Horse cat leaping on approach to SJ and XC fences

[km2327]

Hi there, just wanting some advice re my horse who has begun to cat leap, snatching the reins out of my hands on approach to both SJ and XC fences, he does this both at home and competing SJ but only training XC so far.

I have tried stopping him before the fence while schooling and while this worked for a bit he has reverted back to this and appears to anticipate the preparation for halt, making him now leap more.

He was in a snaffle but have played around with a Waterford and now a neue scheule universal with Mexican (so the curb strap can fit) but he can still leap.

I am only jumping small - no bigger than 1m at the moment due to this.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[TarrSteps]

Have you had a session with a good trainer? It sounds like anxiety but impossible to say the source without seeing. Pulling him up may have produced a short term improvement but if he's rushing to get to the fence it's likely to make him more anxious in the long run.

What have you tried? Grids/poles? Jumps on a circle?

 

[smja]

What does he do once he's snatched the reins? Does he speed up or just continue? When did he start doing this/what was he like before?

Try jumping with almost no contact, riding from the seat. If you have a martingale on, take it off - some horses can 'test' the martingale and are better without. Think about keeping the same canter throughout, and completely ignore his snatching. Make sure your hands stay down and still, but giving and soft.

An instructor might be able to give you more insight, as they'd be able to see what's happening. Good luck