Refusing to Jump

leigh1973 · Yearling

Refusing to Jump

sedonasilver · Advanced

Have you had someone check out his muscles? Perhaps its his back?

Try lunging him over some small jumps, see if his movement is impaired.

This happened to a horse at my stables, the owner arranged a bowen therapist to work on him for 2 weeks and before we knew it he was back jumping with all his heart.

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

Hey Jennifer, has the vet been out?
I would have the vet check out the front navicular bones and knees. If these are clear check out the hocks, stifles and hip joints.
Tincture of time along with proper veterinary treatment and exercise can solve a lot of veterinary problems if they are caught in the early stages.

leigh1973 · Yearling

His legs and knees have checked out, but I didn't think of having his back checked. I'm pretty sure it's fine since the vet just checked him over and didn't mention anything, but I will ask him to come back out and check.

I will also try lunging him over small jumps. It has been quite a while since I have performed this exercise for him.

leigh1973 · Yearling

Also, thank you Lauren & Lorenzo and Jackie for your advice.

sedonasilver · Advanced

You're very welcome :)

Keep us posted on how he goes!

leigh1973 · Yearling

Ok, here's what's happened since my post. My trainer asked me to try again so he could be sure that it was Dollar and not me. So we trotted up to the jump and he, for the first one, completely stopped then hopped over it. The next time around, he trotted up to it, then came to a complete stop, turning the right, refusing the jump altogether.

He was becoming upset with the constant demanding of jumping so I let him go do his favorite...run in a full-out gallop (he thinks he Seabiscuit....he is really, really fast). Anyways, as I brought his gallop under a bit more control (understated), I took a chance and brought him around for a jump which he cleared beautifully. I did this a few more times and had no problems with the jumps. But, when I brought him back down to a trot, he refused the jump again. He even fought me on the lead-up to go into a gallop for the jump.

So, it seems he has no problem jumping in a gallop, but refuses to jump in a trot. I am still new to jumping so I'm hoping this makes sense to someone. I appreciate any and all advice.

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

Hey Jennifer,
It is easier for a horse to jump from a canter or gallop, because in that gait the hind legs automatically come up together for the take-off.
Your horse may have to learn to jump at a trot as it is a different skill than jumping at a canter.

leigh1973 · Yearling

But why would he be having problems with jumping in a trot now? It's never been a problem before. He's done it with no problems before. If it is easier on the hind legs in a gallop, could he be having some kind of problem with his legs that hurts him to jump in a trot?

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

I do not know, all I can give you are some suggestions.
Your horse happily jumped from a gallop.
This suggests that the horse wants more momentum going into the jump than he has at a trot.
OR that his blood was up at a gallop and jumping did not hurt as much as at a trot. OR that your position at the trot put too much weight on his forehand and he is taking it as a signal to stop.
OR that your horse is sort of bored with jumping and he needs a good, long break from jumping in a ring and needs lots of trail riding.
OR your horse is such a good jumper now that he does not see why he should be expected to jump a little jump from a trot when he clearly prefers the bigger jumps at the faster speeds.
OR he is beginning to hurt somewhere, just enough so he can't ignore it at the slower, more boring speeds but does not hurt enough to notice when he is going fast and his blood is up.
OR your saddle may be pinching at the withers more during the takeoff at a trot than at any other movement.
OR there could be a problem now with coordinating the movement of his hind legs, or occult spavin, or a stifle problem.
OR it could be a completely different reason and I don't have a clue!
Figuring out why your horse suddenly does something different causes a lot of head scratching among horsepeople.

Marlene · Advanced

I'd say listen to your horse. He's a Champion, so he knows how to jump. Let him jump how ever he wants (given that you've checked soundness issues). Your job is not to get in his way.

leigh1973 · Yearling

Jackie and Marlene, I agree with you both. He is an excellent jumper, as he has proven in the past. I think he just does not want to jump in a trot. He loves speed and I don't doubt that he prefers jumping from a gallop. In fact, to him, the faster, the better. I've asked my trainer to just let him jump how he wants...in a gallop. I know he wants discipline from the horse, but I want my baby to be happy also.
I know he is enjoying showing off how good he is in front of the new baby stallion I just bought. When he jumps 60 he jumps so high he clears 90 and when he jumps 90 he clears 1 meter. He cracks me up with his need to show off and impress. I can't believe he actually worries about being my favorite horse. .
Thank you for all of your advice. I am completely relieved that he at least has no physical problems.

Marlene · Advanced

Maybe your trainer is trying to work on a particular thing with you, and feels it's too difficult to get from a gallop. Maybe you could do a certain number of rounds at the speed your guy likes, kind of get it out of his system, then do a few rounds in a more controlled way (not necessarily a trot)but a little slower than your guy wants to go. He might be willing to do some your way, if he has done some his way. I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but it makes sense to me. Horses do like to show off though, so I think that could be part of it as you say. So wouldn't it be better for your relationship, and make him feel like "he's the man" if you can praise him for doing some great jumps, and then try some with a little more control from you, and still praise him if he's willing to work with you on that. I know some people would say horses aren't that complicated but it's just a gut feeling I have.

-- Edited by Marlene on Sunday 31st of October 2010 06:50:24 PM

cjroyg · Well Schooled

Maybe you could go back to basic like going over a pole at the walk then trot then canter then bringing it to an x and gradually increasing the jump so that he gets over his problems. Because faster is far from better if he spends to much time in the air.

spirithorse · Advanced

Sounds to me that at trot he may be off someway.
In other words, he may have a muscle spasm and it sounds like it might be in the hindquarters. I say this because to trot the jump he must shift his weight rearward in a different manner than at gallop.

