How do you practise jumping when riding on your own?

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kit279

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I know that sounds a bit weird but I usually ride with my OH so we take it in turns to put jumps up for each other. However this term he's lecturing when we normally ride so I'll be toute seule. So for anyone else that rides on their own, how do you manage?

Do you just put the jumps up and hope they stay up and ignore them if they fall down? Or do you hop on and off the horse and keep putting them up? I don't think I'll be able to hop on and off too easily as I am rather short and the nags are rather big..

Should I just build a grid or use single fences?

Any advice?
 
Hmm, build simple things quite small, and hope horse doesnt knock them down
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TBH I dont jump much on my own anymore cos it is a pain, but if I do work on small things and work on accuracy/approach etc instead of the actual jump?! Pole work is alot easier on your own than jumping I find!!
 
Theres just no easy way about it
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I just plonk a huge mounting block in the middle and try and just get really quick and nimble with getting on and off/changing fences. And horse learns to follow me about without me holding him!
 
If I'm on my own, I tend to put up a double and a few single fences, rather than grids. That way, if you knock one down, you have a few others to play with before having to jump off and put them all back up again. Do you have something you could use as a mounting block in the school? I put a big upturned bucket next to one of the jump stands and use that.
 
I put up all sorts: grids, courses, skinnies, arrow heads. If we knock them down I wait until she's knocked a few more down before I bother to get off and put them back up!!

But actually she's very careful so I don't have to get off much at all unless to put them up bigger.

Rosie'll just stand there on her own while I move things around - she's v well behaved about it all.
 
Quite simply you shouldn't be jumping on your own ! You just never know, if I need to practice and my OH isn't there I usually invite a friend to the yard for a coffee, once she's captured I then say would you wait whilst I do some jumping ? If she can't or I can't get anyone else to be there I just simply don't practice, nothing is that important that you need to risk jumping on your own.
I don't even think the top jumpers would practice with no one else on the yard. If someone is on the yard and able to see you lying amongst the jumps then this isn't too bad !
I know this may seem sensible but with age comes wisdom!! (and wrinkles, varicous veins, grey hair, knackered back etc.....)
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Last time I jumped alone I broke my neck
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Well, that is a bit dramatic, but technically I did, so no, unless I am jumping under 3ft3, no more alone jumping for me (especially as after I came off I put all the fences up to about 1.20/1.30 to prove a point to my horse and jumped them all, concussed, and I don't remember doing it...)
 
There isn't an easy way imo, when I was riding ponio I could get on and off easily, but tbs get too annoyed. I only jump at rallys, in lessons and comps mostly now but hopefully in the summer I'll bribe my little brother for help and I'll help him in return . . .I wish!
 
No no, the guy who owns the yard is always there (his office looks out over the school) so there's always someone watching incase I die.. But he's not horsey at all and I can't ask him to put up jumps for me - he's an ex-Formula 1 racer and we have a sweepstake going to see if he's actually the Stig.. Aside from that, I dare not ask him to do anything other than call 999 if I fall off.
 
Totally agree with CC and MS, you really shouldn't be jumping alone, I have heard so many horror stories of people getting injured and even paralysed from doing this. Therefore stick to being sensible and have someone on the ground, watching you. Much easier if you knock the poles down. I won't even jump a x pole alone.... you never know whats round the next corner...........
 
I always jump on my own, usually ride on my own as my sisters horse is out of work, i jus get off when my horse knocks a fence down, its a pain, but its good because I know what height of jumps i can manage from looking at them at the ground, i usually think they are huge and i cant jump them when im walking the course, if u get my idea!
i do agree that it is dangerous, but there is always someone at the house if need be, and i always have my phone on me!
 
i won't jump alone now. quite apart from the risk, one tends to ride differently to try to help the horse not to hit the fence (so you don't have to stop, get off, and put it up), and that's confusing to the horse. when practising at home you need to ride positively and teach the horse to protect himself, rather than inadvertently trying to help him.
can't you find someone else on the yard or something who you could help, and vice-versa? most jumping sessions only take 15-20 mins. or i'd bribe someone to help!
 
Alas, we're the only 2 people on the yard - which is really nice but I think he only lets us stay there so he can chat to my OH about his cars... Ah well, maybe I can just nag the OH to get up early to help me out... (There's laughter in my head but let's think positive here.)
 
Trained mine to stand by the jump while I fiddle, we are in a field so occaisional snack is also stolen. Its not ideal though, mostly cos I can't add anything scary cos he has seen me put it there. He is very good at not knocking stuff down though.
 
i had this problem today.. me and friends said i'd stay on the ground while the other two jumped, and then swap so they could do jumps for me... they rode, then had to go and tack up for polo!
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I was on my own and had to get off 3 times just from him knocking it over
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got fed up in the end as he wasnt concentrating- so whacked it up about a foot and a half, hurled him over it a few times and then finished
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i'm a bit inconsistent..
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sorry got a bit carried away... i say put up several separately, then it doesn't matter if you knock one down
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i find that if he knocks it down or i want to put it up, by the time i've got off, struggled back on (16.3 no mounting block!!) he's lost his concentration.
 
