Hunting for confidence?

[normandy_shores]

I have the opportunity to attend my first hunt next weekend, over two days.

I have a 5 year old pony who is great on the trails, great in groups, done great in group canters and gallops, and is generally good around dogs (though we’ll see about with all the hounds!), but is hit or miss with jumping confidence.

Im curious if going with a group and others jumping may help increase her confidence?

Ive been told all jumps are optional, but I imagine I won’t know which ones are big/small/inviting until we’ve come upon them. Any suggestions?

[Kodiak]

IME, it can go either way depending on how you handle it.

Two potential hazards: First is that there is a lot going on, which is very distracting for horse and rider. You can use this to your advantage by carefully making the jumps just one more (yawn) part of the scenery, or you can damage confidence by not riding every single step and letting your horse feel overwhelmed. A hunt horse learns to make a lot of decisions about where to put his or her feet, where to be relative to other horses and hounds, etc. Yours sounds like it has an excellent foundation, but it’s still easy to get a brain overload since there is so much stuff to be aware of simultaneously. To build confidence, it’s absolutely critical that you manage your horse’s attention and offer lots of praise and small successes.

The second is that the overall hunting experience encourages horses to rush, both on the flat and over fences. It takes time and exposure to train this out of a new hunt horse. You can also expect to be around some not-so-great jumpers to outright refusers and runner-outers. If at all possible when starting a horse in the hunt field, partner up with someone who can give you a solid lead and sane reference point. This goes double for instilling confidence over jumps. Horses want to mimic the behavior around them, so a good example to follow is worth his or her weight in gold.

While you’re looking for that unicorn riding partner, it’s even better if it’s someone familiar enough with the fixture to know in advance which jumps are better for your horse. And, finally, do plan to stay in the rear of the field. ‘Training’ during a hunt is frowned upon, but horses also need experience. So, stay to the back where you won’t inconvenience anyone if you have a green moment.

[Foxglove]

I’m working with a horse new to jumping --cutting sorting QH who just this summer learned he had feet that could leave the ground. I think his confidence is fine --mine? not so much --I’m old and fragile and don’t want to take a fall. My suggestion to you would be to speak to a friend at the hunt club who knows the land well. Ask him/her to let you follow and give you a signal if there is an obstacle over 12" or 18" or unusual like tires —my new-to-jumping horse is doing 2’ 7" in the ring --no way would I take him over a 2’ 7" stone wall! Yet. I’ve been hunting the same land (it’s huge with three fixtures) for 12 years --so I pretty much know what’s what. When I started hunting my horse, he was former trail too so he knew to jump a log --I followed one of the other members and did just what I suggested you do —too everything natural and under 18" --avoided man-made and anything bigger. This year, now that we are doing a solid 2’ 7" consistently, I will be in first flight (got my invitation to move up end of last season, but didn’t think my boy was ready). We will continue to avoid really big stuff --but meanwhile, I’ll enjoy the ride!

[Training_Cupid]

I would join the hilltopper group the first time and see how it goes.

[SLW]

There can be a benefit to the herd mentality to encourage a horse to follow the ones in front of it over a fence IF the fence is well within the horse’s skill set. As you will be a guest, in most hunts, guest ride with their sponsor/friend in the back of the field which will give you some room to help your horse.

Fox Hunting has an abundant amount of visuals & audios for horses to absorb and hopefully compartmentalize. One honestly never knows how a horse will respond until you take the horse and out and give it a try. Good luck and have fun!

[BeeHoney]

So, when I’m introducing a horse to hunting, I spend a fair amount of time with it back with the hilltoppers or whatever slower group there is so that it can learn the job a bit. There are two concerns about bringing a new horse out hunting.

First of all, hunting is a different job than ring work and it can involve things like crossing through deep muck, ditches, deep creeks, crossing scary wooden or metal bridges, etc. Then you also have hounds and staff popping out of the scenery at unexpected intervals. I think that heading out first flight with a green horse without a proper introduction might create a lot of opportunities for problems.

