CC me and BH jumping today?

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Jesstickle

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Anyone who wants to please feel free. I am aware that I ride like poo so you won't upset me!

I am also aware that the canter is very flat. I'm going to work on that!

If anyone has any exercises to help stop me killing the canter that would be great. Likewise anything to help me see a stride because I really struggle! Luckily the horse is willing :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY3Z8mBLf8g
 
You sit really well to the jumps you make it look effortless and really comfy!!!!! Occasionally your caught a bit off stride but apart from that really. Placing a ground pole will help your horse in take off. Really nice though! Gorgeous horse he looks like a dream to ride!
 
Horse finished session with 4 legs intact.
Rider finished session with 2 arms and 2 legs intact.
Horse (and rider) got over jumps.
=
successful jumping session

;) :D
 
I really should put out a placing pole you're right xmillyx. I'm just not good enough at sorting myself out yet and it helps me see where I'm aiming for. I don't really like jumping much. Or rather, I'm only just learning to love jumping now I have BH. He makes it all very easy and just keeps coming in his sweet little rhythm so I can just sit and be a passenger. Which is very decent of him considering I taught him to jump and I have no idea what I'm doing!

Rhino, you laugh but everyone thought I was going to fall off because I did last time we jumped! About four people said 'you stayed on this time' as I rode back round to my stable :p :D
 
Omg I was expecting something awful before I watched the video and it wasn't half bad! Nice rhythm, nice honest horse all looked okay!

How do you get on round an entire course?

I can imagine it could come a little bit unstuck around a large course as there is a lack of connection in the canter, you seem a little bit of a passenger on top at times, the moments he broke in canter would have been avoided if a better more bouncy, engaged canter was established first.

I think a 2 point position would help, maybe try kicking on down the long side then half halt collect down the short side then do again until he starts coming more underneath you. As soon as you feel it try collecting the canter on a 20mtr circle spiral in and out even if its only slightly but changing the tempo up and down will help to engage him more.

Working on canter poles will help you find your strides esp if you can get into the habit of counting so have sets of canter poles in 2, 3s and 4s around the school choose a course and canter around them counting all the way in 3s ie 123, 123, 123 however, with the canter you currently have the job of finding a stride isn't easy because you aren't choosing take off he is choosing for you. Once you get more comfy with the canter pole courses then trying raising them, shortening, lengthening the distance etc to help you see the stride better when you are long or short.

I hope some of that makes sense!
 
Farma-

I don't know about a course really. I never jump one at home and out we tend to end up coming back to trot a lot as he is pretty green and gets very 'looky' and I'm not competent enough to keep coming in canter at that point!

I have, weirdly, played the two point seat, kick on down the long side and shorten at the corners game just last week, and he did feel a lot rounder and bouncier by the end. I don't think until I saw today's videos that I had realised quite how flat he gets! He feels bouncy all the time. I think part of the problem is that I am not the boldest rider over fences and so subliminally I want everything to happen really slowly so I don't encourage him on. I feel like I am but watching back I can see that I'm not. I did come once more after the last bit of vid and my friend very kindly suggested I actually put my leg on this time and be a bit more forward. It was, by all accounts, a little bit better!

I have been trying to get poles out for about two weeks but there is always someone else in the school and I feel bad getting in their way. I'll have to try harder though because I do think it would really help both of us. Will give your exercise a whirl as it sounds like something my poor little brain could actually cope with. It's easily confused :o :)
 
I find the best thing about seeing a stride is to not try to hard! I read something once(Tim Stockdale I think) that said upto 3ft you really don't need to 'see' a stride & that just have a bouncy,jumping canter & you'll never be more than half a stride out. I used to obsess about it but realised that you're never going to hit everything spot on & most horses should cope with this. I had a few lessons with a showjumper local to me & I never realised until he pointed it out how much I set up then fired the horse at the fence once I thought I'd seen a stride! Otherwise thought you looked fine, agree the canter could do with more bounce to it.
 
