ellie.....:

[holly_and_ria]

my mums horse - ellie is flying into any fence that you put her to...so much that you cannot hold onto her, you just have to let her go! She is now going so flat out into the fence that she is jumping flat and knocking down the poles! My mums old horse Rufus (who sadly had to be put down and is much missed R.I.P) had a mexican noseband. W have bought ellie one of these. Will this help to drop her head and steady up or not? She is only a young horse still so she is probably at her strongest but no-one can seem to hold her! Will this new noseband help or not?
*looks puzzled*

 

[Bossanova]

doubt any noseband will cure the problem- in my experience the best method is to do lots of poles on the ground, firstly just at walk, then gradually slowly and calmly in trot and canter. Then when she's calm with poles at all paces and in all places, start with small jumps in trot only, adding in halt transitions after the fences.
this method takes time but genuinely makes the horse slow down and think

 

[holly_and_ria]

thank you very much i will try that!
xx

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

There is no quick fix for this problem. Changing a noseband to get the horse to drop it's nose is not the answer. The horse rushes its fences because it is unbalanced. This happens alot with young horses infact I see it alot with horses of all ages. Unfortunately people who want to jump their horses do not spend enough time on ground work, getting the horse to move correctly, balance itself etc. When all said and done in show jumping the horse spends 90% of its time on the ground so it needs to move well. To get a horse to drop its nose and move & hold itself in an outline require loads of work so that he softens his back, engages his hocks, bringing them under himself so he is balanced, generates loads of power and is happy with what he is doing. For a horse to rush fences it clearly is not comfortable & happy with what it is doing. A quality dressage instructor will show you how to balance your horse & given sufficient time your horse will improve out of all proportion. Take the time to school it correctly on the ground & it will pay dividends in the air. Good Luck