Secondly, how you introduce a horse to the job can influence how they approach it in the future. If you hang back with a slower group initially, your horse has a better chance of remaining calm and learning to be a confident and well-behaved hunt horse. If you take your horse out first field and gallop the snot out of him/her, I think that’s likely to create a situation where your horse could develop some bad habits including anxiety, anticipation and rushing.

Now, to the meat of your question: Yes, hunting can absolutely increase a horse’s confidence and forwardness. But, patience is a key ingredient to successful horse training. If I were in your shoes I would introduce the horse to hunting in a very patient manner, and introduce the jumping aspect slowly, perhaps by doing some hunter paces and “larking” a bit when you are out hunting, and gradually working your way up to first field when you are confident that your horse is fairly prepared for it. Nothing can ruin a horse’s confidence more than skipping necessary training steps.

[jawa]

Will horses (and riders) do things they wouldn’t normally do at home when they are out hunting? YES!! Does that build confidence? Maybe. Sometimes, after the fact, I think both human and equine might look back on an instance and think THAT WAS WAAAYY OUTSIDE of my abilities! THANK GOD IT WORKED!!!

I would think of jumping while hunting similar to “schooling” jumps and “showing” jumps. You might school 3’, but only show at 2’9". You might get away with jumping something unusual at 2’9" if he knows to keep up with the herd, but if it’s too unusual or well outside of his comfort zone jumping you might go over the jump…just without your horse and have ruined his confidence in YOU!

FIRST be sure that he is comfortable in body from the bottom up. Be sure that your saddle and bridle/bit fit him WELL.

SECOND be sure that you are riding him well to the jumps. If he has bruised your confidence, then you might not be able to support his confidence. If so, only jump things that he will jump with his eyes closed ( and yours too). Build from this. ground poles, 18" cross rails, 18" vertical, 2’ cross rails, 2’ vertical. Gymnastic lines of the height he is willing to jump with his eyes closed.

THIRD introduce him to hunting WITHOUT jumping. It is ALOT to absorb. Especially if horse and rider combo are not familiar with hunting.

FORTH take him out hunting with someone in front that knows if its a jump that is within your limits. For example, Saturday before last out hunting we came upon a coop. I was middle of the field. I noticed that the center of the coop on the landing side was a bit boggy. On the second run, I let the person behind me know, if possible to keep her horse to the right of the coop to avoid the boggy take off. As another example, being the visitor at a joint meet, the person in front of me let me know the upcoming coop had a drop on the landing side.

FIFTH once you have done the above you can PUSH your horse a bit more. Example. Thanksgiving meet. We are on a FULL CRY RUN on a red fox. The fox goes into a field we don’t usually enter. The coop has a rider that has been nailed in, plus a second rider that has been nailed above it. Two masters jump the coop + riderS. I’m next. I bring my horse from a canter to an extended trot, jump the coop and keep going. Master number 2 later in the day " Why did you trot the coop?" Me “So I had room to add leg!” The coop + riders was at the top of a 4 rail fence, so we jumped pretty darn close to 4’6" that day. I was glad for the herd mentality, but also glad to have a horse that would listen (came back to a trot) to make it happen. Lots of seasoned riders and horses had stops at that coop that day.

[normandy_shores]

I am arriving a day early, and may offer to come a day prior to that to help out. This is a new fixture out of their regular area on a hunt club member’s new property, so I believe they have some setting up to do. Will talk to this member about ideas and options. I was thinking I’d hilltop on day one and go 2nd flight on day 2 if all goes well. My mount is quite adept at covering ground at a pace and crossing creeks/rivers etc (we do a lot of trail riding and conditioning) but I know there will be a lot to absorb and it’ll be a new experience for both of us. We are unfortunately not in an area where we will get to hunt regularly, so this is an exciting rare opportunity for us!

[AKCH]

As long as you can manage the energy your pony will get once you get going, jumping in those settings are excellent. The route of the obstacles is always set up in such a way that you can bypass the obstacles you are not ready or comfortable jumping. In a hunt setting, you are going to be following a large group of horses over those natural obstacles so it’s far more inviting to most horses and you can definitely build more confidence yourself as well as the horse.