Ditch jumping - I chickened out - embarassment!

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BackRidingAgain

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OK, my lack of confidence is connected with horses that take things in to their own hands and possibly threaten to set off somewhere that I don't want them to go. I'm also fairly recently regularly (every couple of weeks) back in the saddle after a layoff of many years. I always used to be able to jump a moderate fence say to about 3ft+ but haven't done so since being back in the saddle. I've never jumped a plain ditch.

I was offered a crack at a small plain water free ditch about 3-4ft wide between two harvested fields at the weekend and chickened out :o I was then left with a horse who wanted to do what the others were doing, and in all probability it would have been easier to have had a crack at it rather than trying to pursuade him to work circles and keep busy while everyone else played for 5 minutes. The thing is, and this might seem a bit daft, but I've never jumped an empty ditch. The horse I ride is probably a bit of a jumping veteran - massive (size wise), quality type, ex. hunting, experienced with novices etc. and would have no doubt sailed across it, but I don't know about me.

The daft thing is if I had been offered a log or something similar I wouldn't have been so bothered - obvious take off point etc., but I didn't know how to attack a ditch - though it wasn't deep, I was concerned about the width and not knowing how to make the horse take off, and how he would jump it, i.e. if a horse goes up and over an above ground obstacle he makes his body arch and I'd just rise out of the saddle and follow it, but a ditch puzzles me in that respect of knowing what to do. I was with an instructor, but was a bit embarassed to ask (though I should have done).

Does this sound daft, and does anyone have any advice re: this type of open ditch (clear take off and landing area) as an obstacle.
 
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I am no showjumper but I think ditches are a bit different its more a leap! And I personally find its best to just sit. Thats if its a flat open ditch ie with no hedge etc. With hedge probably more a jump. If you can find any pics of hunts they tend to sit.

If you let the horse stop and they usually have a good look and then leap!! Well thats what mine did.

No probs if you dont fancy it.Find a small ditch and some small jumps and build on it.

Good luck
 
I don't think you should see it as chickening out. I think you did the sensible thing. Why not find somewhere you can go where there is a nice small ditch with a good ground line and use that to get you started.
I think you would have been a lot more dissappointed if you tried it and it went wrong and eithre you or your horse was hurt.
 
I wouldnt worry about too much, ditches are that bit more scarier because its more of a leap, ive got a horse that jumps ditches like showjumps and another that jumps very flat over them, oh, and another that thinks they are the scariest thing on the planet, jumping huge about 4ft over them! :rolleyes: lol

Could you go down yourself and maybe have a crack at it? If your really nervous then pop a stirrup leather around your horses neck so you have something to hang on to. :)
 
Ditches out hunting are different to those you meet on a XC course....no nice telegraph poles to denote the take-off and landing spots! However, if your horse is a seasoned hunter, then no problems!!

What I would do, is put a neck strap on (old stirrup leather), walk up to the ditch, drop your reins and hold on to the neck strap whilst looking UP at the sky and encouraging with your legs.

If your horse is an old pro he will take you over no probs. :)With something less seasoned, you may need to maintain a contact with the mouth to keep him straight.
 
I wouldn't worry. I used to be scared of nothing but after a 10 year break had to psych myself up for a small log on a 13.2 2 months ago. Now I want to buy an ISH and go eventing :o:D
 
I used to hate jumping ditches, I would always do what you did...hang back even if it meant a silly horse to deal with.
Then I was yelled over a ditch on Ned...he may have no style or grace when jumping, but over ditches he's a dream, he doesn't 'pop' like some horses, he does it nice and gently!

As Gunnergundog said, neck straps are a life saver! Like someone else said, it's not a defeat, go and find a nice little ditch to do without the pressure :)
 
The thing about ditches is to not to actually jump them. Just remain seated (nice light seat), wait for the horse to look down and maybe do a little dance :D and then, eyes front and go with the horse :) If you do this it will be gloriously comfortable whatever type of jump the horse does. If you try to 'jump' the ditch for the horse :rolleyes: or drive the horse on into the ditch :oit will be most uncomfortable and the horse might stop. Takes a bit of nerve the first time to just sit there and wait but trust me :cool: it works.

Have to say a 3 - 4 foot wide ditch is a rip snorter for your first ditch, think you were wise not to attempt it myself. Find yourself a nice friendly small ditch and remember - remain seated, do not look down and go with the horse :)
 
Unfortunately a quiet practice on my tod can't be arranged as I hack at my riding school with a leader, there were three of use, my instructor and her friend on their err..... livelier! horses and me on the stable school master who is a real gentleman, but felt on his toes that day (more so than usual), the trouble is he is huge (17HH+) - it's an awful long way down and I currently doubt my ability to get back on without the mouting horse - and whilst I think I trust him (95% sure, but I wish they'd put something a bit stronger in his mouth - continental jointed snaffle on the last loop gives me a fair bit of advantage, but he's a stonking great big horse). I think I might have been better off if it had just been the instructor and me.

I'm managing the long canters now without losing RH stirrup - hurray! They are starting to become good fun, but on a day like the weekend when he is on his toes a little I do worry about control. though when he does pull and try to take hold I am finding that a little determination and a good firm pull gets results and then I let him have his head a little again, he then seems to mind me for the rest of the stretch.

Stuff to grab hold of is luckily not a problem - running martingdale attached to front D rings and a strap over just above his withers (don't know what this arrangement is called, but it seems to fix the martingdale so it doesn't run up his neck). I am not a grabber as a rule though.

Oh, I'd love to ride as well as I could when I was 20. I think that's half the problem I think my riding companions were half my age and haven't reached the 'this could end up hurting me mentality' that comes with age. I feel a bit embarassed that I'm not at the having a bash at everything stage as I would once of done. I hope it comes back as J Saunders found it did.
 
