I can't ride my horse's jump!!

DappleGreyDaydreamer

DappleGreyDaydreamer

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I have a lovely Connemara who is my first horse, and lucky for me we both love jumping immensely! Unfortunately though, his jump is so powerful that I am really struggling to stay on, and as a result I'm riding horrible and yanking him in the mouth on landing most fences. I feel really bad for him, as he's so enthusiastic and I can't really jump him that much as I'm afraid of hurting his mouth :( Any tips on how to ride his powerful jump would be very helpful! As you'll hopefully be able to see by my pictures, he tends to jump very big over very small fences (the cross pole here was 60cm, the vertical 70) and it feels to me like he takes a stride out, although looking back at videos he doesn't, I just sit to the jump horribly.

It's frustrating, because I have a very secure half-seat in all paces, and I used to jump my previous loan horse much bigger, bareback with no problems at all. But he was a cob X, and the transition is proving tricky for me I think. Pity, because my little connie is such a superstar that I think he could do some seriously impressive jumping if I could only figure out how to ride him! Advice much appreciated, and I hope you've had a good Christmas (if you celebrate) :D

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Neck strap is your best friend!! Soft hands allow the reins to slide with a couple of fingers under your neck strap :)

Pony is unhurt & you are secure!
 
Put stirrups as high as they can go, ride in 2-point jockey position with bridged reins in all paces until comfortable. Then on a large circle staying in the jockey position with bridge reins start popping a jump keep going until comfortable. Will soon teach you to balance the jump when going back to 'normal'.
 
Ditto neck straps - even in Shortstuff's exercise above - gives you something to grab that isn't his mouth! (A martingale or breastplate strap - or a monkey handle on the saddle - will do the same).

Also ditto the recommendation to get an instructor. One thing I see a lot of, especially with young folk on their first horse, is that they tend to develop a rather forward leg position in defense to the increased speed and larger jump. If that becomes a habit it is a pain to break later. Better to spot it and fix it earlier!

Sitting a large jump comes with experience and practice. Well done you for being aware of the need to stay off his mouth and seeking help to fix it rather than frightening yourself. You'll get there - knowing something is wrong is the first step.
 
practice, practice, practice.
Like the others have said, use a neck strap or grab hold of a chunk of mane to stop yourself accidentally yanking your pony in the mouth when you get unseated.

I've been there - my big guy is so powerful behind, it used to feel like I was getting sent into orbit (t's normal now but he does occasionally surprise me by throwing a massive jump over the odd fence). ;)

By the sounds of it, you're getting left
behind slightly or you're slightly behind the movement...?
I would maybe go back to doing one fence with a pole in front of it so you can concentrate on going with the movement and softening your hands on landing. Just until you get used to the feeling.
 
Thank you all for your help! And thank you especially to the person who fixed my picture :D

I have some Christmas money from my family now so I will be buying a jumping lesson after the Christmas holidays are over - my yard has an instructor who has ridden in Badminton, so I'm very excited for that! In the meantime I've bought some new boots for my boy, as he can sometimes take a stride out and whack his back legs into the jump which makes me cringe so much, and I have fashioned a neck strap from an old pair of reins which I will be putting on when I jump tomorrow.

The photo posted is actually one of his calmer jumps, often he'll jump more than twice the height I set up, which is why I'm reluctant to go too high! I ride so horribly that I would probably just go flying haha

I've been doing a lot of work on my position recently, and I think the jockey-stirrups idea will help me a lot with strengthening my legs. After I stopped loaning my cob, I didn't ride for a good 6 months while I searched for my new boy, and I've lost quite a bit of my stamina. I've had Willow now for 5 months and so far we've stopped him tossing his head and got him more enthusiastic about flatwork, thus my previously abysmal canter seat has improved no end (although I still don't like how it looks on video tape) and his spooking out hacking is so much better! Jumping will be our next thing, thanks for some good advice :D
 
Echo lessons :-) Also two things: you look like you're fixing your hands on his neck / leaning on them. It's easily done, esp if you fold forward more than you need to. Try to work on letting your shoulders stay back, tummy forward and arms soft to follow his head. The other thing is really really make sure you have a nice big forward canter (get instructor to help you) as it's really tempting to keep the canter small when the jump launches you around... but horses with a powerful jump are harder to sit when they jump out of an underpowered canter, cus they sort of launch to make up for the lack of power. A bigger canter makes the jumping much easier for them and they tend to be much less "ejector seat"!!!
 
