Recently I started working with a horse someone at my stable just bought. The horse has a very bad habit of turning a circle after every jump.
I've tried using leg pressure and rein, but with little success. I do not want to go to a stronger rein (riding with a d-ring) but we would like to show the horse, but that would be nearly impossible if he circles after each jump!
Any clues on why his previous owners may have taught him this, and how I can correct it?
Answers:
I would personally just use a lot of gymnastics. If the horse has something else to concentrate on after one jump, he's more likely to go straight - and start with little things at the trot, and stop him straight before he begins to turn - even if you have to stop him on the landing stride.
If he learns he can't even get away with thinking about turning, he'll learn quickly to stay straight, and gymnastics will get him listening to you better.
I am willing to bet he learned to circle to after jumps because he probably ran off with his last rider time and time again. I had a similar issue with a horse I owned - he would bolt off occaisionally over the stupidest jumps--- we would school a 3'6" fence, then come round to a little 2' fence and that would be the one he'd take off at like it was a giant dragon ready to eat him, fly over it, and bolt bucking away on the other side.
I spent 3 months doing roll-backs with him so he couldn't think about running off - thankfully he never learned to circle, but I bet your horse's last rider probably let him get away him it, and he learned that's what he should do.
Gymnastics, gymnastics, gymnastics - at the trot- little jumps, nothing hard core - you're not trying to teach him to jump higher - you're trying to teach him to listen to you --- and stop him straight before he even leans to the side at all. And praide the bejezus out of him when he does it right - act like he just hung the moon - go crazy over what a good boy he was for stopping straight and not turning or running off. Let him know hard core that he's done something right.
I wouldn't show him until you've absolutely mastered this. Don't push him - and when you do show him, keep it small - show long stirrup if you have to the first few times out. Let him concentrate on doing the little things right before he is asked to go do more - at a show, he might decide to blow up and forget everything he's relearned.
My horse had the same problem, infact he would just run right through the bit. How high are you jumping? I would suggest setting up a tiny cross bar low enough for the horse to walk over and walk him over it, trying to keep him from turning a circle, and then do the same thing at a trot and canter. Oh and be confident. Maybe the horse had a bad experience in the past. After he goes over, just try to push him forward before he has a chance to circle. I hope this helps a little bit
The reason his last owners may have taught him this is because he probably used to run through the fences, and his last owners probably taught him this is to get him to slow down after the fence. Set up a jump right next to the one you are jumping. From the air it should look like an "L" You will jump the short part of the L. If he always circles to the left, then set the second jump on the left side, same thing for the right. you can also set it up so that there is something on either side of the jump and he can't turn in any direction after the jump. The first time you make him jump this let him stop after the first time he goes over succesfully. Depending on how bad he really is, you may want to start over with ground poles and work your way back up. Don't think about showing for at least another two or three months. Good luck and give him lots of praise.
maybe you should find a coach and leave the training to a professional. Horses develop habits like this because the people 'training' him don't actually know what they are doing.
I have no idea why the owners taught him that. Maybe he was a jumper and is just paranoid now.
What way does he circle? Try turning him in the opposite direction after every jump. Maybe that would help him straighten out.
You could also put other jumps along side him so he has to go straight. You could also make a barrier or jump standards. Put the jump along the rail and make the other side of the jump impossible for him to run through. This should help.
Hope I Helped!!
I would suggest to just stop the horse straight after each jump, not giving him the chance to circle, and if he doesn't want to stop have someone stand in his way of circling.
After you jump, can you keep his head straight between the reins? When he turns, pull his head so it is straight and keep him moving.
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