Advice for a horse who jumps from an absurdly long stride

clairebearnz

clairebearnz

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This isn't my horse, but I am asking for a friend. She's got a green-ish, although older (8-9) year old part-Warmblood who was backed early last year and who is started to progress over fences (as well as on the flat). She's doing really well, but tends to jump from a long way out from the jump, and her owner Placing poles, either before or after, do tend to get her jumping off a normal stride but as soon as they aren't there, she'll revert back to jumping from way back. She doesn't over-jump but flattens over the fence and as jumps getting higher (up to around a metre), my friend is beginning to worry that she's going to get into difficulty especially with fixed jumps, as she has landed on the back rail of spreads a couple of times now. The height of the fences seems to make no difference, nor does going faster or slower into the fence. She will jump nicely down grids, particularly if there are placing poles.

It doesn't seem to be rider-created, as she seems to do it with everyone.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice/experience with how to combat this. The only thing I came up with was placing poles.

I don't have any video, but I do have a few pictures. Please don't critique the rider, as it isn't me. She knows her faults better than most.

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What happens when she decides to go long. Remarkably, she did make it over

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How far off is use putting the placing pole? Is the horse established enough on the flat to take it's weight behind and shorten it's canter? How long has she been trying? When the placing poles are removed does she allow the horse to "help" her or does she make it clear to wait? Does she jump it for speed at comps?

We got a mare on loan that had been used for speed and was consistently taking strides out (she's only 15.3) we used a pole 4 short strides before a low cross and kept bringing her to it in a settled canter. Then we started to build a second fence with no pole and would let her jump that but as soon as she rushed or took a flier she had to go back to the jump with the pole. We jumped her about 4 times a week for about 3 weeks and she has stopped doing it completely now. I just have to be careful to help her and not allow her to make the decisions or I think the habit would creep back in
 
Is she jumping out of trot or canter?

Vinnie jumped with placing poles at every fence for a few months last summer to help him hit the right spot and get his shoulders up- was worth it as he is now much easier to ride to a fence and can get a little bit deep or a little bit long.
 
She's been jumping for a few months (horse, not rider), but I've only been back since November, and have only seen the occasional session. She can shorten/lengthen canter up to a hand gallop and back. She's not particularly strong but is fairly forward.

She's been doing it since she started jumping. It's not every jump, and her canter into jumps where she flies them doesn't look to me (or feel, as she did it when I jumped her) any different to when she jumps normally. It doesn't feel like a nervous/confidence thing, she just seems to have a truly awful eye for a stride.

She jumps normally down a grid, although she will sometimes fly the first fence then have to sort her legs out. I shall suggest more placing pole stuff as well. The distance we put the placing pole depends on the height of the fence, but she's never done it with placing poles there.
 
Maybe it's because the horse can't adjust her canter. I'd do lots of work to get the horse to be able to shorten the canter and grid work. Jumping out of trot might help.
 
Would agree with lots of placing poles. My mare LOVES a long one, and it never feels horrendous, but a few pics over bigger tracks scared me a bit so have done a lot of work with poles, which is helping. I do lots of work with a placing pole 5.5yards from the fence and approach the pole in trot let her pop in a little canter stride between the pole and the fence and it really gets them sitting back and patting the floor before taking off.
 
Its not the horses its the rider who keeps missing it. Tell the rider to put poles around the school on the ground and just keep cantering over them until she can meet them with out the horses coming out of its natural stride, then she will be able to try that over a small jump, just keep coming until she can hit the same spot consistently.:)
 
Agree with whoever mentioned adjustability in the canter . . . is the horse balanced and strong enough to lengthen and shorten the stride in canter without falling on its nose? If not and the horse doesn't yet have the abdominal and hind quarter strength to "sit" in the canter then it will naturally default to taking a flyer - this exactly what Kal used to do.
 
I agree with teaching the horse to shorten and lengthen. Its very easy to do, canter down the long side, count the strides, (say 5), now go back and ask for 6, then 7 and so forth, then build up again and ask for 5, then 4 etc. Easy to say, hard to do but teaches the horse to sit.

I am doing this with mine at the moment. Admittedly he is only a 6 year old but right now we can go faster or slower. We don't actually change the canter stride!. Although because he is uber careful over a fence, he is being taught to sort himself out (and does)

Actually just relooked at the photos. In the one where the mare goes really long and just makes it over, it looks from the pix as if the back pole is a little too low and perhaps not obvious to the mare that there is one there? if that makes sense? would perhaps be better to make more of an obvious ascending fence and don't pull out the second element too wide at this stage as well.
 
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I shall relay all this, thank you so much for your help. Her canter is somewhat adjustable but could definitely do with being more so.
 
Some horses don't learn to back off and I agree it's normally a strength thing. Very, very short grids with placing poles between every fence are good. You want her to crash through something if she launches so she learns to prop and look. The fence doesn't have to be big for this. But the rider has to be totally soft and committed so that the horse knows it's her own fault. She's obviously very bold if she keeps on doing this so unlikely to get scared. She looks scopey as well and has a nice technique so I would work really hard on this!
 
Could you try setting up a small grid to be loose jumped, if u have the facilities for this? Would be good for the horse to learn for himself and if he does make a mistake he has only himself to blame....
 
Re manufacturing a 'crash' be aware that can go both ways (and more often not the right way). Leaving aside the potential for injury, if the horse doesn't know how/why it got in trouble and how to do things differently the next time, it may very well scare itself and either launch harder or stop. Challenging a bold horse just enough to educate it without causing a confidence issue is a bit of a trick.

Re using placing poles to re educate both horse and rider, how long and often were they used before it was decided they weren't helping? There are various ways of setting them and some horses seem to grasp the lesson more easily with one configuration over another.
 
I'm finding this thread very interesting reading as my boy is an ex-hurdler and will always go long and flat if he can. We use poles before and sometimes after the jump to help him. Seems to work
 
I would pressume it is just green-ness and a lack in canter adjustment ability.

I'd suggest lots and lots of flatwork and polework to help with shortening and lengthening the canter, and also plenty of grids.
 
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