how can I get my horse to stand off ??

[nikkinoo]

Hi any help greatly appreciated,
My horse likes to go in really deep at a fence, she will clear it (we are currently only doing 2'6) but it is not the most comfortable of jumps and sometimes Im worried of jabbing her in the mouth, as im not "going with her" if you know what i mean
when I ask her to take off she just doesnt listen and thats when she can put in a stop.
so I have found that it is easier to just let her jump it on her own stride. Even if it is a bit close

Do you think has she just lost a bit of confidence in me as i havent been "with her" every time going over a fence?

Im going to go back to doing grid work with her what distances would you set them at?

 

[fornema]

I would put a placing pole down but put it about half a metre away from the jump and she should give it a bit more space

 

[Cash]

Oooh I had the same prob with my old horse!! He used to get in very deep.
I spent a lot of time working on it with my instructor- the main thing i found helped was getting a really regular, steady (but powerful and energetic) bouncy canter into the fence. If the canter is flat or rushed it's easier for her to surprise you with an extra little stride.
For grids, I normally did 3, 4 or even 5 jumps (used up all the wings

) and made each distance different- EG first jump, one stride to second jump, a bounce to third jump, and then two strides to the fourth? Hopefully that way by keeping her 'guessing', she has to really think as each jump comes up fairly quickly so she has no time to get deep.
Sorry if that makes no sense, it did in my head

 

[teddyt]

Some horses get in deep for one or several of the following reasons-
1) They are not supple enough to jump bigger
2) They are not able enough to jump bigger
3) They have a weakness/injury/disease (e.g. arthritis) that makes jumping bigger uncomfortable
4) They have been pulled in the mouth before so have learned that jumping bigger gets a yank
5) The ground is hard

I would do lots of small jumps, grids and placing poles (distance depends on size of horse/size of jump/speed/stride length - so cant recomend without knowing this) and wear a neck strap. Make sure the neck strap is long enough that you dont have to adjust your hands to grab hold of it. Have a lesson with someone to help you set the distances and give you some tips.