bits & pieces QUICK TIPS riding tips from top trainers
Eventing Pointers Kimberly Cartier Dome of Cartier Farm
Q:
My horse has a bit of a problem with ditches…he hates them! Do you have any advice?
A:
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equine Journal
| July 2012
more experienced horse. Ride the fence at a forward walk, keeping your leg on, and even grab some mane to ensure you don’t get left behind and bang the horse in the mouth. Be ready for him to jump well over the ditch. If he breaks into a slow trot for the last few steps, that is acceptable. Keep your horse’s head up so he is not looking down into the ditch, and keep your eyes up and looking ahead of you. I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement; really praise your horse for his efforts. Once he is confident and quiet following another horse, you can trot it on your own.
Ride a forward trot, and if that goes well, you can ride a solid canter without rushing. Be in tune with your horse. Don’t get frustrated with him if it takes longer than you expect. Great event horses take patience and time. Kimberly Cartier Dome owns and runs Cartier Farms in Candia, NH. She has over 25 years in the horse industry. Kimberly specializes in young horses and off-the-track Thoroughbreds. She has been involved in many disciplines but focuses on eventing. She is an accomplished rider, trainer and sought-after clinician. More information about Kimberly and Cartier Farms is located at www.cartier-farms.com.
Photo: courtesy of cartier farms
Ditches are a common problem fence for many horses. The key to training a horse that is nervous or scared is to take your time. Building a solid and confident foundation is imperative to a trusting event horse-and-rider team. Pushing your horse too far too fast will only exacerbate your problem. Don’t mistake a horse that runs at a fence for one that is a confident jumper. Horses that rush fences tend to jump flat, not have acceptable distances, and it can lead to very bad falls. It also may cause your horse to stop trusting you and start refusing fences. It is just as important that the rider be confident and quiet. A fearful, anxious or inexperienced rider will have a very difficult time calming a nervous horse. It’s helpful to have an older, more experienced horse-and-rider combination come along with you when schooling a young, green, or anxious horse on cross-country. I do not recommend cross-country schooling alone. A knowledgeable trainer is essential to educating horse and rider, both to fix problems and move up through the levels. The first time you approach a ditch will always catch your horse off-guard. I prefer to jump very small ditches as an introduction. I try to find something that I could easily walk over; therefore, even if the horse is at a standstill, I will still ask him to go over the ditch. The horse needs to know that sideways and backward are not options to avoid the fence. Be patient with the horse, but encourage him that the only way out of the situation is forward over the ditch. I keep my horse close behind the