gridwork and distances.

I

ilovecobs

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Hey,
My questions are can anybody describe to me some good grids to use to help my horse learn to jump, please include jump heights, what type of jumps and distances between poles and jumps (measurement in feet would be good but if not no probs :D )
I also posted this in the competition section of the forum but i have only recieved 1 reply, saying i should have lessons, i think this would be good to do but i have showing lessons and cannot afford to have more lessons. Plus just as im asking for effective grids doesnt mean im incapable.

More info incase its needed : I will onli be jumping to do riding club horse classes and little bits like that. My horse is the one in my signature and shes about 15.3 and isnt at all long striding :)

thanks everyone :)
 
I start with trotting poles 3'6'' apart 4 or 5 of them, once they trot over them confidently, I put a tiny jump after them - at 7'. Then I add another tiny jump at 20-22' past the first one.
once they do that combination easily and confidently I move on to jumping from canter, first exercise being a pole on the ground, a tiny jump 20' after, as they get more confident I raise the jump a bit and move the pole to be 22' before the jump.
Next step is adding another tiny jump about 30' after the first one.
When they get around those exercises I move onto more complicated grids, but these basic ones are practised over a period of roughly 3-4 weeks with an inexperienced horse that is starting jumping.
Hope that helps, any questions just ask:)

ETS: When I say tiny jump, I mean about a foot of the ground, no more. By the end of the 3-4 weeks they are happily jumping about 2'-2'3''
 
ilovecobs said:
Hey,
My questions are can anybody describe to me some good grids to use to help my horse learn to jump, please include jump heights, what type of jumps and distances between poles and jumps (measurement in feet would be good but if not no probs :D )
I also posted this in the competition section of the forum but i have only recieved 1 reply, saying i should have lessons, i think this would be good to do but i have showing lessons and cannot afford to have more lessons. Plus just as im asking for effective grids doesnt mean im incapable.

More info incase its needed : I will onli be jumping to do riding club horse classes and little bits like that. My horse is the one in my signature and shes about 15.3 and isnt at all long striding :)

thanks everyone :)
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I do loads of gridwork. 8 of your strides for a one none jumping stride double, 12 strides for 2 none jumping strides, and a bounce is half on 8, ie. 4. If you want to get your horse to really lift up his shoulders shorten the distance to 7 or 11 of your strides. I usually do a bounce to a one non jump double with a pole on the ground half way between the double to act as another bounce, and end the session with an oxer out of the grid. Sometimes i like to do three or four bounces depending on whether I can be bothered to lug all the poles out and put them away afterwards! A word of warning though - you should only have bounce jumps at the end of the grid if your horse is advanced, otherwise they should be placed (if using) at the start of the grid only. And contrary to popular belief you don't need the end of your grid miles away from the bottom of the menage, your horse is able to turn on a relatively tight turn!! Be warned that people stride differently, so always get off your horse and stride out the distances yourself if you are having problems with your horse making the distance. And be aware that if you constantly jump on shortened distances to help improve his way of going, you may come unstuck when competing as your horse will struggle to make the distance between doubles.
 
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