jumping question

skye123

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got my new mare in august and she used to jump 2ft9/3ft courses however since i have had her at shows i`ve been jumping 2ft/2ft3 courses cos i`m not the most confident rider jumping and she has a quite unbalanced canter at the mo although it is gradually coming together!

she is great at jumping and could easily jump 3ft + courses and by the end of the summer i`m hoping to be jumping 2ft6 courses and eventally bigger but will she not be as good as jumping the bigger courses cos she been jumping smaller courses??

sorry its a REALLY stupid question but just wondering
thanks xx
 
No not at all she should be fine jumping the bigger courses as you are doing the right thing and improving her canter and as she will have been jumping the smaller courses well she and you will be more confident so shouldn't find it a problem. good luck
 
if she has done it before, she should have no trouble. my gee before i got her in october was jumping 1.20 (not competitions) but i havent jumped her since as she has a suspensory and two shoulder injurys. i'm bringing her back into it soon and hope to start doing 2ft3 clear rounds and building her up slowly to the big stuff by next year. take your time and do everything carefully, working her how you are at smaller classes but with bigger jumps, show her that just because she didnt work like it before, she ic going to now. go for it!!
 
I think you'll find that the riders are always more worried about the height of a fence than the horse ever is. A difference of 6" in the size of jump you jump now against what she was jumping makes little difference.

You are doing the right thing by working on her canter. If you can work on & establish a steady rythmical canter your jumping will come along really well. The jump is just an extension of the canter. If she is steady & rythmical you will be able to put her into the fence correctly & then she will be able to do her job which is to clear the fence.

Not enough jumpers put the time into flatwork, when all said & done in a round of jumping the horse spends 95% of the time on the floor & only 5% in the air so groundwork is very important. It will all come good in the end, patience & perseverance is the key.
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An interesting question as my 12 year old daughter is now riding a pony who was comfortable jumping at 3' as the previous owner was an adult. We have taken it slowly as they are getting to know each other but he is now jumping really well for her at 2'6, next step 2'9, we were told that he had cleared 1.40 once (not a round) but I don't think they are quite ready for that challenge just yet!
 
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