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  Discussion on Reschooling a "polled" jumper
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Posted on Sunday, Jul 30, 2000 - 9:54 pm:

My new TB gelding is difficult to jump. The previous owner (a well know trainer and former Oympian) fried his brain by pushing him too fast over fences as well as polling him. As a result, he has a phobia with trotting poles and rushes over fences. I have decided to start with the basics but he is definetely anxious when it comes to poles and jumps. I have spent several weeks just walking him over poles but have seen little improvement. At the last moment he hurls himself over the pole in order to avoid it. My instructor is not to optimistic with reschooling since he is a made horse. Any suggestions or should I just hang up my eventing gear and try dressage. PS. I did have everything check out, teeth, back, saddle etc. His bit is a french snaffle.

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 7:49 am:

I think patience can have your horse reschooled and think yo are starting right. Several weeks is not much time with a horse that has preconceived fears. You need to find a point where your horse is comfortable, maybe smaller poles or more time is needed. As to whether this is for you will depend on your goals, this could take months or even years.

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 8:37 am:

Hi Sandi,
I agree with DrO that with patience and perseverence you can help your horse through this. One thing you might consider is using some positive reinforcement to try to replace the bad connotations the poles have for him. I've yet to find any method that is more effective, when there has been a trauma, than positive reinforcement. Don't be afraid to use feed/treats either--it sounds like he's got a lot to overcome. Also, as DrO said, you might try even smaller poles, or a single pole, and break it down as much as you can. For example, lead him rather than ride him, and see if you can get him to stop in front of a ground pole and then feed him a treat. Then lead him away and come back; move up to stepping over it with his fronts and then stopping--feed a treat, etc. As you can see, this will become leading across row of groundpoles. It should help him learn not to worry and that he should wait for your signal, which will transfer to riding (but start back with one pole again.) At least, something along these lines is what I would try if he were mine. Does he stay quiet when schooled near the poles but not over them? He'll tell you where your starting point is. Hope this helps.

Best of luck.

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 10:58 am:

Dear Sandy,

Will he walk and/or trot over poles when you are just leading him on the ground? Have you tried having him walk over the pole when you lunge him? When you have a horse with a phobia like this, sometimes it helps if he only has one thing to worry about (the pole on the ground). I'm assuming he was being ridden when he was poled, so starting the work with no one on his back might help alleviate some of his stress. Whether or not he's wearing tack may make a difference. I've even seen the place make a difference. If all the work happened in an arena and you're comfortable outside the arena, you might try changing the place you ask him to walk over the pole. Lastly, is your trainer standing right next to the pole when you walk over it? This may also make a difference to your horse. No one by the pole, no one can hit him.

I agree with everyone else that a few weeks is not a lot of time. Especially if the problem is really ingrained which it sounds like it is.

Just a thought. Good luck!
Nancy

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 12:13 pm:

Hi Sandy - I was in your situation when I got my TB when he was 5. He was so afraid of jumping that if he even made it over (even a little xrail), he'd take off bucking and bolting. The other option, for him, was a flat out refusal. I didn't have a trainer, so I just quit all means of "jumping". This meant not even looking at a pole. I just worked on me and him. After about a year, poles were re-introduced. These threw him for a while - he's stop, look really hard, snort/blow, all that, then leap over it. We just gradually worked our way back into cross rails and such. Patience is definitely a virtue here.

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 1:56 pm:

Hi, I agree with the above comments/ideas. I would like to reemphasize that going slow is crucial. I would just work on this a couple of times a week and only for maybe 15 minutes, trying to end on a positive note. Do other exercises that let him relax and gain your trust. Maybe some quiet rides without any pressure to jump or go over a pole. He is obviously stressed about even a ground pole. Poor guy. Will he go quietly over a pole if he is led from the ground? If he will, I would set a few poles up that you can lead him over on the way out to his paddock or to his stall/feed.
Oh, and since horses are poled by a person next to the fence, I would not have anyone standing next to (or near) the fence or ground pole.
Good luck with him.....I'd love to know which trainer did this awful thing to him...I have a fairly good idea....what a shameful thing.
~barbara

Posted on Monday, Jul 31, 2000 - 5:30 pm:

Wow, thanks for some wonderful and immediate suggestions. I never thought of the idea of a person standing next to a pole or fence would cause more anxiety. I definetly know the problem is ingrained in his head. He takes a lot of leg during flat work but as soon as you take him near a pole he starts to break out in a sweat and gets ervous. I've been working him in an outside grass area with poles placed sporadically throughout the school. I can't seem to get him to relax over the poles under saddle, or on the lunge. That is why my instructor is unsure whether or not he can be reschooled since he is still nervous even without a rider on his back. I guess patience is the word of the day and I'm willing to give him plenty of time. Meanwhile, I do the dressage thing and work on it one step at a time. Thanks again,
Sandy

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2000 - 1:46 pm:

I was just thinking.......do you ride out, in nice countryside, where there might be a suitable log lying on the ground, little fallen tree, or similar? That is often a good way to encourage a horse that has been badly frightened by such ill treatment to raise hooves off the ground. No nasty people around, just a natural part of the ride, etc. Maybe once a month, not too often. Many showjumpers that are soured by overjumping and bad treatment learn to relax and enjoy this, given time. Just an idea.

