jumping advice please???

[Ruthyasquith]

I have a 15.2hh horse I have had for 7 years and in this time I've done local showing, some british eventing and local cross country competitions. I am at uni at the moment so my I am sharing my horse with a novice young lass and a more experienced young lad.

The problem I'm having is my horse jumps really well for the young people riding him, he helps them out and pops in extra strides for them and never refuses. Yet when I get on if I'm not riding forward into every fence he literally just stops!

Today he was going really well until I got to fence 9 and I couldn't see a perfect stride so I didn't really push on I didn't sit still but I didn't push on a when watching the video back he really dirty stops? Some people have suggested because we have such a relationship when he feels a slight shift in my confidence it really changes him because with other people he doesn't do this?? what does everyone else think??? thankyou

 

[Nollaig Shona]

Yup, it's entirely possible that when you're jumping he takes his cues from you, because you're the boss in the 'herd'. But when the younger ones are riding he helps them out because he reckons he's the boss and needs to show them what to do!

Horses are weird like that! I used to ride a horse who allegedly had no brakes or steering and would tank off with anyone who rode him. I got on and had to kick like a maniac to get him to move!

 

[Littlelegs]

Agreed, horses act differently with different riders. Mine will take complete advantage of a novice adult, but nannys novice or nervous kids & teens. If a child points her vaguely in the direction of a small jump, she sorts her own canter, striding & take off, all textbook even with a novice on the buckle end. She'll do the same for me over a bigger fence she thinks is worthy of effort, but if I ride her on the buckle at the same 2'6 fence she will fly at it, take off a stride out & clear it by a few feet. Slightly different because being older I now let her be a prat with me, but I have knowingly caused it & don't mind if she throws in a buck or has a bronc out cantering with me only, find it great fun tbh. But I think essentially its the same thing, its just you've inadvertently caused it & the result isn't desirable.
If you can, watch the sharers jump & get someone to film you & see if theirs a physical issue you can spot. Perhaps you are expecting a stop & riding defensively. And sometimes experience makes you over think, in their innocence the sharers don't think about the possibility of the horse not helping them, but with knowledge you are & are sending mixed signals to the horse.

 

[Kat]

He sounds like a perfect schoolmaster type!

He is helping out people who need it (the kids) and not helping you out so that you have to work! A lot of GOOD riding school horses are good at assessing their rider and adjusting the way they go accordingly.