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I want to show-jump my horse. I have had him a year and he was bought from a dealer so very little is known about his past. He is a 10 year-old Dutch Warmblood. At home he is an excellent jumper if a little clumsy sometimes but if I take him jumping at shows, he panics and refuses to jump. The minute I enter the ring he goes all rigid and his head comes up. I can get him over a couple of jumps but not without a fight and considering he loves jumping at home, it is strange and frustrating!! He loves the atmosphere at shows and I compete in showing classes with him fine. He is, at times, nappy which I am sure is part of the problem but not all of it. At the weekend I took him to a cross-country course with my friend and her horse. He cleared a couple of little jumps really well. But when I asked him to stand still while my friend jumped he panicked again and started to buck and threatening to rear. In the end I got off him and he stood still and behaved perfectly.

Any ideas what could cause him to behave like this and what I can do to solve it?

Abby

Hi Abby

As you know very little about your horses past, it could well be something he has experienced in the past is affecting his behaviour now.

I wonder how you know that he loves the atmosphere at a show? Horses that are content with their environment are calm and relaxed. They eat and drink as normal and almost walk themselves in and out of the trailer or horsebox. They don’t resist entering the arena or show any signs of distress or anxiety. Horses that are well travelled and have been to shows all their lives treat the event with little regard.

But the opposite can be said of a horse that is not happy. He will shy at things, keep his ears back, go stiff and rigid, resist moving forwards, object at being loaded and unloaded. Stops eating and never drinks. They fidget about and don’t like being left alone.

I assume that you had your horse vetted before you purchased him and that since that vetting you have had the vet back to check that he is still in good health. That you have had his tack checked by an experienced qualified saddler to make sure the saddle fits, and that you have had his teeth and hooves checked. Then you have to bear in mind his training, and his fitness with regard to what you are asking. How much work have you done to prepare him for jumping and cross country? Is his diet right for the work? Does the horse have an aptitude for the task you are asking of him? Most horse will jump at home rather than hit the obstacle, but that doesn’t mean his is good at it, or enjoys it. These are the sort of questions you need to be asking yourself.

From your description it sounds as though your horse is trying to tell you in whatever way he can, that something is wrong! So take some time out to find out what, when you have done everything, looked into every possibility and it seems that is no reason for his behaviour then you have 2 options, you can either accept your horse for who and what he is and work to try and improve things (one step at a time and go back to basics), or sell the horse.

If it turns out that your horse is a paragon of virtue for everyone else, and only performs badly for you, then I would say it’s time for you to look at yourself in terms of riding technique/skill and what messages you may be sending out to your horse. If this is the case, then learning to relax and be more confident will really help you. But however relaxed and confident you are, it won’t replace lessons from an instructor, or change a poorly trained, older unfit or unwell horse into an obedient, forward thinking show jumper with manners to die for!!!

Unfortunately these take months of searching for and a rather large bank balance!

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Sharon Shinwell Dip. Couns Dip HP(NC)MNCP.CCC

For The StableTalk Team