfort to try and get it over with? I think sometimes if something physically is bothering them, they’re more prone to flailing or moving erratically (vs. rocking back & jumping correctly), almost in a bit of a flight response
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I would absolutely agree with what you said but from riding it, what it feels like is sensitivity to me being too far forward or anticipation of me be too far forward on the backside after a long spot. That’s why I’ve always thought maybe it was a shoulder problem but vets couldn’t find anything there. When he balls up, his back end draws up underneath himself and he feels like he could clear a Grand Prix jump even though we’re only jumping cross rails up to 18”. On the backside it’s not even really a buck - he drops his head and stabs the ground before the back feet even touch the ground
I had one like this, although mine was also bad on the flat, although mostly in situations where he knew it was difficult to correct him strongly, like in a crowd or in the middle of a dressage test. The only time he consistently behaved was when the fences went up enough that he had to actually work at jumping (for him this was 3’3+). I did compete him fairly successfully in local jumper shows but it was really tough-- sometimes I couldn’t safely jump him in the warmup for example. He was a really lovely horse, with a lot of talent, but he absolutely had my number by the end. In retrospect he did a lot of damage to my confidence and courage and I let it go on for way too long.
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He is not cleared for work over 2’6 ever with the navicular changes, even with corrective shoeing 
but, I will say even though I don’t know a thing about dressage, I do think he would really enjoy it and possibly be good at it.
I tried to fit the three in by landing and immediately hoeing but he was so heavy on the forehand I couldn’t get him back and he left so I just tried to go with him
