Extremely nervous about posting this, but...hints and tips?

I have no advice as such, but just think it's VERY sad that anyone should be nervous about asking for guidance. Why, why, why do people make others feel this way??? I have training from a man who is a truly brilliant rider, far better than I will ever be, and he NEVER makes me feel that I cannot ask him for more help. Perhaps that's the thing - the truly GIFTED and skilled are secure enough in themselves not to ridicule and crush those who are trying so hard to develop.

Anyway, very very good luck Annie, and just tell anyone who dare try to knock you down that you really couldn't give a fig!!!!
 
Honestly, I would have a few lessons with a good instructor before you continue jumping. I've been there before, my coloured used to get his legs tangled up in excitement, but before you go anywhere, yo need to get a steady rhythem going well at home, and once you have got that, the rest will be a lot easier to sort.
 
Annielusian said:
XC and hunting: We do a bit of XC and the sneeky so and so has learnt the difference between XC and showjumping. He clears XC jumps with ease, but will sometimes smash through SJ jumps!
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I feel your pain. My highland has learnt this and the little devil wil fly over xc and crash through show jumps at competitions. In his case, he jumps sj nicely at home (mostly) but when jumping out, he is pretty overwhelmed by the situation, backs off my leg and I can't keep a decent rhythm round the course, partly because he's not used to courses (no room at home). Solution is the get out there and do practice at course hire, but that's easier said than done :D I digress, but my point is, this isn't the sort of question you should feel lays you open to abuse - it doesn't. It's the sort of problem we all go though (other than maybe those lucky enough to have perfect horses or be perfect riders). Plenty of the BE riders in CR are forever bemoaning having poles in sj (albeit at a higher height) despite lovely clear xc rounds! If you asked for advice about registering Ned for BSJA without ever competing unaff (/ having jumped him / ridden him / insert equally stupid scenario) then you might get abuse ;) :D

If you can get and maintain a decent, uphill, active canter, and keep the rhythm around a course, you wil have no trouble. In terms of flat work, I'd start with lots of transitions, walk-canter, trying to vary the speed and length of stride in the canter to get him uphill and active. Then work on canter poles and into grids. And then, theoretically, you should have it cracked.
 
annie can he happily maintain canter on a 20m circle?

on the few vids you up you don't seem to do much circle work with him and I cannot find any with him cantering (I also find the addition of loose ponies in the arena most bizarre :eek:). In order to maintain his balance round a course of show jumps and therefore leave them up the more supple and flexi he is the better chance he stands.
 
Typing on my phone on my break, ignore awful spelling!

circles: he can easily do it in trot, but the school isn't great for cantering. Hopefully I can get him out in the big field soon. He can do tight turns when it ssuits him..but if I ask? Not much hope xD

will answer properly when im home, only 1hr 10 to go!
 
Home, yay!

JFTD: Thanks! I can't get anywhere I can hire out a course, since he doesn't travel at the moment :( However, I'm going to ask the YO if I can put the jumps back out in the field, once I've got him working in there with no horrible spooks and I've got him cantering nicely. I know he can! We can hold a wonderfully smooth canter out on hacks, but I think he gets confused in the school. We really need to learn to get a slower canter, he can do an alright, but speedy canter in the school.

ester: Thanks ^^ I'll try some more circle work :) I do lots of circles in walk and trot, but I never get that videoed, since that's the 'boring' bit as far as videos are concerned :P
Hehe yea, I don't much like the ponies in there, but they mostly leave us alone and just stick to their hay nets. It's just MiniPip (Little palomino pony) who's annoying and ends up being tied up :P

RunToEarth: The show is held where Ned lives, so home practice is where he needs it really (Would love to take him elsewhere, but like I said above, he can't travel for the time being)

Thanks everyone else as well, for your lovely comments :)
 
Annielusian said:
We can hold a wonderfully smooth canter out on hacks, but I think he gets confused in the school. We really need to learn to get a slower canter, he can do an alright, but speedy canter in the school.
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Smooth canters are lovely on hacks, but they are not your friend round a course of jumps ;) Bouncy bouncy, uphill, powerful, rhythmical canters are your aim.

