Exercices to improve the confidence in jumping

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Hynder

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Hello everyone !

I found a lot of people are scared to jump.

I would like find exercices to improve the confidence in jumping.

Have you got some ideas??



Thank you :D
 
I suspect the solutions are highly individual. I don't think there are exercises as such - put up this configuration and magically you will no longer be scared.

Sometimes it is habituation - keep trying, sympathetic instructor, stay within your comfort zone etc. Sometimes it is confidence courses, NLP etc. For some it is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. For some it is not jumping at all.

Why do you ask?
 
To find exercices. for example my coach aks me to approach the fence in different way ( near , long, increasing, decreasing etc) I would like to know if you know others :)
 
Jumping little (literally) and often, staying within your comfort zone and doing two jumps that you usually wouldn't (even if they're just one inch taller) to build your confidence each time at the end.

Having a horse who is calm and you're able to control is really vital.
 
If you're serious about it, you need to find out what the cause of the confidence crisis is and go from there. Some need to go right back to basics ie repetition of riding over poles on the floor, repetition of light seat etc, others need to get thrown down a grid and told to get on with it.

I found out I'm the latter a couple of weeks ago, which bar an initial 'omg panic', has made all the difference to my attitude and confidence. I was literally thrown into it which may or may not work for everyone!

Consider small fences and grid work. Getting riders to ride forward, both mind wise and the horse. Also focus on the rider being safe and secure, something that imho is often overlooked.
 
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I think grids all the way, with the first fence tiny so there are no worries about meeting it on the wrong stride.
Gives the rider a lovely feel and they can concentrate on their position. Also you can progressively make the last jump bigger to give the rider and horse confidence.
I think a good teacher really helps to teach the rider how to fold correctly and also practicing the position on the flat.

A lot of riders I see having lessons aren't really taught how to jump, some people get it naturally but a lot of people tip forwards standing up in their stirrups rather than folding which doesn't feel nice.

Can I add that it is a couple of years since I have jumped and about 30 years since I jumped proper fences, but I do remember being taught the correct jumping position and the difference it made.
 
I think I miss confidence in me and control of the horse.

Biggest problems I meet are in competition. At house, all is rather than ok, I can take very interesting technical lessons. But in competitions i feel bad and poor
 
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