Higher Jumping

[JumpingHeart]

I have started to jump my mare higher but i cannot judge the jump right. I either get to close or too far. My horse is sensitive and will jump a jump when i tell her exactly so i mess her up alot. She gets over the jump okay most of the time but I would pefer for it to be easier for her. Any tips for judging it better?

[kedwards]

On the approach, the best thing you can do for the horse is to ensure that she is straight and has a good quality canter or gallop. Generally, horses figure their distances out best when we leave them alone to do their job. Usually, the more we try to do for them, the harder we make their job.

Is it possible that, as the height goes up, you are unconsciously stiffening up and blocking her free movement in the last couple of strides? ...or that you are anticipating and inadvertantly rushing her.

Also, if the height is new to her, she may be balking a little and disrupting her own rhythm. If that's the case, you can help get her used to the jump size and striding by having the higher fence be the last jump in a small grid. Adding a placing pole before the jumps can help too.

[Bay Mare]

An ex eventer who taught me said:

Your job is to get her to the jump
Her job is to get you both over it

Best advice I ever got!

As kedwards said, make sure that you get the good quality, rhythmical canter up to the jump, once you're lined up LEAVE IT ALONE, don't try and meddle with it or you WILL stuff up (here speaks the voice of experience). Sit back until you feel her jump and then you fold. On landing sit up and start again :)

A couple of good exercises for getting a nice canter is to play around with the pace. Take it from a 'working' canter and alternatively extend it and collect it. Make sure that you can influence it so that you've got a decent canter BEFORE you approach the jump.

The other exercise is to put 4x poles at right angles on a 20 m circle. Start by walking over them (make sure that you go through the same part of each pole) and count the number of strides between each one ... they should be equal. That's fairly easy in walk but try it in trot. Not as easy as you think! You'll be surprised at how much 'faffing' you do and how it 'knocks' the rhythm out. When you've cracked the trot try it at canter. You can then try it with alternative poles as a parallel jump and finally as all four as small parallels.

[JumpingHeart]

-Sit back until you feel her jump and then you fold. On landing sit up and start again


thats a problem though because like ive said before shes sensitive and basically waits for my que, and if i dont do anything shell mess up even worse. Weird i know but i guess that was how she was trained.

and for the stiffening and rushing, i dont think its that but its something like that. I dont aticipate it, its just when it comes, i cant tell when to tell her to jump at the right time

[Morwenstow Stud]

I watched a fantastic show jumping display at an equine fair a couple of years back.The trainer had a horse jumping differnt type and heights of fences.When he talked about the distances and timing he said that the thing to do was to establish a good ,medium, rhythmic canter then the jumps would just flow.The stride would always be right whatever the type or height of fence.The less rider interferance the better. I was sceptical until the horse in the ring demonstrated and yes it worked.

[draft]

What height are you jumping?

if its nto too big i would have to suggest not trying to judge it, get a nice bouncy canter shorten the stride length a little, you wont miss by much anyway (think of a pony they hardly ever miss because their strides are naturally small so are more likely to hit the sweet spot.)

if you focus so much on the stride you wont ride properly, focus on riding and relaxing think of flowing around the corners and to the jump, dont chase the fence. keep your leg on and as it sounds like yourve an honest horse sure it will eb ok, just dont jump too big

I ve been told a lot that i shouldnt do jumps bigger then 1m as i couldnt see my stride all the time, i said hell no. so ive worked on getting a good canter now i am doing 1m 10 and farily technical courses, i stillc ant see my stride every time and sometimes i am a little close or far away but i have a good horse with a good canter it doenst matter too much.

my advice is not to look too hard as youll never see it, also dont forget to wait for a stride.

[LongShot]

My instructor was just talking to us about this when we were highering jumps. She said the higher the jump gets the less the horse needs from you. All you have to do is set them up properly by making sure the horse sees the jump. you can't go at a jump with there head looking away from it because when you get there they don't have a spot. Just look forward for a spot as you're going to it. If you see it, and your horse's head is straight, most likely the horse will see it too. If you do too much for them then you'll ruin there consentration.Horses really need quietness from the rider to jump so don't move that much!

[RachelEvent]

I think it depends on what heights you're looking.

The idea of having a regular well balanced canter will generally work up to around 1m10 classes, depending on the scope of the horse. When fences are higher than this I think there is a point where the rider has to be skilled enough to be able to consistently ride the horse to the right spot.

That said, the skill of placing a horse in the correct place should be practiced over much smaller jumps, AND is something that should be done under instruction to start with. It all boils down to dressage schooling - if you can adjust the canter in your dressage work whilst keeping plent of impulsion and good balance, then you have the skills needed to shorten or lengthen the canter on approach to a jump.

[julia gulia]

I agree with kedwards. I do not like to tell my horse when to jump, he can figure that out on his own!!! I don't ever want to do the thinking for him 'cos if he ever gets into trouble, he won't be able to figure his way out of it!!!!! Just relax and set your horse up well and let him take you over the moon!!!!!! Dreamy!!!!:)

[JumpingHeart]

thanks alot for all your replies, ill keep them in mind when i jump her

[Emz]

The method of just keeping to a rhythmic balanced canter ensures you and your horse can judge your stride into a fence. And it means at most you'll only be half a stride out which is still jumpable from up to about 1m10.

My trainer who's a BSJA apprentice coach had me every time i jumped count from 6 down to 1 before each jump or pole i did. It made me keep a rhythm as well as teachign me to get my eye in for a stride. After practising every time i rode over a pole or jump if i was jumping, i can now see my stride into fences from 3 strides out as well as 6.