Teaching my horse to jump

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Permalink Reply by Jackie Cochran on September 2, 2010 at 12:03pm

Is your seat OUT of the saddle all during the jump?
Do you make sure that your hands give enough rein so your horse does not hit the bit as he extends his head and neck during the jump?
Keeping your seat bones in the saddle at any point during the jump will cause the hind end not to rise as much as the horse intended when he took off. Be especially careful not to reseat yourself until all four feet have touched the ground. I know that you will read about and see winning performances where the rider does not follow these rules, but beginners have no business copying riders who have been studying for years and decades to improve their crafts. (BTY. I will personally have to watch out for both of these things, seat out of the saddle and giving enough rein, whenever I try to jump again.)
Hitting the horse's mouth, or not giving the horse enough rein hurts the horse, and in reaction the horse will drop his hind quarters. This will happen no matter how small the jump. Also, if you start pulling back on the reins as the horse's hindquarters pass over the jump while the forehand is landing, this will cause the hindquarters to go down. I know that the horse's head comes up at this point, but then the horse's head IMMEDIATELY goes down and forward , and if the horse does not trust that you will give him his head when he needs it, down will go the poles. Keeping contact DURING the jump is something for advanced level riders. Start off with looser reins until your jumping position is secure over the jumps. Work especially on your lower leg.
Work on your two-point, work on your contact and release. Only after you are sure that you are not interfering with the horse's jumping efforts in any way should you think about carrying a crop.
You might want to read my blogs http://www.barnmice.com/profiles/blogs/the-forward-seat-position-for-2 (for the jumping position), and http:www.barmice.com/profiles/blogs/32-faults-in-position-to-avoid (about common faults during jumping) and http://www.barnmice.com/profiles/blogs/another-blast-from-the (about contact.)
Jumping can be all types of fun for the rider. If you do it right it will make you a better rider. If the horse is comfortable and trusts your seat and hands (because you NEVER HURT HIM), it can be fun for the horse too.
Wear your helmet, stay safe, and have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Hartley on September 2, 2010 at 10:52pm

Yes, well all that information seems right, but he even knocks down the poles when I am lunging him. I wasn't referring to riding him over the jumps, i forgot to mention that (in fact I haven't riden him over anything yet accept for poles) I was just wondering for the future if I would need a crop if he was still doing this... When I lunge him, he picks his front feet up fine, but he just drags his hind feet along with him. Should I have someone hold a whip behind him and wave it in the air a bit maybe just before the jump?

Now, you say that ALWAYS go out of the saddle, no matter how small the jump. But, I have heard that if you go into your two point on a jump that small, your weight will be distributed too far forward and it will throw the horse out of balance (which seems to make sense to me...?)

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Permalink Reply by Jackie Cochran on September 3, 2010 at 11:09am

There are horses that do not think the little fences are worth worrying about.
Are you lungeing him over the jumps just in a cavesson, or are you using side reins too? Do you lunge over jumps with a saddle on? Do not use side reins (I am not saying you do, I just put that in for other people reading this.)
When lunging over a jump the human MUST run FAST to keep parallel to the horse's head carrying her hand at around shoulder height when the horse goes over the caveletti and over the jump, and there should be no tension on the lunge line while the horse jumps. Your idea to have someone helping you by handling the lungeing whip while you just deal with the lunge line is a very good one, as it would be hard for you to use the whip properly while running parallel to the horse's head. Don't let them hit the horse with the whip, you just want them to crack it. A horse jumps better with some impulse, so if the horse is sort of shuffling approaching the jump, don't jump him, get him to do a good trot on the lunge before you take him over the fence. Make the horse go straight around 4-5 strides before the jump and let the horse go 4-5 strides straight after the jump while you RUN FAST. Have your helper crack the whip around a stride or two before the jump, to create more impulse, if the whip is cracked just as the horse is taking off it will distract the horse from his jump.

When you are in proper two-point (shoulder, knee, toe in vertical line), your weight is a little behind the withers so long you do not lean on your hands. The advantages of this is that the horse is carrying the rider's weight 1) on the strongest part of the horse's back, and 2) the horse is carrying the weight on the part of the back that moves the least during the jump. People have been teaching jumping for around eighty to a hundred years with the riders up in two-point even over tiny jumps. It can upset the horse's balance A LOT when the rider goes from a central balance (sitting on the seat bones) to a two point when going over a jump. The horse makes calculations about how to jump on the approach, and the horse bases its decisions on where the rider's balance is on the approach. While a really good experienced rider can probably do this (go from central to forward balance) while jumping on fully trained jumpers, even experienced riders tend to do the two-point until the horse is past his basic training over jumps.

If this does not improve your horse I would also think of having his hocks checked out, in fact you have to check out three joints, the pastern, the hock and the stifle joints, if the horse continues dragging his hind feet over the fences.

You said you've seen him jump clear in the pasture. This is good, this is why I did not say to look at his hocks first. Lungeing over a jump is different from lungeing in a circle. Lungeing over a jump is a skill that has to be learned in addition to the skills needed for regular lungeing. In fact not many people learn how to lunge horses over fences properly so you probably do not have many role models you can copy. If a person just stands in the middle of the circle while lungeing a horse over even a low fence, that person is not lungeing the horse over the fence PROPERLY, (and I do not care how many years they've been doing it or how many trophies they have.)

You can do this, mainly because you ask for information when you need to, and because you want to do it properly. Good for you, I like it that you are showing the signs of becoming a GOOD horsewoman! We all start out at the beginning and learn how to do it right. You are on the right track.

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Permalink Reply by Hartley on September 3, 2010 at 5:30pm

This is really helpful information Jackie! Thanks so much for your help :) I will give it a go and see if there is any change. :)

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Permalink Reply by vickie lawson on September 3, 2010 at 6:46am

hi! if he's good at say 6 ground poles set i stride apart and 3 strides apart ( your strides). start him in a grid. set the jump standards at every other pole on the 1 stride apart. 1st put 1 side up so they are like cavaletti, and you have 1 up, one down, the opposite side up, one down etc. this will get him to pick up his feet. don't let him rush, and stop at the end, after a few trot strides. turn left and right after your line so he gets used to approaching from each direction. then raise the last one to both sides on the std. so its a wee cavaletti. push in the pole before it, as a ground pole. repeat as before. shift it further out and raise it, and put up a jump, just low about 3 m before it with say 3-4 ground poles in front. keep building just low, till you have a grid line. for bounces, which will get them thinking and pull up their legs, keep the jumps low and every m apart. it works just don't overdo it. grids will teach them to pick up their feet. you can raise them but don't overdo it each session and vary the work. cheers vickie

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