Anyone a jumping expert? Why has dd's pony stopped jumping :-(

[Nonomento]

We've had vet, back person (three times!), new saddle, teeth all done. No sign of lameness. He's just stopped wanting to jump :-( dd's trainer says he may have lost confidence - god knows why as dd is a good rider and we've kept him in his comfort zone. We bought him as he'd jumped round 1m tracks and qualified for many championships. Dd was eliminated from a 70cm at the weekend :-(

I could get my more experienced dd to ride him but obviously don't want to push him if he's in pain - but he shows no sign of pain other than the stopping. If anyone has any advice I'd be really grateful.

I’m in no way a jumping expert but it’s very common for jumping ponies to get a little sour and just stop wanting to do it.

What else does your daughter do with him? Plenty of long hacks? Flat work? Cross country schooling etc?

Please ignore me if you do all of the above, but I think it really helps with them to mix it up a bit, just leave the SJ for a while and then start small and build back up again gradually, make it fun for him again too?

just leave the SJ for a while and then start small and build back up again gradually, make it fun for him again too? yes this is what we are doing next.

We hunt go on long rides, hack, do dressage, lots of xc in the summer.

Is your DD a rider or a pointer?

I would get an experienced adult to do a bit of schooling on pony and see what they think

Is your DD a rider or a pointer? good question. I;ve always assumed a rider but maybe she's not being firm enough.

The pony may have lost confidence in your dd.

maybe the horse is being jabbed in the mouth when he jumps?

ps I don't mean to be rude, but I did used to be a qualified riding instructor, and you know what they are like..:)

good question. I;ve always assumed a rider but maybe she's not being firm enough.

She doesn't necessarily have to be firm.

I would still try and find an adult who can have a go, a riding instructor would be perfect as a couple of lessons for DD may show something?

Try loose-jumping to see how the pony is without a rider.
Also, what is the pony’s rest schedule like? Is he getting enough downtime and turnout (time to just be a horse)? I would give him time out for a bit when it isn’t peak competition season. Schedule in a week off here and there through the year.

yes I agree. A lot of ponies don't get a day off at all, I think they need at least two days off a week, or one, depending on their age.

I agree try loose schooling over jumps and id also get them both working through small grids. Builds confidence and would highlight if something was wrong e.g. Your dd not balanced or jabbing horse etc

Thanks all. He gets plenty of time off, lots of turnout. I think he has lost confidence in dd but I am not sure why. I don't think she jabs him in the mouth. She has lessons with a really good instructor twice a month together with pony club. Noone really understands it! He was brilliant for the first few months.

I'm just worried that there is an underlying pain issue, but even my vet says that would be almost impossible to detect as he is not showing any typical pain signs, no lameness, no flinching when saddled etc

I will ask her instructor to ride him, we are going later.

does she have specific jumping lessons?

Yes. Private ones! Instructor thinks he must have lost confidence somehow.

horses don't just stop jumping unless it hurts them. They don't just 'lose confidence' for no reason.

With any problems I have I video and play back in slow motion and look back. I review once looking at the rider and once looking at the pony and trying to see if anything is happening that is difficult to see 'in the heat of the moment'. My horse was a willing jumper but started refusing with my loaner - when I reviewed a vid she looked like she was giving with the rein but it turned out just not quickly enough so the mare got a jab in the mouth every time. She also seemed to be a fraction behind the movement so also could have been landing hard on the back.

There's always a reason and it's always pain or the rider causing the issue (or both). On rare, rare occasions it may just be the horse but usually once you have found the reason they are not wanting to jump it sorts itself out.

Also is the workload varied? Some horses/ponies cannot handle being jumped more than once a week (or less). If you child is jumping 2-3 times a week plus competitions the pony could just be burned out and sour.

horses don't just stop jumping unless it hurts them. They don't just 'lose confidence' for no reason.

I agree with you. I've never heard of a horse losing confidence for no reason. It will be very interesting to see how he goes for the instructor today.

also some instructors aren't as great as they make out they are.

I did speak to his former owner who said that he needs her very expensive farrier otherwise he can feel unbalanced not sure if I believe that as my farrier is good,never had any problems with him or any of my other horses (we've had 10 over the years). There's absolutely no lameness and he goes very nicely on the flat

also some instructors aren't as great as they make out they are. yes I also agree, however we've worked with this one for ages and she really is good! Maybe she's too polite to say he's being jabbed in the mouth I will ask her directly

I was just going to say that foot balance would be my first question, since you've already had his saddle checked and he seems sound for the vet... Some farriers are great 99% of the time, but still miss issues like this - I have one who has been off work for ages due to the efforts of two allegedly "great" farriers...

All the suggestions above are sensible and worth exploring, but how much of a lameness work up has been done? Even if there is no obvious lameness, there could be small changes inside the hoof that are causing concussion problems when jumping. I have had this in the past with previously keen jumpers going off the game. It might be worth having x rays done. Apologies if you already have.

I spent my teenage years working in a yard riding other people's JA's that had gone sour to get them going again . Most were fed up of being pulled and kicked and over jumped at home and in competition. We used to feed them up a bit, turn out every day, put them in a rubber snaffle and standing martingale, hack them out and then take them drag hunting. We never schooled them as they were invariably well schooled, just fed up. After a season with us they usually cheered up no end. If you can't find anything wrong with your pony, try making it's life a bit more fun and see if that helps. Also I think filming your jockey is a good way of seeing what is happening.

Farriers fall into two camps. ‘Technical’ farriers who are very good at shoeing the foot and focus on that and more ‘holistic’ Farriers who also recognise that the foot is part of the horse and shoe in a way that suits the horse, it’s foot and it’s workload.

Technical farriers are good... to a point. But farriers who are more intuitively able to shoe the horse based on how thing work above the coronary band, as well as below, are better and generally get better results long term.