Cob Jockey

Aunt Mary

"He knows he needs to get over the fence, but he's not sure what to do with his feet to get there."

I've written about my friend Mary before.  If it weren't for her indisputable need for good health insurance, she'd be an equine professional.  She's a naturally talented rider with great feel who takes instruction well, pays attention to detail and works really hard, endearing her to every trainer she rides with.

She got on Connor for the first time in nearly two years this week, and became the first person other than me to jump him.  I knew she would feel things I couldn't as a novice jumper, and when she said he didn't know where to put his feet on takeoff, I had an 'Aha!' moment.  He never stops,  but there's always a moment of hesitation at the base of a fence, like "I'm taking this jump?" instead of "I'm taking this jump!"

"I mean, he's a Cob, bred to pull with his front end, the idea of both of his front feet being off the ground has to be pretty unnerving for him."

So while I've been at my desk job this week, Mary has been spending time at my barn and teaching my pony where his feet are over fences.  This has involved, at times, a stick, 20 feet of poles, really small jumps, and lots of praise when he got through anything without touching it.  Here's every jump attempt they had from Tuesday, the first time she jumped him (don't judge Mary's position - this was definitely not an eq ride!):

She used a stick slightly before takeoff here.

No idea where to put his feet.

This was our "good pony" fence for the day, and where we quit.

Two days later, after two days of Mary training, this happened in my lesson:

PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But that's a story for another post. :-)