I need some advice. I have a Tbx mare who I have been jumping over fences for awhile now. She does fairly well, but she has little confidence over fences. I always have to push her to the fences. Is there any way to help build her condidence over fences? She has jumped up to 3', but becuase of the weather we are just getting back into the swing of things. I want to show her MSA, but the jumps are "scary" to her.. so I wanted to try and get her to the point where she has no fear over the bigger stuff. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.
mare needs confidence!
- Thread starter flyhigh
- Start date
Sadielady
Ahhhh Florida!
I would take her over lots and lots of small jumps with "scary" things like flowers, brush, hand towels, etc until these things didn't bother her. Sometimes you have to start from the ground up. If she is terrified of flowers you might need to desensitize her to them by rubbing them all over her etc. until she doesn't care about them. There are a lot of things you can do to gain her confidence over fences, but I would need more info. on her and your riding ability.
barncat
New Member
flyhigh said:
Make sure you are being a supportive rider. A horse that is still green over fences needs a confident rider that will give them a good ride up to the fence and the appropriate encouragement to go over the fence. While height is an issue, a horse will have issues with a 2' fence if it does not receive a good ride up to the fence.
Maybe put her on some grids so jumping isn't such a daunting task. It's not all about getting over the fence, but the approach and land can affect a horses' confidence.
Good luck!
fredsaid2
New Member
IIf you're not taking lessons, starting them could be very helpful. Having someone coaching from the ground could build your confidence and conversely your mare's. You might also look for an experienced rider to give her a few 'pro rides'. It's amazing what a very experienced rider can accomplish in a short while. None of my suggestions have anything to do with your riding abilities. I've just found when you're hitting a snag an outside view can 'clear the air'. We have a few who post here who could do the coaching or riding if you're interested. Best of luck at MSA!
Eventer29
New Member
I agree with all of the above. first check your riding, and for any soundness issues. My mare had a sore bacak so didnt want to jump much over 3' for a while, anything under she was fine but since then she lost some confidence over bigger fences. Then id start very small with "scary stuff" tarps, flowers, horse blankets etc. Low enough so that she can walk over if necessary. good luck!
Cowgirl
Well-Known Member
One of Margie Goldstein-Engle's mares has written an excellent series about show jumping for horses. There are several in the series, but the first one, "I, Too, Can be a Professional Jumper" is wonderful. I know of several horses who read it and they excelled that next show season.
If your horse doesn't like to read, the book is also on cassette and CD for their listening pleasure. The audio versions are narrated by the Kiger Mustang that was the model for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron. Although the mustang does not have any jumping experience, Goldstein-Engle's mare chose him because of his wonderful reading voice and his enthusiasm for the rapidly growing equine self-help genre. These books can be found at Dover, Mr. Willy's, Elam's, and State Line Tack.
If your horse doesn't like to read, the book is also on cassette and CD for their listening pleasure. The audio versions are narrated by the Kiger Mustang that was the model for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron. Although the mustang does not have any jumping experience, Goldstein-Engle's mare chose him because of his wonderful reading voice and his enthusiasm for the rapidly growing equine self-help genre. These books can be found at Dover, Mr. Willy's, Elam's, and State Line Tack.
Cowgirl
Well-Known Member
fredsaid2 said:I knew there had to be an easy way!!
So just run speakers to the paddocks and barn?
Well, you can do that, but I've found horses listen better with headphones...there are fewer distractions.
Hmm...could be because the dog doesn't want to listen to Cesar...he wants to listen to one of Cesar's dogs.
fredsaid2
New Member
Cowgirl said:
You're absolutely right! I have remote headphones, I'll see what I can rig up w/ vet wrap to keep them on.
Guess I'll have to wait for "Big Daddy" to release his motivational CD for the JRT. Why was I thinking he'd care what Cesar had to say??
Thanks for the great advice!