To other English people - do we not call this "rapping" ? It is totally wicked. I would like to have the people that do this naked on the end of a lunge line - jumping brush fences etc. with the encouragement of a very long lunge whip. I leave the rest to your imagination. Perhaps they would not want to rap their horses again.

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2000 - 3:02 pm:

Yes, Alexa, I do think it is "wicked". We call it polling. It is actually outlawed by the AHSA, but they certainly can't patrol private barns, and it continues to take place.

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2000 - 6:47 pm:

Just curious. Why would someone want to poll a horse? Is it to encourage a tighter form over fences? Sandy

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2000 - 10:43 pm:

Jordana and Alexa, can you imagine what a different world it might be if every time, before someone dealt a lick to their horse (or child, dog, whatever), they had to take one themselves?

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 2:44 am:

My understanding behind the idea of polling is that as the horse jumps the fence the poll is brought up to rap either or both front and back legs. The idea is that this will make the horse think he has jumped too low over the fence. The result is the horse jumps either higher or tighter. I've seen it used on sloppy jumpers who tend to hang legs or don't seem to care if they hit a jump or not. Trainers who practice polling are usually looking for a quick, temporary fix rather than a long term, permanent solution. It's not only an unlawful (according to AHSA) and cruel practice, but it can also be dangerous in that if the upward movement of the pole is not timed just so, the horse can get his/her legs tangled in the pole and flip. I've seen at AHSA shows within the last 5 years the substitution of a light bamboo rod (which it would appear horses can't see for some reason, perhaps the size ... usually only about an inch in diameter) placed above the top rail of a schooling jump. The principle being the same, the horse hits it and then will jump higher or tighter. I believe it's safer in that if the horses legs get tangled, the pole breaks fairly easily. As far as I know, it's still considered poling, but I've never seen anyone stopped who was using the technique in the schooling ring. IMO, any type of poling should be banned. It's a poor temporary substitute for sound fundamentals.

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 3:24 am:

Hi, all. Yes, Alexa, this is what is called "rapping" out here and in England, and yes, not only is it cruel, it is extremely dangerous.


One of our foremost local SJs (and the temptation to name him is ENORMOUS) actually managed to kill a horse through rapping - the horse, tripped, flipped and broke his neck. This creature (the man, not the horse) regularly competes at top level, and no action has been taken.


It is illegal to rap, and anyone found doing it will be subject not only to a disciplinary hearing at the local Horse Society, but could be prosecuted for animal abuse.


This "method of training" (and I use the term very lightly) indicates not only extreme insensitivity on the part of the trainer, but also a brainlessness which one seldom witnesses. The most ridiculous comment I ever heard was from a woman whose horse had been rapped, who went on to say "Now he's begun stopping. I just don't understand it". As this is a polite forum, I won't repeat my response, suffice it to say that there were numerous words which rhyme with duck, and liberal reference was made to the colour of her hair!


On a slightly different note, there are other methods of "rapping" which do not include raising the pole : some riders put bottle tops inside their horses tendon boots (to make it hurt more if they hit a pole - this has even been done at shows, as it can not be seen) or soak the horse's legs in vinegar or methyelated spirits, again to make the leg more tender.


What I don't understand is why these people don't put equal effort into the schooling of their horses, as they do into finding inventive short-cuts in their training.


All I can say is, thank God I have found the instructor I did, I was starting to lose faith in instructors completely!

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 9:18 am:

This past winter a horse died in a lesson by an Olympian after becoming impaled on a metal pole. The pole was used as the top rail of a fence to "encourage" the horse to be careful.
I have seen in the programs of top AHSA shows different rules as far as poling goes. Some shows say absolutely no poling on show grounds, and I have seen other shows allow poling up until 24 hours before a class.
Poling and other inhumane methods of training are despicable. Unfortunately, in every endeavor there are those who want to jump higher, run faster etc....and allow this desire to win to cloud their judgement. And the horse suffers.
At a big show a trainer had a horse that didn't like water. He stationed a "shooter" in the stands to shoot the horse in the rump with a b.b. gun on it's approach to the water. The rider was charged but because the "shooter" disappeared the case was thrown out.

~Barbara

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 9:34 am:

Amy - Yep!!!

Nancy - I too abhor the "quick fix" practices that seem to be all to prevalent at all levels. There are other means of getting a "loose" horse to tighten up and not be so casual, but they take time.

Posted on Monday, Oct 30, 2000 - 3:52 pm:

An update on my horse. I decided to enlist the help of a well known hunter/jumper rider in my area. She decided to help me but made no guarentees on the outcome. After two months, my horse has made some progess. He jumps the first 3 or 4 fences fine, then he rushes the last stride. For lack of better words, its like being a human slingshot as a rider. He still won't round over fences but when he does he ends up bucking on the other side. Trainer said horse likes to push hindend to the left when he leaves the ground. She thinks its a back problem therefore he rushes or bucks when he does/does not use his back correctly. She dosen't think he was poled since he has hit the poles many times with no incident. She thinks he was pushed too far too young. I still can't do poles on the ground. After 4 weeks of just trying to walk over them, he started to rear so I decided to ditch them. Trainer thought it might be good to give him the winter off and let his back, brain heal. I'm not to convinced this is the answer either. Any suggestions
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