Lucyad
28th May 2008, 09:05 PM
Had an enjoyable x-country on Monday, but need a few tips to progress.
Main one is time...my horse is a clydesdale cross TB, and while he has the speed to match any horse out hunting, he is sadly lacking the incination to maintain a hunting pace on his own....I know that fitness is a big issue here, and is something we are working on, but any other tips? He starts out keen but looses hiss impulsion quickly. Obviously as a relitive heavyweight I dont expect him to make times of full TB's, but temprament and motivation is as much of an issue here.
Next one....speed into jumps...I tend to slow him to a SJ pace as we approach jumps. If they are smaller, and not as spooky, giving me confidence to push on, I'm afraid even if I ask for him to stay in a steady gallop, he will tend to slow down, meaning I have to use loads of leg, and don't have anything to take a hold of to get a bouncier pace. We get flatter, etc...etc... As long as I slow him right down, he almost always jumps clear (but we did have 2 unscheduled stops at the weekend - on jumps I wasnt worried about, hence not slowing as much, loosing steering and impulsion, then run the risk of a run out). I need advice on getting both of our confidence up jumping in our gallop rythm, not galloping, slowing to jump as if we are SJ, then galloping again. Basically getting him braver - he has got an amazing scopy jump if he has the confience just to fly over it!
One thing we are good at is getting the turns in - because I have brakes (which seem to be elusive in x-country), and can jump from a stride or 2, for such a big horse, we can do sneaky turns.
Got to think of the positives!
Any suggestions as to how to improve the negatives though???
Main one is time...my horse is a clydesdale cross TB, and while he has the speed to match any horse out hunting, he is sadly lacking the incination to maintain a hunting pace on his own....I know that fitness is a big issue here, and is something we are working on, but any other tips? He starts out keen but looses hiss impulsion quickly. Obviously as a relitive heavyweight I dont expect him to make times of full TB's, but temprament and motivation is as much of an issue here.
Next one....speed into jumps...I tend to slow him to a SJ pace as we approach jumps. If they are smaller, and not as spooky, giving me confidence to push on, I'm afraid even if I ask for him to stay in a steady gallop, he will tend to slow down, meaning I have to use loads of leg, and don't have anything to take a hold of to get a bouncier pace. We get flatter, etc...etc... As long as I slow him right down, he almost always jumps clear (but we did have 2 unscheduled stops at the weekend - on jumps I wasnt worried about, hence not slowing as much, loosing steering and impulsion, then run the risk of a run out). I need advice on getting both of our confidence up jumping in our gallop rythm, not galloping, slowing to jump as if we are SJ, then galloping again. Basically getting him braver - he has got an amazing scopy jump if he has the confience just to fly over it!
One thing we are good at is getting the turns in - because I have brakes (which seem to be elusive in x-country), and can jump from a stride or 2, for such a big horse, we can do sneaky turns.
Got to think of the positives!
Any suggestions as to how to improve the negatives though???