I agree that it's not sensible to jump alone. But I rent a field - not at a yard. I'm single, most friends have horses but elsewhere and they're busy people.

I have no interested family members either who'd want to, or have the time to stand with me every time I rode.

I've had equally horrid falls out hacking or doing flat work, which again I do on my own.

So if I needed my hand held for all of this - I'd have to give up riding altogether
 
On my own i just put up very small jumps that i know they wont knock down and work on balance and rythem into the jump and around the course rather than the actually jump itsself
 
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I think Weezy is the stig (and mad for putting the fences upto 1.30 after falling off LOL)
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How did you guess
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madgirl, it isn't all that secret, but my brother in law knows him well.
 
I jump alone all the time, as I don't have much choice. I always make sure someone is home, so I would eventually be found! I also make sure I have a mobile on me (which saved me last time, as after jumping I got tangled in the gate leaving the arena and had to be rescued....)

Anyway I've generally got 9 jumping efforts often set at a generic range of 90cm to 1.10m so I don't have to get off.

When Peer is in one of his moods I can get on and off up to 10 times and do get pretty peed off. I use the side of the arena to get on and off. I'd kill for someone to put up poles *sighs*
 
chestnutcob i understand where you are coming from with the you shouldn't jump on your own. my point is that is all very well if you are on a livery yard etc but i have my horses at home and no one else is horsey so i have no choice but to jumpschool my horses on my owns as i can't affoard to not give them a jump and also couldn't afoard to get lessons or hire school for more than one horse as i jump 3 horses bsja. however i don't often jump overly big at home and they seldomly knock anything down
 
I jump on my own, but luckily for me the horse doesn't seem to touch many
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If I use the plastic wings with the set cups I can lean down and put the jumps up without having to get off too. Pony is very good when I am setting up and taking down and will either stand where I leave him, or follow me like a puppy - very cute.
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I agree that it's not sensible to jump alone. But I rent a field - not at a yard. I'm single, most friends have horses but elsewhere and they're busy people.

I have no interested family members either who'd want to, or have the time to stand with me every time I rode.

I've had equally horrid falls out hacking or doing flat work, which again I do on my own.

So if I needed my hand held for all of this - I'd have to give up riding altogether

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I think these points are very well made. It is easy for people with a choice to make sweeping statements about what you should and shouldn't do alone (like go to competitions, which is another example). Those of us who don't have that choice have a different one: pursue our chosen hobby/job/both or don't. I believe we are perfectly entitled to do as we wish - personally I take precautions as best I can in that I DON'T jump real babies by myself, I TEND not to test my limits in terms of size (although I have to push myself sometimes otherwise I fall into that trap of being very comfortable at a certain height but wobbly when the fences go up
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), I ALWAYS have my mobile phone in my pocket and I HOPE (but can't guarantee) that someone is in the house, which has no view of the arena, when I'm jumping. Beyond these measures, I take my chances just as I would out hacking (I find hacking youngsters in traffic far more risky
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), in a car etc. As you can tell, I find the attitude of those who would tell me what I should and shouldn't do in this respect rather annoying
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As far as tips for OP are concerned, I don't do grid work as you should be building up gradually and this is a pain on your own. I put up a double, one or two strides, upright + oxer, which means you can jump both fences on the angle as well as together. Then a couple of single fences which you can jump alone or in conjunction with one or other element of the double on a related distance - one of these might be a skinny or corner. And that's about it
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Thank you TableDancer

I made the decision long ago that if I wanted to actually do the stuff of my dreams - it was no good waiting around for other people to do it with me.
 
In an ideal world nobody would jump alone......meanwhile at my yard....i will tend to put 3 or 4 fences out around the school. Perhaps two will form a double, and i'll usually build them all so they can be jumped in either direction. That way i can create a few different courses by linking up the fences in different ways. Invariably i'll start with a small'ish upright and a small'ish oxer which i'll jump both ways a few times. Then i'll hop off and whack them both up a bit to match the height of the remaining fences. I'll jump a few lines and then probably raise all the fences one last time.

I have mastered the art of mounting from the fence at the side of the school as well as the mounting block....and fortunately have two VERY careful SJ'ers (Trike has had 3 fences down in 2 years...including at home and in the warm-up
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) so it's not a huge issue. I do tend to build the height up quicker than if i had someone on the ground helping though...perhaps 4 holes at a time instead of 2
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