jumping

[syrupoffigs]

My mare will not jump willingly. It take 2-3 times to get her smoothly over one jump. Does anyone know how I can get her over the jump smoothly on the first try?:(

[belle]

Perhaps she does not enjoy jumping?

It would be a good idea to get her back and teeth checked etc, in caase she is in any pain.

Hope that helps!:)

[lamprellsarah]

yeah i would get these checked.
also are these jumps scary,?? is she a natarally spooky horse?? how old is she??
you proberly have started to anticipate her stop, she ould be getting this off of you, sit up drive her forwards if she backs off give her a tap with the whip, don't fold till the last minute when you know she will jump it. think positive, look up!!!
also you may be overfacing her go back to basics, start with poles and build up!!

hope this helps :) :D

[cabanha]

As belle said, she may not enjoy jumping. We had a TB gelding 2 years ago who had nice long legs and athletic build...perfect for jumping. We began his jumping training and he HATED jumping. We had the vet check him out to check for any problems that may have been hurting him when he jumped, everything was negative so we came to the conclusion he did not like to jump. He is now showing on training level dressage and he is gorgeous. Anyway, have your horse checked out by the vet and maybe seem more confident when going over the fences. If she senses your nervous about clearing the fence then she will become nervous as well. Have you tried free jumping her? If she does well at free jumping maybe her saddle is not fitting correctly. Hope this helps!

[Princess]

My friend had a similiar problem with her pony when she first brought him. She was assured by his ex - owners that he had plenty of jumping experience, but when she tried jumping B.B he either refused point blankly, cat leaped it, ran out or my friend would end up on the floor.

She gave jumping a rest for about 3 weeks and then she slowly began involving trotting poles into their schooling lesons. When B.B was trotting over them confidently she introduced cantering over the poles.

Once he was happy cantering over poles she made a line of poles and approached them in walk, trot and canter. We then started introducing a small cross pole at the end of the trotting/cantering poles. Then we took away the poles one by one until it was just onecross pole. Gradually we increased more jumps into the sessions but only until B.B was confident.

We then started jumping small, short courses to improve his confidence. Now he is a fantastic jumper and she has won jumping classes at shows.

The most important thing is to never overface or punish your pony because he is likely to be scared and or inexperienced. It might take a long time to start jumping confidently but keep perservering (sp) and I'm sure you get there in the end

Good luck :p

[Casper]

if everything checks out with the vet I would do what Pincess friend done and go back to basics!!!!!ie. trotting poles etc.
maby you should research his past and see if his previons owners had any problems!!!!!!!!!!!!
hope this helpes

[sweetbriar]

I would get someone to check her saddle and make sure there isn't any physical problem.

My pony likes jumping but last year we started to have problems. We were eliminated from several jumping classes which she should have found easy. Her jumping was getting worse and I got a saddler to come out and look at her saddle. It turned out that it was very narrow in the gullett and was pinching her shoulders.

I was fortunate enough to be able to afford a new saddle for her and within minutes of trying it on she was moving OK. She's jumping better than ever now so it is worth it.

[gemtwist]

Definatly have the vet check your horse out. It could be something as simple as a bruised foot that requires some stall rest or it could be something serious. hopefully not. ;) Also, make sure that the jumps arent too flamboyant--one of my horses just cannot, no matter how much coaxing, jump a brush fence. Color make a difference, too. Some horse cant stand a particular color (or shade of gray) for jumps. As you go over the fence (or approach it) watch her for signs. Are her ears back and do her muscles stiffen (not the usual gathering)? if so, this would indicate that you are sending her the wrong signals--obviously jumping has not become a fun thing to do for her, or she is in pain. But if she seems fine and relaxed, then she wants to do it, but she cant. try lowering the jumps or as other peoples have said, go back to the basics. work her in a round pin using the infamous monty roberts method if she seems to get a bad attitude--this might clarify that you are the dominant horse, so to speak. Also, listen to yourself! If you fall pick yourself up and try again. You will succed in time. Thats exactly what you need to do---just go slow. and if she goes over a jump well--reward her!!! but not with carrots--pet her right infront of her withers in a circular motion if you are riding her. If she has a particularly good day and you dismount, gently stroke, not pat, her ears. Hope this works! <but consult your vet and trainer first!!!>