Help needed for my loaner

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vikkiandmonica

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Hey all, I was just wondering if you could help me help my loaner :p

This girl is 13, and a nice, confident rider, who is loaning my 13.2hh mare Monica. Monica is a mint little jumper, never refuses and takes everything in her stride, however this includes adding in and taking out strides as she sees fit. I was jumping with loaner on the weekend, and, let's call her E, fell off twice. First time they were coming into a plank of about 3ft, E went forwards slightly early where Monica could have taken off, Monica chipped in an extra stride, completely threw E out the side door. E brushed herself off and got back on, did 2 other jumps, came round to the same jump again, I reminded her to sit back and stay with the movement, Monica took out a stride, and threw E out the side door, again.

Now, I never had this problem with Monica, nor do I with Wings who has a bloody powerful jump and often does throw me a little, but I normally can stay with them and release my reins and kind of, go with the movement and let them sort themselves out.

So... how would you go about helping E? I don't know if she's maybe, not releasing with the reins when it goes wrong, so when Monica is putting in/taking out a stride, E is being so flung because she is keeping a hold of her reins too much?

And some help for me. Wings is feeling the best he ever has, meaning when we jump, all this power is basculing him over the fences, but throwing me a little. I can stay with him and not get thrown massively, but I don't feel completely stable. I've seen pictures of me jumping, and my legs are staying underneath me and I am pushing my bum back and giving with my hands for him to stretch his neck, but I am still being overjumped because of the sheer power beneath me! How do you with powerful horses overcome this?

Pictures of the 2 of them (sorry for blurriness):

MonicawithEmma.png

Monica (jump about 3ft with spread)

Wingsjumping.png

Wings (jump about 1m with 1m spread)

Wingsjumping2.png

Wings (jump about 3ft)


Thanks! Any help would be greatly appreciated! :D
 
Rider needs to accurately predict her stride so she can be ready, and also influence the pony in a good way. Getting left behind and jumped off isn't good for either!
Use lots of pole work in lessons, both flat and before a jump. Once rider has got to grips with the pony's stride she'll find it easier to see if pony will shorten and chip in, or take a flyer. Don't underestimate work out of trot into even quite chunky fences, the leg and hand needed can really give both a boost.
Horses with that lovely powerful jump can be hard to get used to, try and move as little as possible and just relax into his movement. Saddles can make a big difference too, just because it says 'top saddle for jumping' doesn't mean it'll be perfect for you both. Gridwork will be a bonus too. Steady pace, low fences, lots of rebalancing work. He may learn its easy enough to clear the fences without wasting so much energy! Both nice beasties from what I can see, you should be proud.
 
I agree with above. Looks like rider needs to just relax in to the strides a little more. Make sure she's not tensing up - if she has had a few falls then the natural reaction would be to be a bit more wary of the fence next time round. Super little pony though!
 
Thanks you two, you both make very good suggestions.

duggan - will definitely go back to pole work and smaller fences until they are more together, at the minute E just lets Monica do it herself, meaning that E never really knows when Monica is going to take off. Will try the gridwork with Wings and moving less, thanks! I am very proud of my ponies, thanks! :D

Charlie123 - I'll watch her, next time she jumps and see if she tenses up. Thanks for the suggestion :D
 
not sure if it would work (for your loaner) but you could try putting the jump down lower (for confidence) and then taking her stirrups away so she has no choice to go with the movement, i find it really helps me but you have to have confidence to do it in the first place :)
 
Thanks lucyc, will try that with her. I find Monica has quite a nice jump to do with (I used to jump her bareback all the time haha), so she shouldn't be flung off or anything. Will try this when they next jump :D
 
I'd take the height down a bit until she builds up her confidence again. Also lots of pole work really helps.

Set canter poles out and get her to practice cantering between them in different numbers of strides - so first time round she counts how many strides the horse takes between poles, next time try and do it in one extra stride (to practice shorteing) and then the next time try to do it in one less to practice lenghtening. It really helps me and my pony!
 
How tall is she? She looks quite tall on her which could be making her balance more difficult when something goes wrong. :)

Other than that, take the height down if needed and work with placing poles before the jump I'd suggest.
 
