Thanks...and more questions!

[CLAUDIA]

Just a quick thank you to those who remember me and helped me with my "on the bit" question! It was really wonderful advice, because I've seen people sort of saw back and forth with their hands to get their horse into a frame and on the bit, and I'm not very fond of it at all!

My next question is for those of you with jumping miles! :)

What sort of suggestions do you all have about what happens on the other side of the fence when my horse feels like she's dragging me through the corner or down a line? I need help! :)

Thanks again!
Claudia

[Edited by CLAUDIA on 5th Feb 2001 at 01:52 PM]

[horselover]

I would love to offer some suggestions, but I am not certain if I understand your question. Do you mean that if your horse drags you down a line of fences, then what is the horse going to do after the jump?

[CLAUDIA]

My horse pulls after the fence; she's very very forward. What can I do?

Thanks! :)

[horselover]

I may not be understanding you correctly, but it sounds like your horse has the same problem that the one I ride used too.

With Rascal (the horse I ride) he would pull his head down after fences. (Is this what you mean?) And sometimes, he would even try to buck. Part of the reason he was doing this is because he is young (only 5) and jumping is quite new to him. He loves it, and often gets over-excited when he feels that he has gone over a jump well. It's kinda his way of saying "Yippee! I did it!"

Anyway, to stop him from doing this, my trainer had me do several things. First, whenever he pulled his head down, I pulled sharply- but not too sharply so as to cause lots of pain- and made my little "ahh" noise, which Rascal knows means not to do something (I never say "no" cause it sounds too much like "whoa"). Also, and this was the important part, as we extended over the fence, I pulled my rein in a little tighter than usual. This is very tricky because you still need to do as much release as normal- maybe even more. You pull in as you are coming down, making sure not to yank him suddenly in the mouth. Then, I urged him forward with my legs to keep him moving, giving him less time to drop his head.

I dont know if this will help or not. It's kinda difficult to know the reason your horse is dropping her head, so your solution might be different than mine. It could be a balance issue, too.

[fionahogg]

You could try a long grid that will keep the horse's attention on the next jump and because there's a set distance between each jump he can't accelerate straight after the jump. What's his general obedience like on the flat? Does he pull on the way into the jump or just after the jump? Are you sure that jumping isn't in any way painful that after the jump he accelerates in a way to run away from the pain? If you think he's just getting very excited and full of himself then keep the jumps low and just trot over them. Try to bring him back to walk/halt perhaps four strides after the jump; when he's ok with this then try cantering but still keep the jumps low and keep the canter very slow and bring him back to trot/walk as soon as poss. If his brakes tend to fail a lot on the flat as well as when jumping then school him so they improve a bit. He may be speeding away from the jump because of a lack of confidence - if this is possible then keep the jumps low and do grids etc to encourage him. Monty used to have a habit of rushing into the jump but with a lot of time and patience he's come through and now he's ok. His problem was a lack of confidence.

Hope this helps!

Fiona

[KarlR]

Two things spring to mind:

One is seat and balance. It's much more difficult for the horse to rush away from a jump if you are back in the seat quickly (but gently) and in balance. It also might help if you can get a good balanced bouncy canter on the approach to the jump - in my experience a fast escape usually comes from a fast flat approach! If the horse seems to be rushing at the fence, try approaching with a deeper seat and half-halt on the approach. Also try circling until the horse relaxes.

The second thought is that some horses try to rush a course through fear of the actual jumps. You will probably know whether this is the case, but if it is then you have some gentle retraining ahead of you, perhaps over poles or cavaletti in the first instance?

BTW, on a sort of unrelated subject...!

It seems so long since I was regularly posting here and so I decided to reminisce and look up people that I used to see around regularly. When I got to your name I remembered that we had all tried to persuade you not to give up about two years ago and I frantically searched to see if you had continued posting. I'm delighted to see that you kept up the riding - and progressed! Well done! :D

[Somethingroyal]

I used to ride a gelding that really rushed fences, came down hard, kept his head down and tried to run away with me. It was not very pleasant, so we started doing some gymnastics. We would turn the turn to go down the long side of the ring, take one stride, start a 3jump gymnastics, come out take two or three strides and do another. When we got out of the second one he was forced to turn in a stride or less. This allowed me to learn how he should feel and what I should be doing to keep him that way. The spacing was tight so that he had no time to act up. This doesn't solve the problem 100% but if you throw a couple surprises in the line every once in a while, the horse learns to listen to you more because only you know what is coming next.

[floppy]

sorry didnt read through the other posts but doe syou horse actually like jupming? o is he trying to run away to get away fromt eh jump after he has jumped??
also..i watch my trainer teach my cousins 5 yr old to jump adn the hrose is doing really well but at first he was rusihing all over the palce and being stupid so the trainer use to force him to walk backwards into a corner and then try again

[Somethingroyal]

Actually, he was just a very aggressive jumper. I would point him to a fence and he would be dragging the reins through my hands. After that all the momentum he gathered would casue a pretty bad landing, but he would charge the next fence again as soon as he saw it. By doing the gymnastics he had to slow down to get the jumps, and he learned to listen to me. He is still going today, but hes only 10, and has made a wonderful hunter mount for my friend Hailie's little brother (who's 12).

[fionahogg]

Claudia - just a thought, are you giving the horse enough freedom in the head when he stretches his neck out to jump? If not, then he could be trying to run away from this???