Patty

[Barrelbabe_23]

I want to train my horse to barrel race but I want to Jump with her!And its very hard to get her to even canter(I have NEVER canterd on her)I need HELP!!Could someone tell me how to train a horse to jump??

[Ruby Rider]

Well i donno how to jump but i can tell you how to keep her in a canter.... you 1st have to ge to a fast trot then squeese with your legstill the count of 4... then still holding preshure with your legs smooch 4 times or till the count of 4... then you smack her with the whip ... untill you get her to canter for however long you want... dresagure whip works best cus it stings... it might sould bad but i did that with my horse for 20 min and now she goes into a canter smoothly and for as long as i want.... but is she dosen't go into the canter by the second cue.... my reighn are short so it is hare to smack her with thoose and she know it... s o i stop her get o and go get my riding crop... she never acts up when i have it... :)

[Barrelbabe_23]

Ok,thanks so much!I will try that to get her in a canter!


I can still have more edvise!!!

Brianna

[Ruby Rider]

no problam... hope i can help anytime... hope you have fun

[StarGirl]

Do you longe her? Longe her at the canter before you ride her at the canter, make sure she doesn't buck.

[Barrelbabe_23]

We lungde her but not a lot of times and she used to be a lesson horse but I can remeber if she bucked!!but thanks so much!!



Brianna

I can still use edvise!!!

[Manda]

Please don't take that horse near a jump until you can ride comfortably and correctly at all three gaits on the flat. I agree with the lunging at the canter before riding at it. Once you get up. Get into a steady trot, and say the word "canter" if no response, ask with your legs by pressing, still if you get no response, give her a good kick, but be prepared for her to jump a little. You'll get it eventually. Let us know how it goes.

Also, may I ask why you haven't cantered her? Didn't you ride her before you bought her?

[Barrelbabe_23]

ok thanks for the edvise!!
yes i did lessons on her but when we got her i could on trot and now i can canter!but when i tell her to canter she deosnt even want to go....

[Manda]

ok thanks for the edvise!!
yes i did lessons on her but when we got her i could on trot and now i can canter!but when i tell her to canter she deosnt even want to go....

It sounds like she's getting sour, and doesn't want to work. My horse did the same thing. What I did was lunged him in a surcingle with side reins and driving lines, now he's willing to work, because he knows he can't get out of it. Another possibility is pain, you might want to have the vet check her over.

[Barrelbabe_23]

the vet gave us some bute?i dont know how to spell we are suposed to give it to her the nihgt before we ride her!do you have anyother suggetsins?

I still can use advice!!

Brianna

[StarGirl]

the vet gave us some bute?i dont know how to spell we are suposed to give it to her the nihgt before we ride her!do you have anyother suggetsins?

I still can use advice!!

Brianna

Why do you need to give her bute? Bute is an anti-inflammatory.....is something wrong with her? Is she older?

[Manda]

Like StarGirl said, Bute is an anti-inflammatory that helps with pain, so chances are she might not want to canter because it hurts, and jumping is going to hurt a lot more.

[Barrelbabe_23]

I dont what he said but...we are supposed to give it to her the night before...shes 18




Brianna

[Barrelbabe_23]

And we've notice that shes been limping from an accendint before we got her=[

[fowlerk]

Why do you need to give her bute? Bute is an anti-inflammatory.....is something wrong with her? Is she older?


Bute does help.

[What'szat]

If your horse is 18 and has never had experience jumping and needs bute to maintain a certain level of soundness it is probably not a good idea to start jumping her now. I would recommend using a different horse, possibly one with some jumping experience, if you would like to jump. You don't want to put that extra stress on her and injure her at her age.

[Barrelbabe_23]

My friends friend has jumped her before and so has my uncle but its been awhile so.....

Brianna

[saddleseatsweetie]

like they said definaly dont jump until you are well developed at riding all gaits
but to canter make sure u use ur leg to push her butt to the inside this sets her up so she will take the corect lead
squeeze with ur outside leg and hold ur outside rein steady this will also help he pick up the right lead
then kiss
try not to make it a habit of having her trot fast then canter becuase it is an extremely hard habit ot break since that is how she will always pick it up
when lunging her make sure to use the same cue on gorund as u do in the saddle so shes used to it and doesnt get confused about what you are asking
when u start jumping start out slow and small you dont want to push her to do somwhtign shes not comfortable with too fast otherwise you may never get her to do it
also if she seems to have probelms with a certain height go back to a height u know she is comfortable with
any more questions just ask

[Fells_4_ever]

Start with the simplest of things like gettin her to go over a pole on the ground, then try trotting poles. Once shes got the rythm of those in trot n canter, put up a little cross pole n a pace pole placed for the correct gait. This should be done over time but its how i've done it.

[Fells_4_ever]

Does riding out with another horse make a difference to her behaviour#?
Perhaps you should ride with another horse and when they canter, encourage her to follow. That way you can feel her movement and if something doesnt feel right then that might be the cause of her not cantering.
I've never really had this problem, stopping is usually my problem!
Hope it helps

[Barrelbabe_23]

K thanks Ill try that!