Easier said than done though :D
 
JFTD said:
Smooth canters are lovely on hacks, but they are not your friend round a course of jumps ;) Bouncy bouncy, uphill, powerful, rhythmical canters are your aim.

Easier said than done though :D
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He can certainly do bouncy! But he goes "bounce bounce bounce flat.. jump bounce bounce"...which is infuriating!
 
Annielusian said:
He can certainly do bouncy! But he goes "bounce bounce bounce flat.. jump bounce bounce"...which is infuriating!
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Oh yes, I feel that pain... Never had to worry about any of that with my old cob - he just bounces right over everything. Now how to I get the highland to understand that too? :o
 
Annielusian, he isn't confused in the school, he is just not supple or balanced. This is why he finds x country easier than SJ, simply that there is more space and less sharp turns. He needs to be taken back to basics, circles, leg yielding, transitions. Lose the ponies from the school, they prevent you using the entire space which he needs ATM until he is more supple and more accepting of a contact. Not o mention it not being safe!

In your videos you do seem to stop and start a lot, I know they are just a snapshot and watching someone trotting round for 20 mins at a time is maybe boring, but that is the sort of work he needs. Barrel racing ain't doing him any favors. He looks like a very honest horse who tries even though he knows his legs are all over the shop! I know he isn't yours but a back/ saddle check wouldn't go amiss either.

Good luck with him, retraining pacers is like knitting fog!
 
Hehe, that video with the (rubbish) 'barrel racing' was the only time we tried that :P Just to see if he'd be any good..tried it twice and he obviously wasn't enjoying it, so we stopped.
Yea, we do a lot of trotting about and I often cut out any of that my mum gets, because it is boring to watch on someone's youtube video.

He can be a little devil, but for the most part, he is honest and does want to please.
I'll see if the YO can arrange a back check for him, she likes to get me as involved as possible with him, so I'm sure she'd listen to me.

Thanks :) I've never done anything like this before (re-training a pacer) so it's a learning curve for both of us!
 
Hi Annie,

I owned a trotter/ pacer/ spaghetti legged wierdo through my teen years and he was the most fun horse ever when I got it cracked (we used to jump some reasonable tracks 1.10's with success!).

Figure of 8's will be your best friend with changes of speed/ pace at each corner building upto having a jump at X.

They are fun and built beautifully for jumping but you have to crack it! Just concentrate on slow and steady and the rest will come!

Another good exercise I used to do to help was to walk until about 3 strides from the fence jump then pull up after, it really helped getting him to sit back.

I'm no professional but it worked for us!!

Good luck, feel free to PM if you want any moral support.
 
(By pull up I dont mean haul him in the back teeth mid air, I mean land, sit back ask and try and stop before you get to the end of the school. He wont get it first time but will soon learn to jump then wait for you- the only time we ever really got into trouble was when we got a bit gung-ho as he can't pick up neatly/ successfully from a pace)
 
The good news is you are already streets ahead of many others - you are actually getting to the jump. Work on your flat work over poles - jumps are only raised ground poles and you will get an exagerated version of a ground pole over a jump. Once you can keep your canter over a few ground poles (pretend its a 3' course) just start to raise the ground pole keeping everything in your riding the same. It will come together in time. Good luck and dont EVER let anyone put you down if your intentions are honest.
 
I can't give much in the way of technical advice, but like many others have already stated on this board...don't worry about hyper critical people. Unless you're some kind of prodigy, everyone has had to begin riding and go through the journey of putting time in and getting better. I wish you the best of luck
 
Make sure you aren't just 'trotting around' though. He can do that already. Make every minute count for something towards improving his way of going, ask your YO for some ideas for schooling exercises, or buy some books/horse magazines to give you ideas.
 
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