Help... Pony takes off too far away from jumps...

H

horsegirl101

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4 January 2013
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www.ponygalaxy.com
Hi
My pony takes off too far away from jumps, and often tends to do the 'holy *******' distance. He has always done it, but it has not been driven home to me how bad that is until we had a bad fall - he crashed right through the fence and fell and nearly rolled on me... And went lame.
He is also strong, and will not shorten or lengthen his stride on command, so I cannot do anything about it...
Help...?
 
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I think you answered your own question really- you need to school the canter so you can adjust it and give up any idea of jumping until that is established.
Pole work is a good idea in order to regulate the rhythm and to calm him down about the approach
 
Try not to focus on shortening the canter, focus on creating a rhythm which you can keep consistent. Concentrate on influencing this through your seat (sitting into the canter rather than in a jumping position) and core muscles rather than your hands, using your hands for quiet half halts but not to pull and hold. You will probably find he breaks out of canter first, find the blanace point between the 2. Once your have established this rhythm and balance, you will find it easier to adjust the canter.

Once you have this, working with place poles may hep your pony to find the right take off point.

A good instructor would be very useful here. This is not a problem which can be solved overnight
 
Canter poles, grid work and a good SJ instructor. My youngster used to take flyers as well and wasn't scopey enough to make the height, we had a big crash like yours, I even ended up with paint off the poles on my hat which was scary! Grid work helped him no end, it also helped me to judge a distance better. :)
 
Thanks for all these replies...
He has had a bit of time off because he went lame after the fall, but I have brought him back into work, and am getting him fit... We will work on it (if the weather dries up a bit... I havent got a manege :( )
 
Your pony seems to like the long spot when taking off for jumps, and it sounds like you really need an instructor to help you with correcting this. There are several flatwork and jumping exercises that help with shortening the canter, and/or correcting the long take off, but it is too involved to discuss on a forum. Not only that, none of us have seen your pony jump, so an added complication.

If you have the funds, get a good jump instructor to help you with this.
 
Good luck! I am sure you will improve with some schooling (as stated above) and regular lessons. A showjumper needs to be adjustable in rhythm and especially in canter. Some gridwork may also help you and your pony adjust your strides and get used to the correct position for takeoff/seeing a stride. Related distances, polework etc will help you too. There are loads of books and advice sites online for a common issue like this, although an instructor to see exactly what your horse in particular may need work on, is invaluable.

If I could afford it I would have lessons all the time!
 
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