peapod
Well-Known Member
Apologies for the long post, however I want to include the whole 'story' in case there's something I've missed the point with!
So, Sonny is now rising 6. He was broken in at 4, but it wasn't until this summer that we really started to focus on his jumping - however he has always popped a cross pole or a tiny straight jump. It took him a LONG time to figure out what jumping was - he got his legs very tangled and didn't really know what to do with himself! However, since the end of the summer he really started to get into it - to the point where we did a couple of tiny working hunter classes (I'm talking only 2ft though!)
I made a resolution before Christmas to really try and crack my jumping nerves - I had a bad lesson with my Uni riding club (ended up walking out of the lesson), and so really decided to work towards getting over being nervous about jumping. SO - I started off jumping Sonny whenever I was at home, and have been coming home once or twice a week to jump and have lessons.
It started off really well, and we worked up to jumping 2ft 3 spreads! (HUGE for me!) and I was really confident, Sonny was absolutely fantastic jumping - really charging in (but in control!) he was lovely and forward going, he was pinging the jumps, and absolutely loving it!
Then - a couple of weeks ago I fell off because Son ran out - and yes, it did knock my confidence. The next time Sonny was ridden he was VERY tentative about jumping - in fact he was trying to run out of a trot pole - and this was NOT when I was riding him, so wouldn't have been as an effect of my nervousness transferring across to him. I THINK when I fell off I may have caught him in the mouth (he had a pelham in) - we changed his bit and he has got a lot more forward going about jumping again...
However - we have recently got some new jumping blocks - and today Son was ridden over them for the first time (not by me) and apparently was running out of them.. do you think this is a result of him being green?
What can I do to stop him running out? I truly don't know if it's him being naughty, or if it's him backing off jumping for some reason - I find it very bizarre because normally he is SO keen on jumping, he really tanks into them and takes the jumps on - the size of the jumps are minimal for him - and, when he decides not to run out, he still pops the jumps nicely and seems happy to do it.
I want to crack it, because it does knock my confidence when he runs out - I do not let him get away with it; I turn him back to the jump - so it's not really a case of him having learnt that "If I run out I don't have to do the jump" - and usually the second time he pops it nicely. Incidentally when he ran out when my instructor was there, she said I threw my hands away, thus causing him to run out - however...I didn't ride him today, so I don't think that is a cause for it to happen.
I don't know - jumping is certainly NOT my forte, and I've never been in the situation of helping to educate a young pony before, so I don't really know what the right course of action to take is! I feel a bit ignorant, but I just don't really know what to do when it happens - I have a feeling it could be my lack of confidence having an effect again!
Any thoughts?
So, Sonny is now rising 6. He was broken in at 4, but it wasn't until this summer that we really started to focus on his jumping - however he has always popped a cross pole or a tiny straight jump. It took him a LONG time to figure out what jumping was - he got his legs very tangled and didn't really know what to do with himself! However, since the end of the summer he really started to get into it - to the point where we did a couple of tiny working hunter classes (I'm talking only 2ft though!)
I made a resolution before Christmas to really try and crack my jumping nerves - I had a bad lesson with my Uni riding club (ended up walking out of the lesson), and so really decided to work towards getting over being nervous about jumping. SO - I started off jumping Sonny whenever I was at home, and have been coming home once or twice a week to jump and have lessons.
It started off really well, and we worked up to jumping 2ft 3 spreads! (HUGE for me!) and I was really confident, Sonny was absolutely fantastic jumping - really charging in (but in control!) he was lovely and forward going, he was pinging the jumps, and absolutely loving it!
Then - a couple of weeks ago I fell off because Son ran out - and yes, it did knock my confidence. The next time Sonny was ridden he was VERY tentative about jumping - in fact he was trying to run out of a trot pole - and this was NOT when I was riding him, so wouldn't have been as an effect of my nervousness transferring across to him. I THINK when I fell off I may have caught him in the mouth (he had a pelham in) - we changed his bit and he has got a lot more forward going about jumping again...
However - we have recently got some new jumping blocks - and today Son was ridden over them for the first time (not by me) and apparently was running out of them.. do you think this is a result of him being green?
What can I do to stop him running out? I truly don't know if it's him being naughty, or if it's him backing off jumping for some reason - I find it very bizarre because normally he is SO keen on jumping, he really tanks into them and takes the jumps on - the size of the jumps are minimal for him - and, when he decides not to run out, he still pops the jumps nicely and seems happy to do it.
I want to crack it, because it does knock my confidence when he runs out - I do not let him get away with it; I turn him back to the jump - so it's not really a case of him having learnt that "If I run out I don't have to do the jump" - and usually the second time he pops it nicely. Incidentally when he ran out when my instructor was there, she said I threw my hands away, thus causing him to run out - however...I didn't ride him today, so I don't think that is a cause for it to happen.
I don't know - jumping is certainly NOT my forte, and I've never been in the situation of helping to educate a young pony before, so I don't really know what the right course of action to take is! I feel a bit ignorant, but I just don't really know what to do when it happens - I have a feeling it could be my lack of confidence having an effect again!
Any thoughts?