United States Eventing Association

Teaching A Horse To Jump with Tik Maynard, Part II: Why Does A Horse Stop?

Tik Maynard is slated to take two horses to the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover at the end of October with plans to enter horses in the eventing and freestyle categories. In preparation, he has taught his off-the-track Thoroughbreds how to jump.

In Part I, Tik explained the basics of teaching a horse to jump, and walked us through the process with his three OTTB's: Johnny Football, Commander and Haxby. But, with horses things don't always go as planned, so Tik gives us the most common reasons a horse might stop, and how to fix them.

If Commander, or Haxby or Johnny is now stopping. I need to first think, why? Why might he stop? Sometimes there is more than one thing going on, and the reasons overlap, or add to each other. Sometimes one reason causes another. I try to be thoughtful. If I diagnose the reason wrong, the medicine may end up creating more problems.

Continuing off my last article is step 4: fix the problem. And if necessary, I isolate the problem, fix the problem, than add the jump back in. For example, if Johnny gets behind my leg, I get him in front of my leg first, than come back to the jump. I don't try to fix the behind-my-leg-problem, and the jumping-stopping-problem at the same time.

I fix the problem I have. I don't try to fix all problems the same way. If I have a horse that is overfaced I deal with it differently than if I have a distracted horse.

1. Pain - This could be any kind of pain, from sore feet to a sore back. It could be a small acute injury, or one that's been around for a while. Pain can occur from ill fitting tack. Some horses deal with pain better than others, and often it is hard to figure out what the problem is - but if I can, my horse will be much happier.

HOW TO FIX:

Get rid of the pain. Consult a professional, consult a vet, consult a saddle fitter. And bear in mind all professionals and vets are not created equal. Get a recommendation.

2. Anticipation of Pain - This might be something within the horse, like a joint that hurts when they land. Or the pain may come from the rider. This is not uncommon. The two most common ways this happens are catching the horse in the mouth or landing on their back. Horses that have crashed into a certain kind of fence may be scared of that particular kind. In cross-country getting half way down a bank and coming back up or landing in a ditch may leave them expecting pain the next time.

HOW TO FIX:

This could be an issue for the vet, but this is also often rider error. The two most common causes are landing on the horses back, or catching them in the mouth. It is especially easy to worry a horse that is new to jumping, or new to a certain kind of jump. The horse leaves early or later and the hands or legs or seat end up in the wrong position. I recommend starting your horse over jumps from the ground with no rider. If that is not possible, have an experienced rider give your horse some confidence over new jumps before you get on.

Allowing your horse to jump without a rider, if possible, can be helpful for some horses. Photo courtesy of Tik Maynard.

3. Running Out is The Easier Option - The horse finds that running around the jump is much easier than just jumping it. This is usually rider error. If I haven't ridden in committed and confident to the jump, this can easily happen with my off-the-track thoroughbreds. This one is also often combined with another reason, for example, if Johnny is slightly overfaced and I am slightly uncommitted. It is usually when I have made it easier to run out than to jump with a combination of another reason that someone would say that my horse is lacking "heart".

HOW TO FIX:

This is often a combination of other things, but it can also be a lack of commitment on my part or incorrect position. I remind myself to use the whip for confidence, not punishment. There is a difference between a trusting position and a confidence giving position, and for some jumps one is more appropriate than the other.

4 Over-faced - Every horse is different, and every horse can be different every day. I can't change my horses, but I can help them improve. They have been born with a certain amount of emotional and physical potential, and I want to bring out the best in them. With Commander, when he hasn't learnt to trot over a pole, even a tiny cross-rail jump is over-facing him. With Johnny, who has been jumping the longest, and can now do a course, I still have to start low every day or he gets over-faced.

HOW TO FIX:

In order to understand when to work through a problem, and when to back down you have to know horses, and in particular your horse, really well. This is one of the main reasons we take lessons from people that have lots of experience because they can read each situation. If in doubt, lower the jump! Start from a point of success, rather than a point of failure. Give the horse confidence. Usually I think of adding my seat as giving confidence, and adding my leg to add speed. If my horse is lacking confidence, especially with a jump that is scary but not big, I don't want to add more speed. Often I actually want to slow down! When Johnny is in front of my leg, that is not the same as going fast. (He can be cantering and be behind my leg, or he can be walking and be in front of my leg.)

If a horse is overfaced, don't be afraid to make the jump smaller, or make jumping the easier option by adding guiding rails. USEA/Shelby Allen Photo.

5 Habit - With a horse that is brought multiple times to a jump with one or more of these problems uncorrected so that he continues to stop, the stopping can become a habit. A habit is something he gets used to doing. It can even start to feel like the right thing to him. Horses are taught many things inadvertently, and stopping is one of them.

HOW TO FIX:

Sometimes horses can learn to stop because it is the easier thing to do. And sometimes they stop because they think it's the right thing to do. And really, is there much difference to a horse? If you are a tentative rider and are not committed to the jump the question can be, "Are you telling your horse that you are scared of running out, or are you telling your horse you are nervous of jumping?" If you aren't committed to the jump, and able to communicate that by holding your line, and using enough pressure to make the other side better than this side, why would your horse be committed?

6 Distracted - If your horse is not able to focus the jump can seem unimportant, or maybe he doesn't even notice it. Young or green horses are often distracted in new places. But all horses can forget to act like a partner. It is their responsibility to act like a partner, but our responsibility to teach them that.

HOW TO FIX:

In the end, this comes down to the question: Is my horse acting like a partner? If I'm dancing with Sinead, my wife, I want her acting like a partner. That means trying to do her best. It means focusing on me, not looking at her phone. It means thinking about our dance, and not Tate. It means she is focused on me. It also means the better leader and dancer I am, the more Sinead will try. I love dancing with Sinead, and what I lack in ability I make up for with patience and enthusiasm. I do the same with my horses.

THE WHIP

I'd like to discuss how I use the whip. I try to use it to give confidence, not to punish. I use it for reinforcement, not out of anger or frustration. Horses learn better with reinforcement rather than punishment. The easiest way to think of it is: reinforcement is trying to increase a behaviour, like jumping, and punishment is trying to stop a behaviour, like stopping. In a practical sense reinforcement usually means you are proactive about using the whip, rather than waiting. Especially waiting too long when my horse would not understand that the whip had anything at all to do with the jump. It doesn't pay to take it personally when a horse stops. In fact that might be the most difficult task in this article: Don't take it personally.

If your horse stops, don't take it personally! Patience is Power with horses. USEA/Shelby Allen Photo.

Every horse has their own potential, I can't change that, but I want to bring it out and show that horse off. There are draft horses out there that will never make it as Grand Prix Jumpers. There are Jumpers that will never make it as endurance horses. I watched the Rio Olympics this summer and it was obvious how different body types set athletes up for success in different disciplines. If something is physically easy for Johnny Football, chances are it will be mentally easier too. It will also be more fun.

Johnny, Haxby, and Commander are all proceeding at different speeds. I am trying to bring the best out in them. But more than anything, I am also trying to bring the best out in me for them.

You can learn more about Tik and his program by visiting his website, www.tikmaynard.com