[Barrelbabe_23]

Thats really why she doesnt go because shes a follower!

[bethfornow]

about The jumpin though. She's 18, it would put alot of stress on her both mentally and physcally to teach her something as phyiscally demanding as jumping. Not to mention could make her authritis (that is what it sounds like she has) worse.

Think about it, most professional jumpers are retired by 17-20 if not earlier.

[Barrelbabe_23]

Ok thanks!

[bethfornow]

a good alternative may be trail if you still want to teach her something new. Its not as exciting as flying through the air but its alot of precision work that can be mentally challenging with out hurting her joints.

[Barrelbabe_23]

Ok,thanks for the advice!

[prince&me]

if your a good jumper and you have worked her up to jumping slowly and gently she should be good as long as the jump isnt out of league, thats how we got my rescue horse up to being a great show jumper.

[prince&me]

and alsostart with simple jumps and worked up to harder jumps!!!

[alliekk]

My advise is just don't jump her. You said you wanted to also game her, right? you can still do that, she will only go as fast as she feels able to. My mother is an RN. Even though she works with people, you should always seek advise from multiple people, experienced or not. My mom has told me that, though you may be right that BUTE is going to help with her pain and inflammation, but don't forget the reason why she is using it: something is wrong. Until you are confident that she does not have any existing injuries from her past (you said she was lame from an old injury) I would suggest only light riding. If you want a gamer or jumper, it's easy to find one, they are usually the cheapest horses to find. The ones off the track, the high spirited rejects of a western pleasure breeding farm. I always hated it when I asked for advise and the response was to spend oogles of money. I know that no one is made of money and that is what most suggest you do. This is one of those situations where you really need to think about what is best for her, to have fun for maybe a year while her joints eventually crumble, or save her for your pleasure, quiet time riding, while seeing if you can possibly invest in a project or riding a friends horse for a while. I hope you really listen to my words because I had a beloved horse that was just ran to the ground and we saved him, only to have to put him down from so much damage.
~ALLIE~

[dandyroxmysox]

well.
with the canter part,
that will just take time and training with the longe.

but about the jumping.
ur best bet is probably to get a trainer.
if u do not want to or cant afford it,
try lunging over poles at a slow speed,
then u can gradually get faster,
and bigger jumps.

and the same thing goes when u r riding her.

hope that helps.
good luck.

[Haley]

At her age, you really shouldn't push her too hard to learn new things. Jumping is physically and mentally taxing, and she could wind up being injured. She's old, far past her prime - you should probably make things a bit easier for her.

[ashleygoesrawr]

may i ask why you want to barrel race AND jump?

since your horse is pretty old, i agree with the others - i would not begin teaching her to jump now. that's not really fair to her.

[equestrianellen]

I want to train my horse to barrel race but I want to Jump with her!

I really don't think it is a good idea to train your horse as both a jumper AND a barrel horse. i think you should choose a discipline that you want to do and stick with it. Barrel horses and jumpers have very different temperaments and are trained differently as well. It would be very confusing and hard for a horse to go back and forth. Also, I don't think you should expect to be doing either of these things for a while, you still need to get all of your basics down before you start adding jumps or barrels into your riding. Be PATIENT and let your horse learn without rushing her. It will takes months to get your horse where she should be at. Also be sure to take lessons so that a trainer can help you to train your horse.

[Barrelbabe_23]

I didnt say about barrels I just said I wanted to barrel race and train her to jump but I agree with the people who said not to jump her and find another horse to jump!

[jilllovesgus]

Be careful with older horses... I've seen way too many overworked 20 year olds. Your horse will last longer if she is not over worked, but rather kept fit and exercised as often as she needs to be. My horse is 16 and I don't jump him, and I'm very careful about how hard I work him.

Also, are you giving her bute every time before you ride her? What everyone said is right, that means she is in some pain. But too much bute is not good... so be careful with that too. (:

Remember; the horse's well-being should come first!

[cursivenight]

Yeah I agree with everyone. Your horse sounds absolutely lovely, but since she's on bute, and she's older, and (from what I read) doesn't feel up to going too fast, I wouldn't jump her..or do barrels, if you want to be competitive. I'm not very experienced with western but I think you have to be pretty fast (like gallop) and do really quick turns and stuff in competition, but for fun that'd probably be good. I also heard running barrels is hard on a horses leg if not done properly.

Jumpings the same. If she's on bute, and doesn't like to go faster than a jog/trot, and is that old, she's probably too old to really jump. If you really really want to I'd ask your vet if he thinks she can do it, or ask your farrier or someone, and get lessons, but from what she sounds like, she probably wouldn't do more than some small x rails or whatever.

If you really would like to jump try taking jumping lessons at a nearby stable, so you can learn how. Because if you've never done it, and niether has your horse it can be bad for both of you. If there's an accident it could turn you off jumping or whatever, so learn how to before you teach your horse.