Whizzer- I don't want to see one to go off. I just want to know when we're actually going to get airborne because I often feel like poor old BH is stuck with a sack of spuds rather than a rider as I haven't realised we're going and get left behind! :o :D I think he's big enough and ugly enough to sort his legs out and have no plans to interfere with him. I'm just not good enough and he does a reasonable job himself bless him.
 
Actually I think you should give yourself some credit.

You sit nice and quietly, don't interfere and let him get on with his job. That's no mean feat!

I think the only thing wrong is that you need a bit 'more' canter. Not f makes sense.aster, but a bit more energetic and covering the ground a bit more without getting and longer - if that makes sense!

It takes time to get a really good canter so it won't come over night, but I'd have a bit more leg and get him into your hand more. I think you'll find that if you have a more energetic canter, you'll find it much easier to see a stride - and the better stride will come more naturally too.
 
blood_magik said:
a lot more controlled than mine :D

well done.
I take it he's still a baby?
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Sort of, he's seven but he's very backwards as I really just don't do enough with him. He hasn't jumped for probably six weeks and he's only ridden about 3 days a week and it's been that way since I re-backed him at rising five so he hasn't had much input sadly. He's too good for me really and I worry that I'm wasting him a bit but what can you do?! I doubt anyone wants to buy him at this time of year!
 
jesstickle said:
Sort of, he's seven but he's very backwards as I really just don't do enough with him. He hasn't jumped for probably six weeks and he's only ridden about 3 days a week and it's been that way since I re-backed him at rising five so he hasn't had much input sadly. He's too good for me really and I worry that I'm wasting him a bit but what can you do?! I doubt anyone wants to buy him at this time of year!
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I very much doubt you're wasting him, hen.

I would like to see him start to take you into the jump when he gets a bit more experience but I can't really fault anything to be perfectly honest :) Canter just needs to be a bit more bouncy, but you know that anyways :o
 
xspiralx said:
It takes time to get a really good canter so it won't come over night, but I'd have a bit more leg and get him into your hand more. I think you'll find that if you have a more energetic canter, you'll find it much easier to see a stride - and the better stride will come more naturally too.
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I am terrible at picking him up. It took me so long to get him to go forward as a 4yo that I used to ride with reins like washing lines as any contact would just stop him dead. He isn't like that anymore but I still think he is and let him slob along on far too long a rein. It drives my RI bonkers! I don't know what to do about that sort of mental block really. Have someone to shout at me more often I guess.
 
I also think you are doing fine, the canter just needs to be a little more powerful without getting faster. I use poles on the ground, this really helps to improve the quality and establish the length of stride, which will in turn help you to "see" a stride.
Working in 2 point, then sitting trying to not shorten unless you want to as you change your position, this also helps the horse to learn to keep the canter until you ask him to trot.
Try and ride away from the fence with a little more purpose until you ask for a transition, walk to canter is also useful.
 
Looks very nice to me :) he looks like an absolute dream to jump, so calm and you do a fab job of just letting him get on with it - your timing and strides will come in time, its just something that clicks one day and you don't even realise! We use poles with great success with one horse at home as otherwise she can't get her stride properly (and in turn, that helps us). Might be worth giving that a go?
Well done for staying sat upright before the jump, that's one thing I really did notice!
As others have said, a bit more oomph in canter wouldn't go amiss but you're doing really well, I can't see anything wrong at all :)
K x
 
jesstickle said:
I am terrible at picking him up. It took me so long to get him to go forward as a 4yo that I used to ride with reins like washing lines as any contact would just stop him dead. He isn't like that anymore but I still think he is and let him slob along on far too long a rein. It drives my RI bonkers! I don't know what to do about that sort of mental block really. Have someone to shout at me more often I guess.
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Much nicer to see this than a youngster hauled into a contact with no power from behind, give yourself some credit, you are a nice rider just needs some more oomph! If I was buying a youngster it would be a bonus that he had been ridden like this and not pushed into an outline too young x
 
Love BH!

