From: ceduke@neumann.uwaterloo.ca (Carolyn Duke)
Subject: Re: XC Schooling Safety Question
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 21:08:41 GMT

In article <1992Nov19.235301.8720@nb.rockwell.com> reichard@nb.rockwell.com (Diane Reichard) writes:
>
>In article <1eeq8dINNh9q@gap.caltech.edu>, deblev@nimoy.ipac.caltech.edu (Debbie Levine) writes:> In article <1992Nov18.220945.373@nb.rockwell.com> reichard@nb.rockwell.com (Diane Reichard) writes:
>
>> Well, some horses are naturally careful and some aren't. 

After a jumping event, oft you can tell what colour the fences were, by 
looking at my horse's hooves. :)
>
>This is true among jumpers, too.  But usually the way you get them to be
>more careful if they're inclined to be insensitive is to let them take
>a good rap from a heavier pole or plank....  This evidently didn't work for
>the horse you mentionned since you said she hit it a few times.  I'm not 
>sure that you'd want to use much less leg protection over x-c obstacles--
>maybe open-front boots?  I'm not even sure open fronts are a good idea for
>xc.

I don't use leg protection--I haven't found anything that's really effective...
except perhaps bell boots (if I can get a pair that fits!), since overreach
injuries are a pain to treat and get to heal. If the going is deep and/or muddy,
I'll rather withdraw and save my horse for another day, than go looking for
leg protection.

>> With a horse that isn't highly sensitive to rubs, I guess I just feel
>> safer thinking that they know the difference between a solid fence 
>> and a knockdown fence.  But maybe that's just an illusion.
>
>That makes sense--but brings up a couple questions...  I can see where the
>horse would quickly learn the difference between xc fences that are solid
>and the stadium jumps which can be knocked down.  How do you keep your horses
>careful for stadium if they learn that these can be knocked down (assuming
>we're talking about a horse that doesn't mind rubbing the occasional rail)?
>Why don't the same techniques work for keeping the horse careful on xc? --
>I do understand the pace is substantially faster, but it is still a jump.

The ideal cross country fence should look very solid, to encourage the
horse to respect it. Thin rails and weedy fences are actually more dangerous
than thick, solid poles, since if the horse doesn't respect the fence, he
won't be careful. Also, many cross country horses seem to like their job, and
get enthusiatic about xcountry, and view the stadium as the 'wimpy' part. :)

Some cross country horses like to 'rub' the stadium fences--this is mainly 
corrected for by the rider putting in a more accurate ride, i.e. not getting
in close to the fence.  The technique my trainer has recommended for my horse,
is jumping over a fence that gets his attention just before he goes into the
ring. Such a fence might have a blanket over it and/or be about 3 to 6 inches 
higher than what he'll face in the ring (I compete in the 3' to 3'6" category)
Also, I try to make sure my horse is fit enough, so that he doesn't get tired
while jumping--for then that's when he's most likely to rub.

>I've heard that it can be dangerous for the fence to come apart with the
>horse going at a faster pace, (at least that's one reasoning I've heard
>for the fences being solid and secure) but I would think it would be equally dangerous for the horse to get hung up in a fence that didn't come apart.

A good cross country fence should be built in such a way that it's possible
to take it apart quickly in event of an emergency.  For example, the parts
of a jump constructed with telephone poles might be tied firmly with rope.
During an event I watched this week on TSN, a horse got his front end, but
not his back end, over a jump, and was unable to get both ends of himself
onto the same side of the jump. So the section of jump he was hung up on, was
disassembled by untying the ropes, and he was freed without much incident.
>
>Diane R.

Carolyn D. & Amadeus (veterans of one event, and several years of stadium)