Scared of Groundpoles?

[lovehors86]

I have been helping a friend with her new pony. She eventually would like to show him at a mini-event probably just combined tests this summer as she is working on confidence issues... ANYWAYS

When she tried the pony she was told he had jumped over 3' before and I'm not necessarily doubting it as he has very nice form over fences. She jumped him a few times over some small fences when she tried him and he was fine. However, they had to work on communication and went back to just dressage and finally she feels ready to start back over jumps. (She broke her ankle in 8 places jumping so she needs to be VERY comfortable on the horse before pushing it...)

Now he is very light in the bridle for flatwork and they ride together beautifully until you throw a groundpole in his path. Then suddenly he's a demon and locks his neck and jaw and just lays against you... something he hasn't done in months.

It is the general consensus among my friends whom I train with and I that he was not started properly for fences and that ground poles were skipped all together and that that is where this anxiousness is coming from. Does anyone have any insight with this? Ever dealt with a pony or horse like this?

I want them to work over poles before jumps but I don't want to scare the rider or reintroduce the little bugger into how to win a pulling match because we seem to have erased that memory:lol:!

Thanks for any insight... :confused:

[FlightCheck]

...or, he was poled.

[Filly85']

I have been helping a friend with her new pony. She eventually would like to show him at a mini-event probably just combined tests this summer as she is working on confidence issues... ANYWAYS

When she tried the pony she was told he had jumped over 3' before and I'm not necessarily doubting it as he has very nice form over fences. She jumped him a few times over some small fences when she tried him and he was fine. However, they had to work on communication and went back to just dressage and finally she feels ready to start back over jumps. (She broke her ankle in 8 places jumping so she needs to be VERY comfortable on the horse before pushing it...)

Now he is very light in the bridle for flatwork and they ride together beautifully until you throw a groundpole in his path. Then suddenly he's a demon and locks his neck and jaw and just lays against you... something he hasn't done in months.

It is the general consensus among my friends whom I train with and I that he was not started properly for fences and that ground poles were skipped all together and that that is where this anxiousness is coming from. Does anyone have any insight with this? Ever dealt with a pony or horse like this?

I want them to work over poles before jumps but I don't want to scare the rider or reintroduce the little bugger into how to win a pulling match because we seem to have erased that memory:lol:!

Thanks for any insight... :confused:

I would try lunging him without the rider at the walk, trot, and canter over the ground poles and walking beside of him over the ground poles while talking to him and rubbing his neck. When he becomes comfortable lunging over the ground poles, then I would introduce the rider. Sounds like something went wrong there if he jumps well.

[lovehors86]

...or, he was poled.

What do you mean by that? Do you mean like rapped over jumps?

He jumps just fine with the exception of being a little fast with a rider or a little lazy when free jumping...

[Guyot]

that ground poles are the devil!! :eek:

Really, really hates ground poles... and speeds up and attacks them. Jumping x-c he is so relaxed and ridable...easiest young horse (5 years), so brave, and careful. Stadium he loves fillers, hates jumps with just poles or airy jumps. But I can jump a course just fine. Biggest problem is gymnastics.. he hates them almost as much as the ground poles.

History of my horse, never had a problem with anything until I gelded him and he pulled a muscle and was sore for 2 months. After that I guess I put him back to jumping to soon, and he was bothered by it, because since then I have had problems with poles. Go figure!

What I've done is go back to the beginning and we are back to just trotting over single trot poles on a loopy rein. Something was obviously missing, or pushed to hard for my guy after the surgery, but I don't know what, so it's back to basics for this horse. I'm even moving him slower then the just started four year old. I'm hoping it works, because my trainer is at a loss and this is one of the nicest x-c horses ever!

Good luck with your horse and I suggest doing what I'm doing, poles, poles, poles until you and the horse want to yawn with boredom!

[knitgirl]

I audited a GM clinic in November - very nice horses and he had them do some work on ground poles set on a curve. One horse just couldn't get it and GM said that some horses never do.

[quietann]

My mare was the same -- has a nifty 3'6" jump in her, very fast to the fences, but ground poles Freaked. Her. Out. even though she's trotted over thousands of poles in her life. She'd jump over them (taking 2 at once as a ditch!), or go sideways or even rear. If her brains stayed in her head, after a few repetitions she'd be OK. Like the pony, we suspect she was not well-started in her jumping training.

Completely irrelevant to this, after a very bad trailering experience, we started working her from the ground over one or two poles. Just walk over them a few times, walk, halt, and back a few times, walk just her fronts over, halt, and back up, etc. The focus was on controlling where her feet went and getting her to trust that she would not be eaten by the poles on the ground. This work has gone very well... and guess what, she is now MUCH calmer about being ridden over poles on the ground.

So maybe take the little guy back to groundwork over poles. Have his rider do as much as possible so she understands the process and pony sees her as a "safety blanket" for pole work.

[cuonxc]

I have one that *hates* ground poles...so he has has to do one everyday :)

I started lunging him over a single pole and then also keep a pole in the arena....and we go over at some point every ride. Very gradually it has become "no big deal"...and I have added a pole. I'll keep working at this until he can do 4 or so without batting an eye.

Good luck!

[DiablosHalo]

I had an OTTB that was scared to death of a ground pole! I bought a few extra pvc poles (big fat ones) from Lowes and put them in his paddock. Then put them under his feed tub, then 10' in front of his feed tub outside. Every day when I turned him in/out, he'd have to walk over a pole before I cut him loose. Then I'd throw a handful of treats in the bucket and he'd walk over the poles to get the treats. Eventually (months!)... he came out of it.
I always thought he was the only one- glad to know differently now!

[BBowen]

I got a chuckle out of this thread because I have a filly that doesn't like certain types of ground poles. She will trot right through the heavy, telephone poles on the ground without a problem. But, put a white or striped pole on the ground and the ears go up, we dance and snort. She is fine after weaving in and out of them, then going over. I have come off of this filly twice and it was because of a ground pole. She was great in the jump chute, but she would always give the placing pole a hard look. She is off for the winter, but you can bet what we will be working on come spring.

At recent George Morris clinic, a couple of horses had issues with trot poles. He said there were some that were just never comfortable with them, but will jump anything.

[2016 RoyalCrown KTug]

A very nice UL horse I know does not like ground poles. . . I guess if the horse is introduced to them late, they don't how to read it given that it looks like a jump, but has no standards and is laying on the ground... HOW SCARY!! ;)

[lovehors86]

Well I'm glad to know he's not the only one! :rolleyes: I'm telling you I think they're afraid the poles are going to swallow them whole or something.

I mean my lovely OTTB was a clutz and couldn't figure out I really REALLY meant he needed to trot through them and that cantering with one foot between each was not the right answer but I always thought that was just him being half-witted, hehe! :lol:

[scubed]

I had an ottb that would jump anything you put in front of him. He wasn't the quietest thing ever, but he was brave and quite obedient, eventually went advanced a couple times, but really hated ground poles. I did a clinic with the clinician said some horses just don't like poles on the ground and it doesn't necessarily say anything about their future ability to jump