Problems schooling

Question
Hi Kate
My name is Gilly Fennell and I am having problems schooling my horse and was wondering if you can help?
My horse, Dee Dee, is starting to get very strong with me. I work mostly on jumping and lateral work. When working her in an outline in trot she is wonderful to ride, but as soon as I put my leg on for her to canter she breaks out in a gallop and takes off with me. Its the same when jumping, she will be in a steady trot until she sees the jump and she goes at it full speed and takes a great big leap. Its got so bad when jumping that I have to walk her to the last minute and then let her go because I'm scared that she might cause herself an injury. Can you give me some information on how to deal with this and what might have caused this?
Thanks
Gilly

Answer
Hi Gilly-
 Thanks for your question. I hope I have some suggestions that will help.

In this instance I so wish I could see the two of you going! It would certainly help me pinpoint a solution. Oh well, I guess I will just have to muddle through.

It would seem you have 1 of 2 problems or combined elements of both.  
1. Dee Dee is starting to believe she's the boss or
2. She is unbalanced (i.e. unsure) when jumping.
Alot of horses rush through jumps when they're nervous. And a balanced canter through a jump is very advanced. She is trying to tell you she's not ready I think. Or she really loves it and is excited to go. That's why I said I would love to see you two.

So... it's time to take a backward step in your training regime. Sounds opposite of what you want but in almost every situation its the right thing to do.

I am a big proponent of the round pen methods for attitude adjustment. I love the idea that we can communicate with our horses through body language.  If you dont currently use any of these training techniques I highly recommend some research on your part. Most horse people use alot of the method without even being aware of it just moving a horse around a stall or retreiving them from turn-out. Posture denotes heirarchy in the horse herd & they constantly assess ours.  So you need to re-establish yourself as lead mare. Dee Dee may still occasionally challenge you, if that's her nature, but a round pen session can gently remind her that she must listen to you.
Plus it's alot less expensive than a succesion of new & more severe bits so that she doesn't take off with you.

Now, some specifics for her canter. Circle, circle, circle.
Do not ask her to canter a straght line until you have regained control. Trot large circles & ask for the canter when she is in a position on the fence that makes it really hard for her to open up. Next try diagonals. Ask for the canter just a stride or two before you turn the corner. Cue the canter with your reins & immediately give a small half halt to dampen that urge to run out. If she tries to run straight turn it into a circle.

I would also try some other variations on gaits. Practice on the working walk and trot such as the type that is used for dressage.  Leg cues are essential for these gaits & will help her learn that a push with the leg does not always mean hurry up. Put alot of variety in the routine so she doesn't always know your next move and please always remember to praise her when she does things right. In fact stop the session if she shows any real progress. Cessation of work is the best reward you can give most of them!

Now for the running jumps. Do you have cavelletti's? Are you familiar with them? If not write again & I will explain more about them. Use three or four on the lowest level like trotting poles in front of your jumps. Put trotting poles in front of them. She will learn to rate better rather than bang each leg.  Also, save your jumping practice until you have tired her out some. Do all the circles & patterns you can stand before you try any jumps. Think alot about where your jumps are placed in the ring. Move them to make it more dificult to speed through. Place them only a stride or two before a corner.  Put a second set of trotting poles on the ground about 30 ft. in front of your caveletti/trotting pole jump. Rearrange things often so she isn't able to establish run out points. Try an in & out jump series.

Well, I could probably go on but... I will let you off easy this time (lol). Please feel free to write if you have any questions. I love to get updates on progress. You can contact me through Allexperts again or e-mail me (PalaminoK8@aol.com). If you e-mail me directly put something about horses in the subject line so you dont get tossed with the spam! I hope something I said helps!

Best of luck to you and Dee Dee. I sincerely hope that the two of you are able to work through this.

Happy Trails-K8