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If you WANT to jump it, then pop behind another horse who is going to jump it, and just sit right back wedge your heels down, look up and right beyond the ditch and kick for it with positive thinking of you WILL go over it. Grab the neck strap/mane/martingale last 2 strides in if you have to. Even in trot if it's small enough to, speed isn't essential, but being committed down to it is. Even if you have to fake it and convince the horse you are for a few times! :)


Never be afraid to chat or ask your instructor, that is what they're there for.

Also, remember, instructors will never ask you do something you're not able to do. Something to bear in mind. Your personal fear or not being able to do it, may not actually be correct on your ability. :)

So, I say, next time, don't think about, and just go for it girl ;)
 
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RebelRebel and others, thanks for the feedback. I guess was it 3-4' wide? Well I don't know, that's only 1m+ isn't it? I didn't get off and measure it, and it wasn't huge, huge, but I thought it looked a moderate jump to get cleanly from flat surface to flat surface - I couldn't have leaped it on foot. OK, perhaps it wasn't 4' but I reckon it wasn't less than 3'.

I'm keen on the sit down to jump it advice, that was what was one of my concerns, if I get another chance at least I will know what to do. Also, to look beyond the jump is a good reminder - its been 20 odd years since I last jumped anything. It's funny but I've been given two opportunities to put this horse at something, one was a show jump set little higher than a trotting pole which to be honest I think the horse would have been embrassed to be seen going over, the other this ditch the like of which I'd never been over previously and hadn't got a clue what to do. What I need is a nice little jump about 2 foot high, something that doesn't look too forbidding, but that will encourage a proper jumping action. A nice fallen tree or even a show jump just something to prove to myself I can still do it. It's a pity I drive to the stables and home again afterwards, as I expect I need just a little 'nip' of something to take the 'edge' off.

It is very good to hear that others have got back into things, maybe all is not lost at 44.
 
BackRidingAgain said:
I guess was it 3-4' wide? Well I don't know, that's only 1m+ isn't it? I didn't get off and measure it, and it wasn't huge, huge, but I thought it looked a moderate jump to get cleanly from flat surface to flat surface - I couldn't have leaped it on foot. OK, perhaps it wasn't 4' but I reckon it wasn't less than 3'.
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Click to expand...


Just for an interesting comparison...a 16hh horses normal canter stride is 12ft on average. :)

So, in theory breaking it down, a 3-4ft wide ditch is, theoretically, smaller to jump than a standard looking 2ft high fence.....
 
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Hi ChristmasSparkles (which is a great name), I think you are quite right, this huge horse could have probably cleared the ditch in a single canter stride - he doesn't half cover the ground when we tear along the side of a field. I think I was a bit concerned about what happens with a ditch if I got the stride wrong for him - at least with a show jump you just take the lot out and it all just tumbles down with a clatter, with a ditch there is issue of potentially getting legs in the wrong place with rather more serious results. However, I guess with a such a potentially large jump incorporated in such an experienced horse that if I had left the decision down to him he would have cleared it from any distance and only left me a bit behind had he have gone earlier than expected.

Perhaps on reflection I should have tried it, maybe if I had been given longer to think about jumping it - walked past it on the outride 'suggestion - how about we try that when we come back?' I would have had more time to think about it. Maybe I'll get another chance!

I must be able to still ride mustn't I? OK, I'm not fit, but I had lessons for over 15 years and have owned, broken and ridden my own horses. A big bit of me wants to canter, gallop, jump etc. and I am now managing a quarter mile canter on him. Maybe all I need is a shot of confidence.
 
But, poles only fall down, as if they've left a leg/got the wrong stride, it's rarely them cantering through it not jumping it, but just, not being able to get the height. They'll still clear the width generally. Most horses with a strong sense of self preservation, will try not to end up down the ditch, just either stop or overjump it. If he's a big seasoned hunter, he will be more inclined to take a slightly longer take off and meet it wherever he meets it. There's nothing in the way for them like poles, so much much easier to jump.

There's nothing nicer than a big gent of a ex-hunter to jump when they know they're job :) If you decide you want to jump it in the future, put your trust in him, just give him a kick and a bit of voice, hold on and sit back and you will be fine. Rider style first time, doesn't matter at all. That will come with confidence. :)

First time I jumped a hedge again, my position was AWFUL. I had some extremely bad experiences when I was younger with hedges and had vowed never to jump one again...then started hunting a ladies horses who were seasoned pros, and realised it was now or never to give it a go again. Poor sod got caught in the mouth, I had my eyes shut, crappy position and just well this:

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/69330_10150090317056753_1385426_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/62966_486068516752_4352388_n.jpg

BUT. 2nd time....was better.

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/71785_10150090317691753_712005_n.jpg

3rd time...was good.

4th time....I started very much getting into it...

5th time....LOVED it....

6th time....absolutely attacked it and even went on my own without a thought.



You get the gist :p

It's fine to be nervous and unsure about what will happen, BUT, never know till you find out ;) Good luck! :D
 
Don't be embarrassed, we all have our 'fears'...

I love jumping ditches, but then have a cob that has hunted in Ireland so ditches and banks are bread and butter to him!

I just go into them quietly, slip my reins a little, sit deep in the saddle and look over the ditch (never look down as that is where you may end!!), and let the horse work it out.
 
SC I am mightily impressed with those pictures, I've never jumped anything that huge in my life! That was some horse that you were riding.

Sidney, you are also in the 'sit down' school, that is obviously the key to jumping rhem.. It is obviously a good job that IS asked :-)
 
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