philamena said:
Echo lessons :-) Also two things: you look like you're fixing your hands on his neck / leaning on them. It's easily done, esp if you fold forward more than you need to. Try to work on letting your shoulders stay back, tummy forward and arms soft to follow his head. The other thing is really really make sure you have a nice big forward canter (get instructor to help you) as it's really tempting to keep the canter small when the jump launches you around... but horses with a powerful jump are harder to sit when they jump out of an underpowered canter, cus they sort of launch to make up for the lack of power. A bigger canter makes the jumping much easier for them and they tend to be much less "ejector seat"!!!
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That's some really fantastic advice, thank you :D I know I don't have a great jumping position, it's always been a bit insecure as I haven't had any lessons in about 2 years, so I have a lot to improve on. With him jumping how he is now, I'm just focusing on staying on haha not so much my position!
I believe you about the forward canter, because we've really sussed out polework and in doing canter poles, he trips over them or falls back into trot unless I really get him going into a massive canter.
 
Also some general balance work might help! You can work on your jumping seat in all paces, and doing transitions too, even out hacking! Do you ever do anything with no stirrups? Probably best to do that with an instructor but it's certainly good for strength. I reckon you could have shorter stirrups too! Lovely pony :)
 
Firstly hike your stirrups up - they're too long in that picture and that won't be helping you feel stable and secure over a fence. As others have said, grab onto a neck strap or a piece of mane to stop jabbing him in the mouth. Also, think about folding from the hip instead of just leaning forwards. This will keep your centre of gravity low and help stop your lower leg moving back, again making you more secure. I'm sure an instructor will give you some good exercises too.
 
You could look up George Morris jumping clinics/critics. He talks a lot about rider position and particularly how to do a rein release. Basically you grab a bit of mane mid neck and lean your hands on the neck.

Here are some examples:
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/jumping-clinic-george-morris-26976
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/art...rseman-magazine-a-tight-effective-rider-11526

You would stay more above the saddle and slightly dip your back as you go above the jump, you don't really need to alter your position above the saddle while going above the jump which is particularly handy if you are not sure from which stride the horse is going to jump (just need to get into 2 points a few strides before, grab some mane and hollow your back as horse takes off). I should say I am in no way an expert at jumping but it helped me when I was taking a few jumping lessons (years ago now!), we would practice this 2 points positions in all gaits on the flat first and when it felt steady through the 3 gaits and transitions it helped with the jumping.
 
Excellent advice above. I'd also suggest jumping lessons on other horses, if you can afford it - they all jump differently, and the more experience of different horses and jumping styles you have, the easier it becomes to adapt.
 
asterope said:
I've never heard this advice before - I've always been told that a hollowed/arched back when jumping isn't correct!
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Hollowing your back will help you stay over the horse's center of gravity and close to the saddle without leaning forward (and thus unbalancing the horse), but there are several styles of jumping, this is the American style and I think it is quite neat and tidy for SJ but possibly not as efficient if you are hunting for example.

Here are some more commentaries from George Morris about jumping positions of high level riders:
http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2015/03/showjumping-style-with-george-morris/
 
I have a similar problem. Am getting there but still don't feel 100% confident with him yet. He is a 14.2 cob x but with a huge powerful back end. I find grids work helpful, lessons and practicing as much as possible even if it is just over one fence. Fence on a circle a good idea. I use a neck strap if unsure and have spent a long time working on the canter and getting it stronger so get a smoother jump x
Good luck with yours he looks lovely x
 
Jumped the mister again today :) Same heights, to keep it in my comfort zone, and I think my position has improved slightly. Only jumped it a few times, and I felt a lot more secure (thanks to all your fabulous advice!!)

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Willow seems to have realised that I'm not coping with the enormous PING of his, and he's dialing it down a bit - thank goodness! Still definitely enjoying himself jumping, but listening to me asking him to slow down a bit more now haha

Unfortunately, I learned today why we always head for the middle of a cross fence and failed at life..

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Luckily though, my instructor is back from her holiday soon and I have enough Christmas money to buy a couple jumping lessons; definitely need some help over here!
 
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