Jumping problems!

koolpantz

koolpantz

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I am currently bringing on my 5yo, 16hh gelding and have been competing upto about 3ft. He is a very atheletic and clever horse, but for some reason he has a habit of hitting jumps that I know he is well capable of clearing. His flatwork has come on a lot this year, he is working quite nicely and freely in an outline with the use of no gadgets. He loves jumping, when he sees a fence he picks up speed and has a very good attitude to it. He mainly hits the jumps with his front feet and can knock upto about 3 jumps down in one round which is most disappointing! I think he is a bit more hesitant when working away from home and is maybe a bit over-awed by competition at the moment, but I was wondering if anyone had any training suggestions to help him snap up his feet a bit better, give himself a cleaner jump etc?
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! :) Thankyou, X :cool:
 
how about, a heavy timber pole, natural colour and no boots? The colour will make it harder to see for him and if he hits it then he'll know that theres no messing around with that pole! Also then get another one and paint it so he learns that the coloured ones will sting too. apart from that, placing pole so he can have a nice take off, don't let him pick up speed up to a jump too much as this will create over excitement and make him jump too flat and fast, let him go about 3 strides out. i'm sure you'll get a few more people who will know a few more things :) good luck!
 
Hmm, Im no jumping expert, but I would say scaring or injuring a horse into picking its feet up probably isnt the best way to go about it! :rolleyes:
 
loose schooling over fences helps them develop their technique without the worry of a rider unbalancing them etc. I have seen natural talent improve ten fold by practising loose, they seem to learn they don't need to rush their fences too.

Be careful with pain based punishment, even if your conscience would allow you to train like that, it is so easy to put a horse off for life with that kind of treatment. I knew a gelding who had clearly been treated in such a way, he was so wary jumping he cleared any fence by at least 3ft and as a result would jump no bigger than 1'6" for many many years (loose schooling with a jump confident friend made him realise he had nothing to fear).
 
One word. Gridwork and plenty of it. Use high sided x poles and offset oxers To get Him tidier in front. Also pull the ground lines out a bit and keep the distances easy and not to short.
Having the front pole of a spread much lower than the back can help And use a frames when jumping uprights.
 
I wouldnt be banging their legs to get them to pick up either, what if he really hurt himself? :-/

Does he get better with height?? Some horses ive known dont bother so much when they think its too easy for them.

Also the above (loose schooling) and spreads with a pole every hole, placing poles and keeping steady and rhythmical should help :)

xxx
 
Agree with lots of gridwork, he sounds as if he rushes the last few strides into the jumps which causes him to flatten, he needs to build confidence, learning to not rush and keep an even stride to the jump will help, not punishment.
As his confidence grows he will jump more carefully as he slows down and he will then be able to snap up in front more quickly.
 
I am sure you are super experienced so apologies you probably will have already thought of this but you say he speeds up to take you into a fence - is he running a little flat?

With my girl (7 going on 4) i had similar problems and it all came down in the end to her sitting her weight behind more and waiting for the fence a bit more, that way she was able to bascule a lot better. Also lots of halting after the fence so she was listening and anticipating rather than just telling her 'mum' that she knew best i.e. demolishing poles with her front feet!!

Another obvious thing so apologies again but might be worth having physio out if you haven't already - my girl wasnt in any obvious pain - and had physio anyway and she said she wasnt in pain as such but tight in her back and poll, just a bit tense, anyway one session later she is making an even better shape over the fences and really clearing them

Final suggestion is he spooky at all at the likes of fillers? That makes them more careful!! :)

As I say probably have thought of all of these but just my experiences!! Good Luck!
 
I have both coloured and non-coloured poles that I jump him over and if I'm honest, I don't think it makes a difference to him. I do think that actual exercises, things that will make him think are what he needs the most, rather than taking away boots etc. I don't think I really have the facilities or know how for loose jumping (might as well be honest about it :) ). I will certainly try moving the groundline etc though. I think his canter is good, at the moment I'm trying not to help him over the jumps too much, I have a habit of 'lifting' them over which I'm trying very hard not to do with him. He doesn't come in too fast, he's just purposeful I would say. Thanks for the comments so far guys, keep them coming! :D
 
I'd give another vote for fillers or at least putting a pole every few holes to make the jump look more solid. I had a young one who used to charge through lightweight poles and the only way we got him to stop was by using fillers.

They can't just crash through a solid fence!
 
shiny-ISH said:
how about, a heavy timber pole, natural colour and no boots? The colour will make it harder to see for him and if he hits it then he'll know that theres no messing around with that pole! Also then get another one and paint it so he learns that the coloured ones will sting too. apart from that, placing pole so he can have a nice take off, don't let him pick up speed up to a jump too much as this will create over excitement and make him jump too flat and fast, let him go about 3 strides out. i'm sure you'll get a few more people who will know a few more things :) good luck!
Click to expand...

well i'm going to stick my neck on the line and kinda stick up for you ;)
come on guys she didn't exactly advise sticking drawing pin's in his boots did she ?

i would use grids ,loose schooling etc to improve his jump and would also get a good instructor to have a look incase you are getting in front of him a bit or knocking him off balance in some way or getting him a bit close on take off ,providing he is checked to ensure there is no phisical reason for it

and i would use heavy wooden (good old fasioned pole's) either painted or not and i would avoid using light plastic pole's for training
i think a lot of horse's are less careful these days partly due to light plastic pole's as you only have to breath on them to knock them down
tbh i think light plastic pole's can be more dangerous than a good old solid wooden one as a plastic one will roll around with the horses legs and potentionaly fetch him down ,at least a good wooden one will usually drop straight to the floor

i'd also use open fronted tendon boots so he can feel if he hits a pole ,i like mine to have tendon boots in front in case of strikes from a back hoof but don't always boot behind
 
I would say grid work.
After the grid i would then have a single fence with some 'V' poles on it.

I worked on a pro yard and all babies did the above.

As for the poster above that suggested 'heavy poles and no boots' - great idea for a 5yr old! NOT.
The above may work on a seasoned horse that has become a little lazy and just needs a sharpen up but on the horse in question, id say he isnt lazy, he is inexperienced.
 
I think grid work seems to be the popular suggestion and after yesterday, I asked my instructor if she would do some with me. Kular is far from lazy, he just hasn't got all 4 legs sussed out yet! He is my first proper horse, completely different from all the ponies I've ever ridden and I just want to get things right with him.
 
I would definately second the use of heavy poles. It is not used as 'punishment' it is to teach the horse to respect the poles. If they can crash through and not feel a thing why (if they aren't naturally careful) will they bother learning to pick their feet up?!
Also gridwork will be very important and make sure your flatwork is good and you have a balanced established canter.
 
Canter poles to get your canter right, then gridwork and more gridwork :D
Try placing poles in front of your jumps as well to give a nice take off point.
Your horse might just be getting a bit excited, or may even be a bit worried and trying to get it over with. The jumps may just be starting to get a wee bit technical at the height your at, and shes possibly not reading the question right.
Get yourself a good set of eyes on the ground as well, to look at you and your position, as well as your horses technique over a jump, it sounds like normal baby problems to me.
Good luck as you sound like youve done really well so far
 
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