Teaching our ponies to jump? natural etc

[chestnuts4ever]

Hi all

I have recently been "trying" to get my pony (my 13.3) to jump things like buckets and tyres as that is what thye have at the clear rounds at shows - I am failing - miserabley to say least:D :D :D

He will NOT jump it, its a huge monster hiding under that bucket or in that tyre and it WILL attack if i leap it, so i get a nice canter upto it and boom i stop and back away even tho mums leading me:rolleyes: :o

I jump poles and logs fine but anything else and nope i will not do it!

Can you please give my mum some advice how to get me over these jumps as she really does need to.....

Thank you guyz xxxxxxxxxxx:)

[liz--y]

are you putting them under the jump.

try putting at the wings and when she is jumping that move them in slowly building up her confidnce gradully keep moving them in till she is happy to jump the with them under jump in the centre if that makes any sence.

[chestnuts4ever]

Hi lizy

I have done exactly that, if he sees them he freaks, im really stuck but i do need to persevere with him :) xx thanks xx

[liz--y]

keep them, rigth to the sides by the wings, and dont move them in to quick dont rush him and dont panic him, keep jumps really small if he wants to stop stand and look at them, then jump them from stand still let him. you dont want to put then under the jump at all to start with then put right at the side of the jumps.

how old is he?

[joey_olop]

are you putting them under the jump.

try putting at the wings and when she is jumping that move them in slowly building up her confidnce gradully keep moving them in till she is happy to jump the with them under jump in the centre if that makes any sence.


Echo that, thats what I did with mine he will get there eventually dont wory:)

[crazystevie]

Try setting up bukcets and cones in a line, and ride around them, weaving through them as well. And then follow everyones advice. Maybe even start with a pole on the floor, with the buckets in at the wings, and work your way up

[CER1389]

Do you have acess to a round pen/lunge arena? Can you loose school your horses in it and over jumps?

I'm teaching the horses I ride to jump, by going into the lunge arena, and setting a jump up on the edge, encouraging them round over it. If they run out, then I stick another jump up next to it - if they keep running out you eventually end up with jumps dividing the schol in half (as diagram shows).

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/CRumblina/jumpingtechnique.jpg

Obviously the jumps aren't high, so can be done from a stand still. You just need to keep encouraging them, and cross over the jumps to encourage them to keep going over. Maybe you could try this technique with the obstacles underneath each jump?? It just doesn't give them the option to run out.
Just to prove it, i started off with jumps all across the school, and now Drekkles is jumping just the one around the edge:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/CRumblina/longstretch.jpg