Question # 228: My mare is 14, and she has NEVER been good with ground poles. She loves to jump, and is happy to jump small cross rails up to about 3'3" (for now!), but under saddle she consistently trips over poles on the ground...
...I would love to be able to use them to practice adjusting her stride without actually jumping, but she either doesn't seem to care if I don't react, and continues to trip, or if I get after her then she gets upset or reactive. Either way, we fail to accomplish anything productive! Can you give me some advice? She now walks, trots, and canters nicely over them on the longe, but I'm not sure how to bridge the gap to under saddle. Thank you! (Emily)
Hi Emily!
My first thought would be to have her vision checked, although I actually doubt that is your problem, since she jumps just fine. It wouldn't hurt to get her eyes checked anyway though, as it is possible she has a condition that makes her vision spotty. Barring any eye issues, 95% of the time when horses trip over ground poles under saddle, it is because of one or both of these reasons: (Click on Question title above (in blue) to read full answer)
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