Horse has a large jump...how do I control it? Should I go 'up' a class

A

Agent XXX999

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 October 2006
Messages
5,082
Visit site
Hi

I am facing a bit of a dilema with Bruce and his jumping.

He is still quite green with regards to his competition experience....so I am trying to get him out and jumping around courses. Last winter I jumped him BN/Discovery, then didnt do anything all summer because of lack of transport.

In my lessons I have been jumping 1.20 courses and 1.30 grids. I have been trying to keep him up and together and jump technical things (doubles, combinations etc) I now have him much more 'together'. I have also been working on strenghening him in canter. as he can still be quite wobbly.

This is a photo of us in the 1m yesterday

061.jpg



Which is the first time he was out for 6 months. He went clear but I had a 'navigational error' going in to jump 7.....

Anyway - my question is this.

Do you think I should get out and jump bigger classes to make him 'think' a little more, and not leap over everything? I find it really hard when he jumps everything like it is 1.50 and we both seem to go better over bigger jumps....my position goes quite squif when he leaps like he does...

And...

Any way I can stop him giving everything quite so much room?

Also, I dont want to break his boldness but I want to teach him that he does not have to make quite so much of an effort over 1m jumps?
frown.gif
crazy.gif
 
How old is he?
In my opinion it doesn't always mean that a horse should jump bigger just because they are giving the jumps lots of room. Young green horses often jump like this and need to be taught how to jump the jump the height it is. Jumping jumps bigger can often mean that they are scared of hitting them which isn't alway a bad thing but they need to learn to be a tad more conservative with their efforts. If the horse is still quite young I would continue with the height you are jumping until the horse learns to not leap and you have a more controlled and balanced canter. I would imagine that he leaps because the canter is unbalanced resulting in the horse clearing the jump as opposed to the horse jumping big because it needs to jump bigger. Hope this helps a little.
 
cant help with your jumping question but did want to say we were spectating at MW yesterday and your lad is lovely, my OH kept commenting on the amount of room he gave the jumps, he was flying..
 
Wow what a jump but I wouldn't go up a level yet.

I would make sure that you are confident and jumping consistent smooth clears at 1m. Don't worry about the huge jump, enjoy it!

He may settle with a few rounds under his belt when he realises he doesn't have to make such an effort. At least you know he's got the scope though!

If you try jumping the bigger classes before your more established between the jumps you may find that you frighten the horse and lose his confidence. If you go into a bigger class might mean that he tries to jump even bigger.

Good luck, he looks super!
laugh.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
cant help with your jumping question but did want to say we were spectating at MW yesterday and your lad is lovely, my OH kept commenting on the amount of room he gave the jumps, he was flying..

[/ QUOTE ]


Ahhht thank you though I am slightly embarrased as it wasnt one of our better rounds!
grin.gif
 
He doesn't leap like that in lessons because he knows the jumps and they hold no fear for him. It's the strange fences which might contain crocodiles he wants to give some air to. I would concur with everyone else. A bit more match practice over courses he's comfortable with till steering & canter are sorted would be my inclination. There's no rush to jump bigger.
 
I'm with half pass. Also, have you tried putting placing poles on the landing side to help him land a little bit steeper? He then won't want to balloon over them. You can do it through grids too. Might be worth a go?
 
My horse used to jump just like this and I know how it feels to be flying over the top of the wings in a relatively small class. BUT she was not a natural jumper when she first learnt (not saying yours isn't) and this was definitely due to being green and unsure. She has pretty much stopped doing it now - apart from the occasional horse eating jump we come across. Definitely keep taking him out and about for confidence building rounds at that height until he feels more comfortable,
 
I agree stick to the height you are doing. At the moment if he does a big jump and it gets him into trouble he has the scope to get out of it. My little SJ was just the same when we started. At one show he even jumped a 5' wing. Would it be possible to hire a school with bright jumps and have a lesson there? Otherwise just get out as much as possible and the novelty should start to wear off. I think I'd be exited at being out jumping for the first time in 6 months too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top