how do you get the confidence to jump big jumps??

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skye123

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just wondering how people can jump 3ft9 jumps without even thinking about it
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i trust my mare and we jump 2ft9 happily and she could do a lot bigger easily but any bigger and i just start to have a little niggle in the back of my mind
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think its because i had some bad falls last year off another horse and my old pony used to jump 3ft and then the next day refuse at a 2ft fence
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so just wonder how you do it?? (soz if this post doesnt make that much sense
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thanks
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In one word PICKLE!

I wasnt very good at jumping, and lacked confidence then I got pickle who I completely trusted, we gradually gained confidence and combined with a great instructor we do really well

How you lost your confidence is exactly how my last weeks without pickle have been, been riding another horse who can jump the same jump over and over again then refuse on the 10th time!

Just build up gradually
 
Id jump anything on my horse, because i trust him so much! It's taken me 5 years to be confident enough to start jumping 3'3 unaffiliated courses! I wouldn't jump a cross pole on any other horse!
 
You need to stick to your comfort zone and build up gradually when YOU are ready. Who cares what height you are jumping, so long as you are happy and enjoying your riding then do what makes you happy
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You get the confidence by jumping loads of little fences and then it just comes naturally the will to jump bigger
 
Agree it's not about the height of the fence, so stick at the best height for you and the horse. No point struggling over big fences when schooling. Slowly as you get better and more confident 3ft will look smaller and smaller... The way I see it when I'm jumping is the horse can jump it, other wise I wouldn't be asking him to, a horse simply has to lift its legs to be jumping 3'9ft * Even most ponies can jump 4ft* So its about driving him and telling him you are confident that this fence is to be jumped, he thinks ok if you are confident it can be jumped I'll trust you, if you don't ride it propely a horse will stop because he thinks hes doing you both a favour by not jumping the big scary fence you were worrid about. Most refusals and run outs are rider faults. Well thats how i see it anyhow.
 
yeah we are building it up gradually

i used to freak out at jumping a 2ft3 course but thanks to skye i am now jumping those happily and am aiming to do a 2ft6 course in a couple of weeks and would love to do a 2ft9 course by the end of the summer
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we can both do it easy but i just seem to have a mental block lol
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ive always had the confidence to jump 'big' jumps since i was little. I think its partly to do with how 'crazy' (lol) you are and also how much confidence you have in yourself. I was lucky to have a pony that would jump anything so i just didnt think about jumping him 4ft, every jump was kind of the same. I definitely agree that you will build confidence, and also that a 'big' jump too some is tiny to others-it just depends on yourself. You'll get there though if you want to!!
 
I shut my eyes!
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Only jump at a height which you trust your horse at...dont overface yourself or the horse...

Hence why I stick to lower these days!
 
When i was 16, i was jumping 5ft at home (albeit i had on loan a 17.2 WB) but as the years have passed, and not so many, i have realised that MY comfort zone at competitions in no more than 3'6 although i have competed 3'9ft at weston lawns un affiliated. I have so much trust in flint to jump it but i have found my self losing confidence as the time passes and the 3'3 mark feels right. No nerves, no butterflies, no ifs and buts. When i am at home, i gradualy knock it up a hole or 2, then another, to the point where i do nt notice the height and aslong as i set him right for it, he will clear it. He only ever stops if i place hm wrong and think NOOO whats in the brains goes down the reins. There are many people on my yard that in time wil be jumping 1.20 tracks, but it's not for me anymore. Been there done it and to be honest if you find a comfort zone and dont have the ambition or will to go higher..DONT! Be happy with the place that you have found. Hope that has made sense and i have not rambled on
 
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When i was 16, i was jumping 5ft at home (albeit i had on loan a 17.2 WB) but as the years have passed, and not so many, i have realised that MY comfort zone at competitions in no more than 3'6 although i have competed 3'9ft at weston lawns un affiliated. I have so much trust in flint to jump it but i have found my self losing confidence as the time passes and the 3'3 mark feels right. No nerves, no butterflies, no ifs and buts. When i am at home, i gradualy knock it up a hole or 2, then another, to the point where i do nt notice the height and aslong as i set him right for it, he will clear it. He only ever stops if i place hm wrong and think NOOO whats in the brains goes down the reins. There are many people on my yard that in time wil be jumping 1.20 tracks, but it's not for me anymore. Been there done it and to be honest if you find a comfort zone and dont have the ambition or will to go higher..DONT! Be happy with the place that you have found. Hope that has made sense and i have not rambled on

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Yipee u used my line "whatss in the brains goes down the reins" xx
I have total confidence in my horse to jump big he was popping 4`3 tonight with ease but i think the more important hting is you stick with what you are comfortable with get things right every time then maybe go higher then you will not even notice you are doing it but if you try to go higher when you not getting the smaller stuff right evrytime this is when things go wrong and confidence gets knocked when is doent need to be like that!
 
i used to ride a horse that i would jump 5` 5" without thinking because i trusted him completly, but i haven`t found another horse since then (11 yrs ago) that i would feel confident enough to go that high again, 4` is about my maximum for most horses i ride these days TBH
 
It's an interesting question. I used to be very nervous jumping anything over 80cms. After TFT, my comfort zone expanded and I was happy jumping 1.20m, but recently I've regressed and am uncomfortable again jumping more than 1m...
Tis very odd. Horses are just as genuine and good and willing jumpers as always...
 
First & foremost the rider really has to want to jump big fences. Whether that is because they want to compete at that height or not. If you dont feel comfy with it, then I think you shouldn't be pressured into anything outside your comfort zone. It will either slowly increase with confidence or it wont. Either way it doesnt matter providing you are enjoying what you are doing.
 
I haven't read the others but I will jump out of my comfort zone during a good grid work session with a good instructor.
When I get off and see what I have been effortlessly jumping I feel much more confident.
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i think its about jumping in your comfort zone till your SO confident about it a extra hole up doesnt seems a big difference, and it builds up from there.

Ie, if your scared of a trotting pole (as i now am!) make yourself trot over one every day for a week - by the end of the week its not such a big thing, do the same with a diddy cross pole, when thats a no-brainer confidence wise try a little striaght bar, etc etc etc

but you have to WANT to do it!
 
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