Jumpin -- Hands Forward

[Kay101]

When I jump, my hands dont go forward. Any suggestions?

[FreedomStar]

Try a cavaletti exercise. Set up about 3 or 4 trot poles, and post over them first time. Then when you get a rhythm, go into your jumping position over the poles, sliding your hands forward. When you've got the hang of that, then set up the trot poles as cavaletti, alternating so one is a groundpole, the next is a cavaletti, then another trot pole, then another cavaletti. And keep using your jumping position over this. This exercise allows you to work on your position and keeping enough impulsion throughout the exercise, and helps your horse to learn to pick up his/her feet and keep a steady pace throughout. As you get better, you can put the poles to higher cavaletti, and then finally create a bounce or jump. but remember, for small fences there is no need to have a big release.

[jUmPingIsLifE]

that was allways a HUGE Problem of mine, expecailly on horses with long necks i would barley slide them up. it just took a lot of practice and drilling from my instructer. every jump she would scream HANDS and would have me over exaggerate by saying 'feel like you are reaching for the ears' and pretty soon i just got the hang of it and she had to stop saying "hands" all the time.

[shaka]

Your hands don't have to go forward if you slip your reins. People put their hands forward to allow the horse to stretch the neck, but if you keep your hands still and open your fingers and allow the reins to slip through your fingers, it should be just as good as the horse still has freedom to move his neck. Try having a point in the horses mane that you can aim to grab, its really jut practice that will get you into the habit.

[CityGirl]

Shaka - If you let the reins slip forward - wouldn't this give you little contact when you land? I would think this would create a few problems especially if you're jumping a tight course... Can you explain more about how this works? I'm curious.

[shaka]

Yes, when you land you would need to gather up the reins very quickly so it wouldn't work in competition. However I have ridden round courses keeping my hands still, slipping the reins, and bending my elbows back to pick up the slack. It's not ideal, its not even a solution, it's really untill your more used to putting your hands forward.
Sorry, it made a LOT more sense in my head!

[Larlotte Hunny]

You could try practising 'allowing' with your hands on the flat and over trotting or cantering poles without the worry of a fence getting in the way or you getting left behind etc etc. This would get you used to the feeling of following the movement with your arms.

Sorry if that made no sense... it did in my head! :rolleyes:

As someone said, to begin with it will feel totally exaggerated at first, and once you get used to this, you ought to be careful that you don't go the opposite way and throw away your contact over fences.

[Kay101]

ok, thanx!

[cvb]

Kay - are you folding over fences ? If you fold, your arms should come forward a little with your body naturally. If they don't do this then you are actually taking your elbows (and hands) back !

In order to help you fix it, it helps to understand why it is happening in the first place. Does it happen with all horses ? What sort of height are you jumping ? How do you feel about jumping ?

Often people try and over-control the jump. This can be because they lack confidence or trust and so feel that they need to control every element to make it work. Its actually counter-productive - horses are much better at knowing how to get themselves over a jumo than we are ;)

So as has been suggested, start back from scratch and build it up. ie check that your lower leg is secure as you jump, check that you fold over the jump, check that you stay in balance over the jump.

If you have a secure environment and sensible horse, you might try doing some work without reins (yup - honest). Especially if you can set up a jumping line to work through. This will act as a good test as to whether you are using the reins to help you balance. If so, then you need to work more on developing a secure and independent seat.

You don't have to start off with jumps to do this - I've been doing canter poles with long/no reins cos I try and 'manage' my horse's stride over canter poles and it puts her off. She stops trusting me and starts trotting over them. So I've done some work just hopping into canter and sitting still through a series of canter poles, regardless of what she does. Now she's starting to believe we can do it, and I'll start riding her a bit more again.

By the way - has anyone explained releases to you ie [i]how[/] you should move your hands forward ? There are 2 types of release - in one you move your hands towards the horse's mouth (neck release). It maintains the straight line between your hand and the bit. In the other you release along the top of the horse's neck (crest release). Both are 'correct', but you will probably find you prefer one over the other. So experiment a little and see which is easier :)