A sack of spuds has a lot more style and is infinitely more effective than me over fences so won't comment on your riding (which looks fine to me anyways for what it's worth) ;) But I would repeat the endorsement for canter poles to get the canter 'up'. Works brilliantly with Knobber mark 2!

My RI had me doing three canter poles down one long side, then really balance back to trot, half halt at A/C (depending on which long side poles are on obv!) then do some quite short trotting poles nice and slowly down the other long side. Back up to canter in the following corner and repeat. Worked really well as the transitions stopped him from just getting flat/long/strong/unbalanced, the short/slow trotting and half halting bought him back to me and underneath himself and improved the quality of our next canter transition, and good transition into canter poles = nice balanced 'up' canter for us :) I find even just the quality of the transition makes a huge difference to the overall quality of our canter. If I let him run through the transition, the canter is crap. If I use half-halts and a nice slow, engaged trot, the canter is loads better :)
 
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Farma said:
Much nicer to see this than a youngster hauled into a contact with no power from behind,
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I'm so glad you say that :) Sometimes I wonder if I might be pretty much the only person in the world that would rather have something green be a bit long than dragged in from the front! He can carry himself reasonably well now in walk and trot thank God. It's taken forever but the penny has finally dropped. If I actually kick on enough in canter he'll find a proper contact too but I don't because I am backwards thinking and I can't sit his canter if it's actually going anywhere! He's too bouncy. I'm used to nice little TBs that don't fling me about!
 
Vanner and Trish- Thank you for liking the knobber horse. He's a good chap really.

Trish, will try your exercise too :) I'm going to be busy with the poles I think!
 
jesstickle said:
Sometimes I wonder if I might be pretty much the only person in the world that would rather have something green be a bit long than dragged in from the front!
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You look like a pretty talented sack of spuds to me :p :D

Yes the canter's flat, but he looks to be a great sort - HMS BH is clearly making a bid to join the RAF and spend more time in the air than on the sea :D (I think that metaphor's so tenuous it's flatter than his canter now :cool:)

As for riding green horses long, I've never ridden Fergs on a tight contact - indeed I once walked out a lesson because of being repeatedly shouted at to shorten them - he simply wasn't ready to work into a proper contact at that point and hauling them in is an abomination imho. So I definitely am with you on that score!

Mind you, our jumping is woeful so perhaps it's not a good thing I agree with you ;) And for that reason, there's no way in hell I'm going to give you advice :D
 
Ok so from the starting point of I know nothng about jumping I won't comment on that bit as anyone jumping more than a 1 foot crosspole looks good to me:D:D:D

As for getting more bounce in your canter I would work on a couple of things if it was me - one would be to do lots of transitions from trot to canter back to trot and even throw in some walk to canter when you are properly warmed up. Constantly change the numbers of strides you ask for so he has to keep listening to you. The other thing is to canter round the school and count the number of strides you do along one side - then ride it a few more times increasing and decreasing the number of strides it takes :) you can change the sides/reins to do this. Will have to keep listenign to you and it will aslo make you use your seat and legs to get the extra/fewer strides :) It is also easy to do on your own and makes schooling a bit more interesting :) It should also make him work more form behind which will in turn give him more 'bounce' :)

Hope it helps :)
 
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jesstickle said:
Anyone who wants to please feel free. I am aware that I ride like poo so you won't upset me!
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Firstly, you do NOT ride like poo. you make it look very easy!

His canter, as you say, is a little bit flat, but that's easily corrected with lots of transitions and half halts!

IMO
you seem to fiddle with your hands a bit on the flat and then set your hands going into the fence. Try to move your hands up his neck a bit more on the stride before take off so that he can use his neck and round over the fence a bit more, and get a bit more spring.

he's very nice and calm though - wish Ron was like that! :D
 
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