clueless about jumping....

stormox

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I have taught many young horses their first steps in jumping. Start with single pole.....trotting poles.... x-poles... progress to straight across....little grids. Usually at first theyr hesitant, do a big green jump over the pole, etc.but they Jump!
This fella Ive got now, though single pole, trotted straight over. 5 trotting poles, great. Little x-pole, didn't break stride, trotted straight through it. Tried again, the same. Made it bigger (he is 17hh), trotted straight through again, each time knocking the poles out of the way. After getting off and putting up jump and getting back on for the 5th time I made it a 3-pole straight across about 2'6 high. I thought at least hed acknowledge it, but no,trotted straight through it scattering the poles without any attempt to jump it!!
Short of taking him XC any ideas on how to get him respecting the poles? And actually getting him to attemp to jump? Its not that he isn't athletic, Ive seen how high he can buck when hes playing the fool in the field. Thanks for reading this.
 

be positive

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Some just dont get that they can jump from trot and need to approach in canter until they understand what to do, I have started many like you and most will pop in and jump out of trot but there are always exceptions, I have a little cob here at the moment who can jump and has hunted but if trotted in will just trot over it, popped in out of canter she shows a decent jump that is very careful and tidy, usually once they get the hang of what to do with their feet you can go back to trotting in and the penny will have dropped.
 

stormox

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yes, I think I will have to work on getting a balanced and better canter, then try canter poles to an x-pole. At the moment his canter is gangly and unbalanced.
 

spacefaer

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Loose jumping?

Lunge jumping?

I like the horse to jump for himself initially, without having to balance with a rider's weight as well.

An option would be a good bit of old fashioned nagging about - hacking around and popping small logs, up and down banks - a bit of off roading to get him to think about his feet and more coordinated.

You say his canter is gangly and unbalanced - I wouldn't rush to jump under saddle tbh til he's stronger and jumping well for himself. Then I wouldn't pussyfoot about with tiny fences. Once I thought he understood that he has to organise his feet for himself, I'd give him a canter pole to each fence and put it up to 2'9-3' so he has something to jump, rather than trip over.

You don't say how old he is - I'm assuming 4? I'd be wary of too much flatwork/schoolwork on a hig baby - I like to wait for them to develop their own balance and strength naturally :)
 

stormox

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yes hes 4, 17hh ID/XB. I agree with what your saying, spacefaer, he needs to get stronger and balanced. Its a bit of a problem though in that the only place I can canter is an arena, hacking out is totally on road, no bridleways here, and the fields are way too soft. So Im only able to canter when I hire an arena. At least Ive found out hes brave and stops at nothing! Great advice from people- thank you.
 

fatpiggy

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My friend bought a green 3/4 Irish TB who stood just over 16hh. He didn't have a CLUE about jumping and would plough through the baby jumps we put up for him. Roll on 3 years and he jumped the only clear round at a local WH class which was full up to height and the jumps were very well built with lots of scary fillers and flower pots. You should have seen the faces of the Cheshire Set on their expensive neds watching a horse which cost £1200 beat the pants off them. MY friend had only entered at the last moment so was wearing a borrowed show jacket and rubber riding boots. It was absolutely priceless.

So OP, don't give up on your horse. I'd stick to raised poles for the time being and do just gymnastic work to get him fit and more ready for real jumps. IDs mature pretty slowly anyway, so let him carry on being a bit of a gangly baby until he is ready.

I've just remembered another horse I knew, who looked like a small Shire. He couldn't jump as a 4 year old either but again, down the line I personally saw him jump over 4 foot and a local showjumper was very interested in buying him. He may have looked like a bit of a lump but was very light on his feet.
 
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