jumping fears or just naughty...

[aimee21]

i have a beautiful cob who is perfect in every way but a few months ago i was jumping in my school and my horse was playing up jumping running out etc. she compleatly lost all her confidence jumping for some reason. i kept jumping etc but just couldnt get her over anything, and broke many of my new jumps :( i hunt her and she has no probs with jumping then and i just dont know wether she is scared of the brightly coloured jumps and fillers at home or at a show... she is fine with logs etc. does anyone have any similar problems??? i dont know wether she is scared or just being naughty

thanks ;)

[jUmPingIsLifE]

first i would check that her back/saddle/bridle arn't hurting your horse.

then take a close look of how you are riding. running out/refusing if not due to pain also come from rider mistacks. are you getting a head, getting left, getting on one rein, not releasing enough, stuff like that. if you get someone to watch you jump then you rule that out then it coule be she is being naughty!

when steering to a jump make sure you are using a strong two reins. if you pull on one rein it will make it very easy for the horse to run out to the other side. if she pulls to the left pretend your right hand is broken, if she isn't straight to the jump it wont work anyway. use the left rein to straighten her neck back out then use your strong left leg to push her back to the jump. look up past the jump and ride like there isn't a jump there, so if she is scared you dont seem scared up top. if you look at the jump so will she.

if she is scared or you are still having problems. go back to hte basics, work on flat work and work over trotting and canter poles and practice over small jumps.

[kedwards]

Jumping in a ring can sometimes take more precision and control from the rider. I recently had a lesson on dealing with run-outs from a great trainer. Here was her suggestion. Put everything way down (even if it's just a pole on the ground) and work on precision.

For our lesson, she put out a 2' long flower box and had me go over it in walk, then trot, then canter. My boy is a very willing horse, but he needs to know what I expect. If my intentions aren't perfectly clear, he would run out in that scenario. I found that my automatic reaction, if I felt him starting to move to one side, was to use the opposite rein. Wrong answer, this just cuased a big move in the opposite direction. I found, in order to keep him straight to a obstacle like this, I had to counteract any sideways movements with my legs alone, keeping the opposite hand in position to control the movement created from the leg (think, leg to opposite hand).

[aimee21]

thanks everyone,
i tried your ideas today with poles on the ground and she was fine although when it went up slightly (nearly 1 foot) she was the same again. she gets really stubborn and tries to run out etc...
but thanks for your advice anyway and i'll keep trying with her! we'll get there in the end!

:D

[SharlieJumper]

I have problems with running out too. I've found that putting the jump way down to either a crossrail or a ground pole works well. You may also need to ride with a crop if you don't already. I've also found that half of the time it's my fault that she refuses. Once my horse refuses I begin to expect her to refuse it, even though I really want her to go over it, but of course she knows I'm expecting a run out, so that's what I get. I also have to make sure to pick a place somewhere over the jump and concentrate like crazy on going there and no where else. My other problem is that I slow down instead of keeping a constant foreward motion, so she can't get over it well and refuses. I don't know if you do any of the same things as me, but those are the big things that I have to worry about so that I don't have refusals. Maybe you have some of the same problems. I hope this helps you a little.

[aimee21]

yes it did help! i checked this thread this morning before riding and i decided to use a crop, which made quite a big impact as i usually don't ride with one but used 2, one on each side as she is clever and when i put the crop on the side that she previously ran out on to be ready for it she goes the other way! so i used one on either side which helped! i think i just need more impulsion into the jump which would help to. Thanks for your advice!
:D

[emz d]

Maybe You should try slowly introducing coloured poles and fillers to your jumps. Start off with simple rustic jumps and then slowly start to add coloured objects to the fence.

Start with 2 fillers at the edges of the jump, each time you come in to the fence move them closer in(only a little distance) until they become part of the jump. Remeber to come in straight, ride forward, Look ahead and away from the fence but if she does decide to run out or stop you will need to be prepared. Keep your contact and sit quiet with your leg on,if she should back off tap her on her shoulder with a whip, however if she is good reward her with a pat and plenty of praise... it sounds like she may have had a bad experience in the past and something may have triggered her fear.

But the most important thing to remember is for you yourself to be confident riding into the jump because if she is scared she is going to say 'mum i am scared what do i do?' so you have to show her that it is ok show her some trust and make sure there is a big reward once she has jumped the fence.

[SharlieJumper]

Glad I could help. It seems like a lot of problems end up being an issue of whether you are moving foreward or not. I always slow down if i'm afraid she's going to refuse, even though I really need to go more foreward.

[lucy badham]

start back to basics. Get her going over a few trotting poles and take it from there.

[aimee21]

thanks guys!