Discovering refusing.....

So today I rode Lilly, and we were jumping, it was going normal, then all of a sudden, she refuses. We were cantering at a very forward speed, she screeched to a stop right in front of the jump, so I almost went over her head.

Managing to climb back up from my seat on her neck, I turn her around, and start cantering towards it again, this time kicking her a bit more. She refused again. And again, and again, and again.

I hadn't ridden in three days, so I wasn't too mad, I simply lowered my jump to about 18 inches, and tried that, this time, about 2 strides in front of it, she tarted trotting, then walking, and then just stopped.

The first time she refused, she could have been just scared, but the thing with Lilly is wants she discovers something, sometimes she thinks it's a very fun thing to do. This would be one of those things. So realizing that, I got my dressage whip out. It might not be the smartest move to make while dealing with a young horse, but it was the only thing I could think of that I knew would make her move.

Knowing that she has big potential to give bronco bucks with a dressage whip, I started with small taps; giving her one every two strides or so. She still refused. I knew what I had to do. I put my feet securely in the stirrups, gripping the saddle with my legs, and tightening up my reigns, I halted her, raised the whip up in the air and gave her the biggest, hardest smack I could. Of course she gave me a big old buck, and I tapped her with it slightly again. Now I turned her around and tried again.

This time, she trotted before it, and sort of wobbled over it, still not really doing it right. I made her go over it again, and she did the same thing.

I decided to go to the other side of the field, and do a different jump. She refused this one also.

I set up two jumps in a circle, and decided I would have a try at getting her over them, they were very small, probably only a foot, if that; but I figured I needed to just get her over them, then we'd worry about the height.

At first she did her little trot-wobble thing, but after kicking, slaps with the whip, and going around a few times, she finally went around the circle gliding over them. I decided to leave it at that for the day, to let her know she did it right, and I didn't want to start a fight by trying to get her to do bigger.

Tomorrow I will probably raise them up again and I will give you an update on how she does!

-Sophia.