jumping away from home

[*millie*]

I went to a show a few weeks ago, not to enter anything, just to get Pride used to it and we tried the practise jump and Pride refused the first few times, then went over. but when i tried from the other side, he refused again! :mad:
At home, he will jump pretty much anything but at shows/out on rides he wont and its getting really annoying.
Im hiring out the local showground, to get him used to being up there so we can attempt a show there one day and want to be able to get him over the jumps:eek:
How can i get him to jump when we are somewhere different?

[KateWooten]

What's your 'safe as houses I can do this anywhere' exercise ? Mine is to send the horse out on a little circle - about 12 ft, at a trot, then ask him to turn and face me, then trot off the other way. This, he can do anywhere - by a trailer, over a creek, at a showground. It gets his attention on me, and gets his focus on the job in hand. Find such an exercise for you and your horse, and practice it in all new situations. Then expect him to carry on as normal, just as he would at home, and he will.

[Lucyad]

Hey, good idea, Kate. I am anticipating similar problems. Oscar is jumping 1.1m bounce grids at home now, but gets spookey in front of anything other than RI's jumps that he is used to schooling round. There might be monsters, honest!! If you look at it from their point of view it is understandable! When I took him to his first and only show that we entered, we started really low, so he could pop it from a standstill, even though we looked silly doing 65cm jumps on such a huge beast! He just wanted to check them out!

I also made sure it was a super friendly little show where if he had had 3 stops at the first, we would be allowed to continue for as long as it takes. As luck would have it we had a cat jump at the first, and only one stop, that was OK the second time. Oh, and I also made sure that there were no fillers etc...

Now I will gradually take him to more shows, showing him different things, still starting at the 65cm classes, but also entering the bigger ones (over the same jumps). I expect to get refusals, and to look silly if he goes great over tiddly courses, but it will all be part of his eduction. Even if I did have unlimited expenses to buy spooky show type jumps, I still couldnt re-create the atmosphere - so my advice is get out there and have fun teaching him that they arent so scarey!!

I think you did the right thing taking him to watch at the first few as well - I did that too, and got at least 3 refusals at the practice jump before he realised what it was, when I suspect he felt a little foolish....

[skye06]

I find that the best thing to do is just take my horses out to as many different places as I can in none show circs when it doesn't matter what happens, that way shows don't become any different to any other day.