Jumping exercises for strong horse

[bounce]

What is it with young horses and taking a few steps forward and solving one thing to then take some backward steps and have a different issue.

My 5 year old warmblood x is generally very lazy and not always in front of the leg but in the past month has suddenly found a big strong trot and canter. Which is great but I am really struggling to hold her going into a fence as she wants to do it at her speed which is way too fast. I can hold her in between fences but once she locks on I completely lose control. She is better when she is jumping a course which is knew to her and it is generally worse at training when she has to jump a fence a few times. She just seems to get cocky.
She is only ridden in a snaffle as she can threaten to rear and has done so if you take too much of a hold, generally when I am trying to get her to stand and she doesn't want to. Teeth and back etc have all been checked recently and are good.
Any exercises that can help to ensure she realises I am the one dictating the pace before she becomes even stronger? I have been asking for halt in front of the fence when she tries to tank but I have to be careful as that can wind her up also.

I don't have the problem at all during flatwork as she drops behind the leg instead.

 

[paddi22]

grid, grids and more grids, with poles on the ground between and after jumps to make the horse slow down and think about were she is putting her feet.

circling before and after jump and only going in when you are happy with the pace.

another exercise i love is putting a jump across the centre line and then putting two jumps at a angle each side

/ \

__

like the above except not as angley and close together! Then pick which of the second jumps you want to go over. it stops the horse anticipating which jump is next.

 

[Rosesandhorses]

Sounds like she may be super smart and think she knows it all after doing it once or twice. I think I would be incorporating as much as possible to keep her thinking e.g. come in from different reins, land and keep changing direction. I would have recommended halting going in then halting coming away with a turn on the forehand and back at the jump but if this winds her up then maybe not.
How often are you jumping her? Could it be that she is finding it a bit exciting if she is not doing it very often? Might help to incorporate poles and raised poles into everyday schooling to take the party element away and so she comes to learn that it isn't a big deal.

 

[be positive]

The one step forward, one sideways, one backwards scenario is applicable to most horses as they adapt to carrying us and learn what we want, they struggle to cope with absorbing everything required and it sounds very much as if that is what is going on with your young mare at the moment, slight brain over load so in order to cope with part of the problem she has started rushing, you get stronger she runs through the bridle more and it gets worse, a vicious circle which requires taking a step or two back, re-establishing some basics.

I would get her working properly on the flat, she is rushing because she is behind the leg and possibly underpowered when jumping so panics a bit, most horses that rush do so out of insecurity not because they are enjoying themselves, until she is in front of the leg on the flat she will not be working well enough to be consistent over a single fence, so I would again go back to poles and gridwork , it will help the flatwork as well as the jumping, it doesn't mean you have to stop competing, you just need to be keeping the very basics from getting lost as she moves on, it can be much easier to go round a course you get into a rhythm and they settle more than trying to jump a single fence "perfectly"
I would do a lot of canterwork, use poles in the flatwork, get her ability to shorten and lengthen, canter to walk, walk to canter, flexing inside and outside, counter canter, all really well established and your control will improve, remember she is still probably fairly weak so as her core strength increases so will her ability to sit in front of your leg without taking hold too much in front, her confidence will improve and what you see as her being cocky will decrease as she really starts to understand what is required.

I would also trot very quietly into small fences, if you can on a long rein, let her take responsibility for getting to the other side, I don't like pulling up in front of jumps as it gives very mixed messages and does usually have the reverse effect to the one you are aiming for, pulling up on landing by a specific point can be far more effective at getting them to understand that they must wait, doing the quiet trot in then halting a few strides later is generally more calming for something a little hot headed.
Having a couple of fences set on a 20m circle, once they can cope have 4, and popping round jumping out of a rhythm is another useful way to get them settled.

 

[bounce]

Thanks for your replies.

I dont have any facilities so only jump once a week at the most and that is either at a comp or in training. Training is quite often in a group which can wind her up a bit.

She is an extremely smart mare and picks things up very quickly. Last year we went through the rushing as uncertain stage and then she settled and was cantering a course nicely until she developed her more uphill and powerful canter and it was like a lightbulb switch for her.
She is equally as keen to poles on the floor in canter as she anticipates them going up to a fence. Making this boring for her is definitely on my list.
I'd completely forgotten about the circle exercise as I've used that on a previous horse with much success. Lots of ideas to try though. Thank you.

 

[HannaST]

Agree with lots of grids and pole work, establishing ground work in canter, and stopping behind the fence - not before. I only had to halt mine about 10 times after the fence before he got the idea. Another exercise which you can do with only one fence is a figure of 8 with a small fence along the centre line (lined up with the long side). Do a 20m circle, jump the fence at the middle, do another 20m circle to the other side, and repeat until she gets bored!

I did put a stronger bit on mine for a couple of weeks which worked great in the sense that he did slow down - but I think it also knocked his confidence and now can be a bit sticky over the fences, so be wary and don't whack a pelham on straight away like I did, which I now regret! If anything try a waterford or something else less severe first.

 

[jessjc]

Try stopping after the jump and then turning in a circle in walk, picking up canter and coming back over the fence and stopping after it again. Do this a few times and then try and do it normally without stopping. She'll be anticipating the stop and therefore slow down over the fence itself.

Also, try riding past the fence a few times and collecting the canter at the points parallel to the approach, jump and landing. She'll be excited at first as she'll think she's coming over the jump, but when she does it well, do exactly the same but come over the jump and she should be calmer.

Other than that, gridwork! And make some combinations which she has to think about and can't rush through. A small cavelletti on a canter circle teaches them to keep an even rhythm too. And lots of practice shortening and lengthening (i.e. control exercises) on the flat.

Good luck!