Not very tall, well, not too tall for Monica I wouldn't say haha. I think she is quite top heavy though, so she looks slightly big on top. Will try smaller jumps and placing poles, thanks :D
 
I don't think it's a coincidence that she pops in a short one when the rider is tipping forward early, as it is putting the weight on her forehand so she can't take off from a long one. Once she sits up, the forehand lightens & so she does.

With this in mind, the rider knows if she sits up & doesn't anticipate the jump, then your (lovely) pony will go for the long one, & knowing this will help her to sit for it.

I learned to jump at a riding school, & they used to put a long (small) grid down one long side. You had stirrups taken away & had to let go of the reins over the first jump (tie knot in them first so they don't dangle), then go over the next 7 jumps holding your hands out to the sides, only taking up the reains after the last jump. Next time you'd put your hands on your should ers, then on your head. Not only teaches you a seat, but to wait for the jump to come to you rather than rushing into it. Also great fun!
 
pip6 said:
I don't think it's a coincidence that she pops in a short one when the rider is tipping forward early, as it is putting the weight on her forehand so she can't take off from a long one. Once she sits up, the forehand lightens & so she does.

With this in mind, the rider knows if she sits up & doesn't anticipate the jump, then your (lovely) pony will go for the long one, & knowing this will help her to sit for it.

I learned to jump at a riding school, & they used to put a long (small) grid down one long side. You had stirrups taken away & had to let go of the reins over the first jump (tie knot in them first so they don't dangle), then go over the next 7 jumps holding your hands out to the sides, only taking up the reains after the last jump. Next time you'd put your hands on your should ers, then on your head. Not only teaches you a seat, but to wait for the jump to come to you rather than rushing into it. Also great fun!
Click to expand...

You make a very good point about her tipping forwards!! I also did that sort of thing at the riding school where I learnt to ride, and it helped me, so will try it and see if it helps her too. Thanks for this advice :D
 
Loads of good advice already, but I thought of a couple more things.

Firstly, next time your loaner is schooling on the flat, suggest she concentrates on a bit of canter work. In particular, on getting a steady canter rhythm and maintaining it on turns, circles, loops etc. If she can make a balanced turn into the fence with a good rhythm then she has a better chance of coming in on a good stride.

Learning to balance and regulate the canter is obviously ongoing, so in the meantime I suggest trying canter poles, then raising the last pole to make a fence. This will help give her an idea of how a good approach should feel.

From here she could work up to trying some grid work, keeping the fences low at first. She should find a point above and beyond the line of fences to focus on and practise moving with her pony. Over time she will learn to feel the stride and respond to it: the trick is to recognise the sensation of the horse gathering for take-off. Then she will be much less likely to find herself in front of the movement or getting left behind.

A grid rather than a single fence will also remind pony of her job: jumping in a controlled way from a good rhythm rather than taking flying leaps at the jumps!

Once your loaner is more confident and balanced over fences, she can start to play a little with different striding. A good way to do this is with a double: starting with a normal distance then making slight alterations to the position of the second fence to give a shorter or longer stride. That way, your loaner can experience jumping off a short or long stride without having to generate it herself.

In the meantime she could be working on adjusting the canter stride on the flat. A fun exercise is to see how many strides she can fit into a 20m circle or down the long side, then how few strides. The aim is for her to be able to lengthen the canter then shorten it again without the pony rushing or falling into trot.

Once she can create a nice, balanced, adjustable canter, she could go back to jumping the fence in the pic you showed us. She should practice adjusting her line into the fence: trying shorter and longer approaches, turning a little earlier and a little later. This will help her learn to find a good line, and to discover which line will give a long stride and which will give a short one.

All of these things - regulating the canter rhythm, judging the take-off point, adjusting stride length, and finding a line - add up to ‘seeing a stride’. To some people this just comes naturally, and some horses will (and even prefer to) find their own way over fences, but it seems that this combination could do with a bit of structured help. Your loaner looks like a brave little rider and I’m sure they will be flying round courses before you know it!

I hope this helps, I always feel like I’m teaching granny to suck eggs when I talk about jumping, because so many people know much more than me! But I think it can be helpful to hear from someone to whom it doesn’t all come naturally, ‘cos I’ve experienced the same frustrations etc.
 
Thanks Steorra, you suggest very good exercises and advice, I will definitely put some of these techniques into practice when I next help her, and suggest she puts some of these exercises into her everyday riding/schooling :D
 
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