Help me get my horse to land on correct leg when jumping please!

R

rebmw

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 August 2008
Messages
177
Location
dorset
Visit site
My horse has always been a bit weaker on the right rein and I have always had to work hard to get his off hind stepping under him and taking weight.

I have just started jumping him after time off with an injury and it is really evident that he is favouring landing on the incorrect lead on the right rein and then is quite happy to do a flying change 2/3 strides later when I correct him.

I'm aware that any wonkiness on my part will be enough to make him land on the left leg so I'm trying really hard to do what I can to help him, riding straight and trying to stay level, then looking round to the right as we take off. But the only way I can get him to land on the right leg everytime is by taking a line slightly left to right, or jumping on a large circle-ish shape which I don't feel is a good habit to get into.

Can anyone recommend me any exercises or advice to help please?
 
It depends on your jumping style and what you are comfortable with, but you can try looking down to the right as you come off the peak of the jump or folding slightly to the right to help him in the short term. You could also try practicing at home with a single jump that you approach and jump absolutely dead straight, then land, take one straight stride, then do a half 10-15m circle to the right or left (practice both ways). Just make sure that your straight lines and turns are very definite rather than getting into the drifting-vague circling habit.
 
I tend to look to the side we are wanting to go to and so this shifts your body weight and hopefully the horse responds and does the same, so lands on the correct lead.
 
I agree that looking in the direction of travel helps the horse determine which lead to organise for but bear in mind the leg it lands on is NOT the leading leg, it's the other foreleg. Shifting too much weight in the direction of travel can have the the opposite effect. Also, this is a much harder thing to influence in the air over small jumps, where the horse is effectively stepping over in a big canter stride. Especially at that level much more influence comes from how the horse leaves the ground so make sure he is absolutely straight in the approach and, as much as is possible over small fences, leaving the ground off two legs together. Using a placing rail and popping the jumps up a bit can help many horses figure out what you're trying to teach them.
 
TarrSteps said:
I agree that looking in the direction of travel helps the horse determine which lead to organise for but bear in mind the leg it lands on is NOT the leading leg, it's the other foreleg. Shifting too much weight in the direction of travel can have the the opposite effect. Also, this is a much harder thing to influence in the air over small jumps, where the horse is effectively stepping over in a big canter stride. Especially at that level much more influence comes from how the horse leaves the ground so make sure he is absolutely straight in the approach and, as much as is possible over small fences, leaving the ground off two legs together. Using a placing rail and popping the jumps up a bit can help many horses figure out what you're trying to teach them.
Click to expand...

That's interesting - so you're working on the theory of shifting your weight to one side pushes the foreleg on that side down first...? My reasoning for the effectiveness of that technique was due to horses being used to taking weight on the inside, s that if you tip a little weight to what you want to be the inside the horse's muscle memory kicks in enough to for them to land on the other leg and stride away with the correct lead.
 
I'm not promoting any theory at all. :) I think by the time horses are jumping they know enough about how they use their bodies to arrange them without conscious thought to get a desired result, so long as they are properly prepared to want to get that result.

I just quite often see people advocate very extreme leaning in the desired direction to 'make the horse land on the correct foreleg' in the belief that this is the leg that contacts the ground first. So rather like pushing someone to the right so they move their right leg and shift their weight on to it. This is obviously not the mechanical process at work so if a horse doesn't understand the request or is not in a position to comply, accentuating the weight shift will not improve the situation and may have the opposite effect.

I do think it is correct to weight the inside stirrup and turn in the direction of travel, although that does run the risk of making the horse land and turn, which is not the best if you're continuing in a straight line. I've generally found if the goal is to pick a lead on a straight line what you do off the ground is at least as important as what you do in the air, at least until the jump is quite large and the horse has lots of time to make plans.

Reluctance to land on one lead can be an early sign on discomfort in the the leading side in front, as the horse tries to land on the other leg. It's also quite a common sign of early hock pain as the horse comes off the ground unevenly. Of course, any unevenness will have the same effect.

'American hunter' trainers obsess about this stuff, landing on leads, lead changes etc. :)
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your replies.

Tarr Steps, he was doing this before his injury so it has nothing to do with that. In fact, yesterday I watched a video I have of me jumping him when I tried him and he favoured his left lead back then 5 years ago!
As I said, I am always conscious to keep him straight on the right rein and make sure his off hind is working correctly under him as he does like to swing his quarters around.

He also does it over larger fences so not just a small fence thing.

We usually have lessons regularly, but due to me being pregnant and not competing I've stopped having lessons. I've got a lovely new school at home so I'm enjoying having somewhere to play in and just wanted to use the time I have to try and correct a few little bad habits. I did some canter pole work today and he only changed legs twice so I think I will do lots of pole work and see how that translates to his jumping.
 
That's a very good idea - there are masses of exercises you can do with them and much easier when you're on your own than fiddling with jumps. You can then incorporate the poles into your jumping to set him up and help him make the right connections.
 
When I jumped him earlier this week it seems the more I look to the right to try and influence him landing on the correct lead, the more he tries to counter balance that and lands on the incorrect leg. It wasn't a successful session in that respect.

Interestingly I did some canter poles with him on the lunge today so I can see whats going on without my influence on top and he was constantly changing infront and behind, before, in the middle of and after the poles. He did do some nice balanced attempts but on the whole he found it tricky. Glad in a way to see its not just me interfering with him and causing him to be unbalanced, but I would really appreciate any further advice to help him/us along the way.

At the moment I will continue to keep up the pole work and hope that repetition will be the key to him understanding what he should be doing with his legs and help build up strength/fitness/balance at the same time?
 
I've always found as you go over the jump, opening the rein a little to the side of the leg you want to lead works for me.
 
I watched a demo on H+C tv, pro rider on a grade A and he said the horse only ever landed on one side, left I think and just accepted it. He said, and showed, that the horse was quick to do a flying change for dog legs etc.

Made me feel A LOT better as my horse also seems to favour a landing leg. Trouble is she can't do flying chanes yet either ;)
 
MadisonBelle said:
I watched a demo on H+C tv, pro rider on a grade A and he said the horse only ever landed on one side, left I think and just accepted it. He said, and showed, that the horse was quick to do a flying change for dog legs etc.

Made me feel A LOT better as my horse also seems to favour a landing leg. Trouble is she can't do flying chanes yet either ;)
Click to expand...

Not that uncommon in older horses and almost always has a subclinical physical cause or results from sloppy early training, but some go for years like that. Not ideal though as non leading leg is under more strain over the long term.

And yes, necessitates quick clean changes. :)
 
TarrSteps said:
Not that uncommon in older horses and almost always has a subclinical physical cause or results from sloppy early training, but some go for years like that. Not ideal though as non leading leg is under more strain over the long term.

And yes, necessitates quick clean changes. :)
Click to expand...

Hmm yes which mine can't do! I must admit it is a worry as mine goes disunited most of all so I have a physio coming out to mine to check her back/quarters etc.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top