Join Dr. Rosie Jones McVey and Kelly Marks in this insightful video as they work with Ivor, a lovely Irish Draft horse who’s developed a real fear of poles. Despite being bought as a potential hunter, Ivor refuses to go anywhere near poles, even when they’re simply lying on the ground. This video demonstrates a gentle and effective approach to help Ivor overcome this fear so that he can eventually progress to jumping show jumps.
In this video, we’re taking a look at how to introduce young or inexperienced horses to ditch jumping for the very first time. We start right at the beginning, letting Barney have a good look at the plastic tray you often find at the bottom of competition ditches. Then, we progress to walking him over a flat representation – just some black plastic laid on the ground. It’s all about those small, steady steps!
Stay in touch and receive our fully illustrated guide to groundwork training! We promise not to overload your inbox and you’ll love the horsemanship tips we send!
Note – Members you can find this article in the Autumn 2015 magazine in the magazine library of the members area.