Horse getting strong into fences

[santas_spotty_pony]

Think sideways, wanting to turn at an able strong! She’s enjoying it a bit too much, and I’m doing grid work which does help. She’s just her heavy in the hand and grabs the bit on landing.

I haven’t lost control but it’s borderline at times. I realise I need to do more schooling on the flat to get her lighter but any ideas on some good flatwork and pole work exercises I can incorporate to get her really sitting back and waiting?

The mare is 15 but very green. She’s meant to have not done a lot but the feeling she is giving on me to a fence is that she has jumped before…! Anyone have a youngster/green horse that rides up to the contact to a fence straight away? Because I’ve never found one that does before.

 

[SOS]

I am of the opinion that horses that really rush fences actually are rarely enjoying the experience. Instead they are often running from inexperience, panic or pain.

Is she strong enough to sit back and wait? Or could this or the act of jumping be causing her pain? Does she rush when loose schooled?

Others can advise better on how to school the horse if all of the above is okay.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

Yes all of the above is fine, yes she is strong enough to sit and wait which is my reasoning of thinking she’s done it before - I’ve never ridden a green horse that’s not jumped that can sit and wait. They just don’t have the muscle and experience to do that.

On the lunge she shakes her head with excitement and at the very beginning when I first lunged her we had a few rodeos after the fence!

Yes horses can get excited when jumping - some do just generally love it, it isn’t always down to a problem. I’m treating her as a young horse anyway because I don’t know any of her ridden history and have been told she has done nothing. I am talking about doing two ground poles with three strides in between here - second one raised to a small cross pole so can barely even call it jumping.

 

[TheChestnutThing]

Yes all of the above is fine, yes she is strong enough to sit and wait which is my reasoning of thinking she’s done it before - I’ve never ridden a green horse that’s not jumped that can sit and wait. They just don’t have the muscle and experience to do that.

On the lunge she shakes her head with excitement and at the very beginning when I first lunged her we had a few rodeos after the fence!

Yes horses can get excited when jumping - some do just generally love it, it isn’t always down to a problem. I’m treating her as a young horse anyway because I don’t know any of her ridden history and have been told she has done nothing. I am talking about doing two ground poles with three strides in between here - second one raised to a small cross pole so can barely even call it jumping.

I have this.

My instructor is making me go back to basics and jump bigger fences out of a trot.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I have this.

My instructor is making me go back to basics and jump bigger fences out of a trot.

Same here. I just started lessons with a proper SJ coach.
My cob has hurled himself at cross poles and gets stronger and faster every time.
She explained to me that this is due to him being inexperienced and anxious rather than enjoying himself.
So we're starting from the basics, poles on the floor , trotting over like 30 cm cross poles. It's all about me keeping the rhythm and him working out where to put his legs.

 

[Red-1]

With one that rushes, I come at trot over small fences and halt very soon after. If the horse is really screwed up, I may start over a ground pole to get the exercise going well. The halt is about doing it smoothly and obediently. Amazing how quickly they learn not to rush when they know a halt will need to be done straight after. Then I work on their confidence with the smaller fences.

Once they will do this well in trot, I would progress to canter: in canter I will initially revert back to a pole on the floor, canter it and then halt. The halt can be progressive, but always before the corner, so always in a straight line. Once they will halt in a mannerly fashion after cantering a pole, then we may pop some fences. Once they can come to a disciplined, smooth halt, before the corner, then I find the approach has sorted itself out, generally.

I find that fighting them in front of the fence is counter productive.

Sometimes I will canter a circle in front of the fence, so at one point they could line up and jump it, but I keep looking on the circle and do this until they ignore the fence and canter a decent circle. Then, we may jump the fence, and progressively halt before the corner. Once they offer to come back to hand, I may allow them to canter round the corner. We could then link fences to provide a course, but always cantering a circle before the fence until they are listening, pop the fence when all is settled, if they offer to stop then we continue, of they are strong, we halt.

 

[greenbean10]

Are you only jumping at home? My horse rushes when we jump at home. He is comfortable there and the jumps are boring! If you took her out somewhere different you may find she backs off a bit? Or make the jumps look a little more 'filled' with an extra pole or two. May be worth trying!

 

[littleshetland]

When I used to jump, many decades ago now, a quite well known german trainer told me to approach fences in walk, then ask for the jump from walk - I never did this myself but saw some others doing it - it did seem to work! And do a lot of flatwork schooling in an arena with jumps 'set up' - this lowers their 'excitement' levels too.

 

[WelshD]

With my pony we used poles before and after the fence and also a single fence followed by two others - one to the left and one to the right so when you landed you went one way or the other and the pony learned to get his head up and pay some attention as he wasn't sure which way you would go.

I have to say though the root cause of his issues was ulcers and it appeared that jumping caused him some pain, when he became strong the rider tended to hold on a bit too which in turn bought his head up and made him jump hollow and that didn't help either! I echo what someone else above has said and would try to see if there is a reason other than excitement that can be causing the rushing as an outsider looking at my pony would almost certainly have said that he was hyped up and not unhappy

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

Are you only jumping at home? My horse rushes when we jump at home. He is comfortable there and the jumps are boring! If you took her out somewhere different you may find she backs off a bit? Or make the jumps look a little more 'filled' with an extra pole or two. May be worth trying!

Great idea except I don’t have transport so can’t get her out. I will think about making the jumps look more interesting though!