Healing Heart · Foal

Hi Jennifer, I knew a horse that stopped like this, was a true jumper, loved her job. It was later discovered that she had a hair line fracture up front. She knew it was just a matter of time before she could not protect her rider.... I would have your guy really checked out... it not normal as you mentioned, he is trying to tell you something is NOT SAFE and he doesn't want you hurt if he falls

sedonasilver wrote:
Have you had someone check out his muscles? Perhaps its his back?

Try lunging him over some small jumps, see if his movement is impaired.

This happened to a horse at my stables, the owner arranged a bowen therapist to work on him for 2 weeks and before we knew it he was back jumping with all his heart.

Janet B · Yearling

Yes, the idea to look for a hairline fracture is excellent. My friend's horse had that in his fetlock and the vet though it was something in his back until the did a scintigraphy and found it.
It was tiny and the horse just looked uncomfortable rather than dead lame.

Docs Dusty Gal · Foal

I agree with having him checked out. We just went thru this with my daughters gelding. We bought him in the spring of 2009 and vetted perfectly. She showed him that summer and then trained on the flat all winter. This spring they started jumping again to get ready for the new season. He was not acting himself, he would race over the jumps at the gallop and he would trot over them. He never pinned his ears over the jumps and took my daughter around the 3' courses like a pro. Then one day he took a weird step and we didn't think anything about it. A few days later it happened again. This happened in May....after many tests, stall rest, etc....on Nov 4th we had to lay him to rest. He was a healthy boy, and never gave us any clues before this that something might be wrong. It was later found in his post mortem results that he had severe hip displaysia. So PLEASE, listen and watch your horse. They will tell you and show you things when things are just not right:) There is definately a reason why.

justice · Grand Prix

I, too, am wondering if there is a mechanical issue or pain issue in the hock(s) or stifle (s).

leigh1973 · Yearling

Thank you all for your suggestions. Since reading your posts, I have checked Dollar's legs and have noticed a slight swelling on his back right leg. He also tries to tear his leg away from my grasp when I probe it. Yesterday, I watched him walking and noticed a profound limp to his step in that same leg.

I feel absolutely terrible that I didn't notice this sooner. I have a vet coming to xray his legs and examine him. In the meantime, he is resting and the groom is giving him pain medication. He also got some extra big hugs right around his middle, just how he like it.

leigh1973 · Yearling

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update you all on Dollar. I now know why he was refusing to jump. It took awhile to get everyone to believe me that something was wrong with Dollar, but they finally did. They figured since I am still relatively knew to the sport that I could not possibly know that something was wrong with my horse even though I spend hours on end with him and almost know his body as well as I know mine.

Anyways, I brought the vet out and right off he found the problem. The farrier had been putting his shoes on wrong which caused his hooves to crack and since there has been a lot of wet weather, an infection settled in. He was furious with the groomer/farrier who should have been aware of this (and who told me nothing was wrong physically with Dollar). Needless to say I was very upset because I trusted these people at the stables to help me take care of my baby.

Luckily, the problem is fixable and my baby will be fine. The vet I flew in is one of those world-renowned vets who often gives seminars and cares for many of the horses competing in the world equestrian games and competitions. I'll be flying out to his place to learn how to properly care for my horse, learn to look for problems, and to perform first-aid on my horse. I hope by learning this, I can help prevent any more discomfort for Dollar in the future and I won't have to rely on the supposed word of others.

Thanks again for all of your advice.

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

I am glad you insisted on finding the problem.
Just because you don't have decades of experience does not mean that you can catch on to something that more experienced people may miss or totally ignore.
Your horse was trying to tell you something, and luckily for him you listened. Good work!

Michelle Synnot · Yearling

This is excellent advice:

cjroyg wrote:

Maybe you could go back to basic like going over a pole at the walk then trot then canter then bringing it to an x and gradually increasing the jump so that he gets over his problems. Because faster is far from better if he spends to much time in the air.

leigh1973 · Yearling

To catch you all up on the latest about Dollar. His hooves are all healed up now. As soon as they were healed and he was allowed to go back to jumping, he didn't hesitate at all. His jumps are back to normal and he's enjoying himself once again.

Thanks again everyone for all your advice!

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Glad to know that Dollar is back over fences! Thanks for updating us aww

Kairen Jamieson · Yearling

Whenever one of my Jumpers or Eventers suddenly stop jumping...and tack/teeth/legs seem fine....I will go to the hocks....often with age and jumping a little arthritis may set in...or God forbid..a chip (floating ones are harder to find) has developed that needs removing.

Galloping will cause less stress on the hock....but if a steady Eddie is suddenly quitting....to me it is a pain issue and not training/rider influence

justice · Grand Prix

Great update! Glad it was a fixable issue and all is back to "normal" : )

KatyM · Well Schooled

Hey, Jennifer - did you take any pictures of your horses feet? It would be very interesting to see them!

Marlene · Advanced

Good to hear the problem has been found and is fixable. People should read the story of Saucy Night, a steeple chase racer who had to be retired, but recovered and raced again after going barefoot.
http://www.thehorseshoof.com/success_SaucyNight.html

-- Edited by Marlene on Thursday 3rd of March 2011 09:52:44 AM

LE123 · Foal

I'm glad you've found what is wrong with your horse. Very often, soundness issues are the first thing to look at (legs/feet/back) when a horse that loves to jump suddenly starts quitting. It can be a sign of a bigger problem, and I'm SO thrilled for you that you found out what is wrong. Best to you and your horse. :)

fedoracross · Foal

Sounds great to hear that your horse is back on track. Being an owner of horse it feels pretty disturbed when you see your horse not doing well. I kinda had the same feeling when my horse had stopped eating his food.