My OTTB gelding has lost total confidence in jumping. We did not have a accident or take a bad jump or fall. He has completed 3’6" jumps while schooling but would regularly go 2’-2’ 6" with no spook at all!! Now he won’t go over a flower box with out stopping, running out , or spooking. He is very suspicious of all the jumps or poles. Was hoping for some advice on helping him regain his courage.
*Rulled out vet work. SOUND>>>>
did your vet work include checking his eyes?
Get his eyes checked…
What does "ruled out vet work. SOUND’ mean?
A horse doesn’t have to limp to have a veterinary problem.
[QUOTE=supershorty628;7655101]
Get his eyes checked…[/QUOTE]
This is not to sound stupid-it’s a real question:what can be done if the horse has eye problems? I assume it’s depends on the problem, but are there common fixes or is that horse just done as far as jumpers?
[QUOTE=BITSA;7655980]
This is not to sound stupid-it’s a real question:what can be done if the horse has eye problems? I assume it’s depends on the problem, but are there common fixes or is that horse just done as far as jumpers?[/QUOTE]
It depends on what it is. My old horse had corpora nigra cysts in both eyes and that was an easy fix, it just took a trip to the vet to get them lasered out and he was totally fine and back to normal.
[QUOTE=BITSA;7655980]
This is not to sound stupid-it’s a real question:what can be done if the horse has eye problems? I assume it’s depends on the problem, but are there common fixes or is that horse just done as far as jumpers?[/QUOTE]
It depends on the problem. I’m not well-versed in eye problems, so I don’t know very much about it, but I know that we had an equitation horse who was lovely for several years before he started getting really spooky about the jumps. In his case, it turned out that he was slowly going blind. He was retired after that, and I’m sure his was a rare case, but whenever someone mentions a previously confident horse getting really spooky about jumps (minus a crash), I think of him.
[QUOTE=supershorty628;7656065]
It depends on the problem. I’m not well-versed in eye problems, so I don’t know very much about it, but I know that we had an equitation horse who was lovely for several years before he started getting really spooky about the jumps. In his case, it turned out that he was slowly going blind. He was retired after that, and I’m sure his was a rare case, but whenever someone mentions a previously confident horse getting really spooky about jumps (minus a crash), I think of him.[/QUOTE]
Thanks SuperShorty. My mare is a little visually spooky. Really perfect ground manners, and doesn’t refuse jumps (I am only doing 2’3"-2’6" though), but very leery of anyone walking by, people standing in the arena, new jumps, logs etc. Wonder if it might be her eyes as opposed to her just being sensitive…
[QUOTE=hj0519;7656026]
It depends on what it is. My old horse had corpora nigra cysts in both eyes and that was an easy fix, it just took a trip to the vet to get them lasered out and he was totally fine and back to normal.[/QUOTE]
Me too… Totally back to normal and very little aftercare.
Do you have any old videos of the horse schooling? What about new videos? Assuming the horse is sound and does not have any vision issues, are you willing to consider the role you play in the equation? Perhaps the horse had an off day due to an underlying pain issue (tweaked something in the pasture maybe). Horse refuses a few fences and then you start getting a bit restrictive with your hand, drivey with your seat, or catch him in the mouth a few times. What was an isolated incident became a cyclical issue of mistrust between you and your horse. If you have new and old videos it would be really helpful to go over those with your trainer.
IME, confidence is lost when something is hurting the horse. Saddle fit is the primary cause in my experience. I really don’t think a horse goes from confident to unconfident unless something, somewhere, is making them uncomfortable.
That being said, if your horse had some sort of catastrophic accident (again, pain related) over a fence and now is remembering that once, a fence hurt him, it is easy to go back to the basics and start over poles, tiny cavalettis. He will tell you if something is hurting then, if he ducks out of a pole or cavaletti you know something is wrong.
[QUOTE=hj0519;7656026]
It depends on what it is. My old horse had corpora nigra cysts in both eyes and that was an easy fix, it just took a trip to the vet to get them lasered out and he was totally fine and back to normal.[/QUOTE]
Same experience here!
Perhaps this horse has been over faced. Confidence can be lost if a horse is asked to do something he is not physically or mentally prepared for. Did this lack of confidence and spooking happen suddenly or progress over time? Has anything changed recently (feed, saddle, turn out schedule, etc.)? I echo those above me that recommend getting his eyes checked. I would also look into saddle fit and perhaps his nutrition.
Ruling out soundness and saddle fit, I would go back to square one and start with poles on the ground. Both trot poles (3-5) and canter poles (single ones randomly throughout the ring as well as a series of 3). Once you are able to go through the canter poles relaxed and focused (this will take multiple rides…probably 2 weeks or more), add a small box (2’ or under with no flowers) to the second pole and just treat it like another pole on the ground. Do this until it gets BORING (weeks or months. However long it takes). Once you feel ready to jump again I would start with a cross rail with 9’ approach and landing rails. I would randomly just trot over it during your flat work. Don’t make it a big deal. Then eventually just canter over it randomly during your flat work. Again, no big deal. Once this gets boring (probably another few weeks! Patience is a virtue.) you can start adding boxes, flowers, make it a low oxer, etc. Eventually you can take away the 9’ rails and just have small jumps throughout the ring you just pop over randomly during your flatwork. Because you aren’t really “jump schooling” and these jumps are small (2’6 and under), I would say you can do this a few times a week if not every ride. After a while I think you will be able to go back to trotting in and cantering out lines and stringing together a small course. If you ever have any doubt, go back a step.
Thank you for your insight wood hills, since i posted this thread i took him back to the basics of ground poles, walk, trot and canter and then changed on to a flower box and so forth. He has taken leaps and bounds. We still are not quite where we were but going forward. I do believe the issue stemmed form a jump he was not mentally ready for. Each of my horses have saddles fit for them and are checked regularly since their body changes as they progress from race horse to jump horse. Thank You everyone for you thoughts and idea!
Put a pro up in the stirrups for a few rides and see what happens.
My OTTB does the same thing as well, will jump a perfect 3’ course one day and the next (same jumps) completely different story. I ride him up to them, most likely he stops, I let him look at them thoroughly until he’s not interested in them anymore, then ride up to them with leg and a confident seat and he goes over them with ease.
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