ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] Jigging

[endurance] Jigging

Niccolai Murphy (niccolai.murphy@e-mall.org)
Fri, 03 May 1996 22:43:27 -0800

Here's my tupence. I've faced the jigging horse problem too often to remember.
The circling trick never worked for me (one ex racer TB took me around a circle
at a canter for an forty five minutes before I pulled him up into a trot). I've
had some limited success with the John Lyons technique of making the horse do
180 degree abrupt turns. The logic here is that a sharp turn causes the horse
to at least take on step at a walk after the turn. It can also be done in
narrow trails. Then again for some horses this hasn't worked because they
haven't figured that you need to walk before trotting or cantering.

What has worked consistently for me is reducing the calories in the feed, and
then going out for a good stroll say 10 to 15 miles a day. In a few days the
walk becomes the horse's preferred gait. Once the habit is established the
calories can be poured back in (I mean this literally since I use oil mostly).

My latest experience with this is with Hal an ex racer TB who was given to me
because he was becoming dangerous and folk were even reluctant to turn him out
for fear of getting kicked. The first time out was similar to Kat's account, he
could move backwards, sideways, whatever and was pretty freaked out, making
cirle was not an option. He's much saner now that he's in my stable and off the
high octane diet. The calories are adjusted to how much work he does on any
particular day, his hay is free fed bermuda.

Nicco

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