Saturday, July 9, 2011

Stubron pony who refuses to jump?

Your pony is either refusing out of fear, pain, cautiousness or naughtiness. If it's naughtiness, he'll be stopping for essentially no reason, and no seeming upset in any way. If this is the case, it's time to tell him who's boss! Lower the fences so there is absolutely no excuse for him to stop. If he does stop, keep his head turned towards the fence. Do not let him pull you around. Also grab a crop / whip to give him a tap behind your leg on the approach to the fence. If he is running out to either side of the fence, monitor which side he runs out to more. If it is the left, for example, transfer your whip to your left hand and at all costs do not let him run out to the side, keep him head turned towards the fence. If he is refusing out of genuine fear, you'll probably have to put the fences right down and go very slowly. Raise the fences every so often, but only once he is almost bored with them, and completely quiet. Don't get angry with him, he'll only become more frightened and less willing. Keep everything really calm, and gradually build up his confidence. There is always also the chance that he's in pain. See if his saddle fits, and get out a chiropractor to check for muscle soreness. Finally, try to get some riding lessons. Instructors help so much with any problems you might have, and give you confidence as well as your pony. Your pony is either naturally bold or naturally cautious. If bold, he's more likely to be very willing to jump. If he's a cautious pony, however, he needs you to be really confident, and make jumping a really great experience by never catching him in the mouth while going over the fence, for example. So also have a look at your position, and see if there's anything there that might be making him less willing to jump. Oh, and just keep practicing, practicing, practicing...get your pony to the stage where he is almost indifferent about jumping, and jst happily goes over anything. Take him to as many shows as you can for exposure to courses and new fences, and over time he'll become very used to the whole jumping routine. Good luck and have fun!

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