Just something weird i noticed last night...

L

Lill

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 November 2005
Messages
5,673
Location
Kent
Visit site
Took small midgety one to do clear rounds at Duckhurst last night - she went clear if a little speedy and got a bit stuck at 2 fences cos she wanted to do it 'her way' lol! Going to take her on Sunday now to do the .85 i think see what she makes of that!

Anyway now i've spent a year doing flatwork and trying to improve Holly and Blue's way of going in a dressagy fashion (i kinda suck at it i might add but i try!) i noticed that the few horses/ponies i saw last night were all so obviously show jumpers! With the big muscles under the neck (upside down neck) and the riders riding with no contact and loose reins were what made me notice it most!!

Going to check it out Sunday see how many are like it then!
 
hmm wouldnt want to say much in case i offend people lol
tongue.gif
...but I think you'd notice a difference with the 'propor showjumpers'!

Im keeping my mouth firmly shut haha
blush.gif
 
Lol true!! I guess what i meant was more that you can see who does no or very little flatwork and just jumps their horses/ponies!
 
****Coughs.....***

Ermmm.....I'm a SJ'er.....and i school my horses on the flat four or five times a week
mad.gif
They are jumped no more than twice a week, and Bo at least has competed to Medium level in Dressage although not with me admittedly
shocked.gif


I think you might see a bit of a difference if you watch some SJ'ing at a slightly higher level
wink.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
You must know what i mean though!
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Well, at the risk of being contraversial....no, not really
tongue.gif


I see a lot of very good horses jumping BSJA, and to be jumping beyond a certain level, they have to be going pretty well on the flat
shocked.gif
A large proportion of the horses i see week in / week out would not look out of place at a BD comp tbh
shocked.gif


I agree at lower level local shows you might see a few more 'colourful' types though lol!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I know what you menat lis lol
I don't think some people appreciat just how much good flatwork affects your jumping.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are so right
smile.gif
but not necessarily in the way you think
smirk.gif

Let me tell you a little (well long) story.
Bought myself a Grade B showjumper in Jan 2006. Not becuase he was a Grade B, just becuase I liked the horse.
Flat work was pretty crap and when he jumped he really tanked in to fences and gave them a mile. I put this down to the saddle he had which didn't fit one side of him causing pain.
Started working really hard on his falt work as I needed to do a decent dressage test for eventing. This coincided with getting him a new (WoW) saddle. 6 months later he was soft, light responsive and would trundle in to fences at what ever speed I asked. Great!
But......
Decided eventing wasn't for him and started doing BSJA when I discovered we kept getting 4 faults. Frustration got the better of my bank balance so I've started training with one of the top showjumpers.
He watched me warm up and pop a fence then tactfully said..." His flatwork is very nice, pretty even. Perhaps too pretty for SJ" My face looked a bit like this
frown.gif

So following instructions I've now spent 4 weeks oudoing most of the work I put in. He really takes hold now and powers in to his fences. Slightest touch of leg and he GOES. No subltey here.
However, I was a tad confussed as to why I was having to change my horse so much. Then I went to watch the premier BSJA show at addington. In the 1.20m a lot of the horses were going round in nice steady easy canter and just popping the fences. Now I was getting really confused. Why was I being told to ride my boy a certain way when most of the horses were going fairly close to the way I previously had him going.
Then the Blue Chip Dynamic started, fences now at 1.30+. Almost without exception the horses were seriously powered up, had a much longer canter stride and exploded over the fences.
Finally I understood the 'Why' as well as the 'How'
Brought back a throw away comment instructor made when chatting after first session....."You can trundle a horse round a course up to 1.20. After that you need to be doing a lot more"
So was my horse running from pain and had crap flatwork when I got him or had he been trained that way for the big stuff (already sucessful at 1.35).
Yes flat work is important but more than that....appropriate flat work is critical. There is a mile of difference between what is required for dressage and lower level SJ versus what you need to do for serious tracks.
blush.gif


ETA...he still has a nice outline, not neck upside down
smile.gif
 
well girl at my yard has 2 Grade As, neither of them are ever jumped at home. All she does is schooling/hacking with them. the only time they jump is at competitions and when she takes them for lessons with her trainer.
 
I know what you mean, I've only ever competed locally and you see some very 'interesting' riding going on and an obvious lack of schooling. My pony has an 'upside down neck', we've been doing our very best to school her and sort it out but at 20yrs old she's a little reluctant to change her habits shall we say!
 
4Faulter: I had the same with my boy when i got him ! He had been jumping 1.30m+ classes and at first i felt it very odd that he would charge towards the fences with me...i was back down jumping at 1.05m and 1.10m with him while i found my feet again
tongue.gif
I spent the best part of 6 months getting him to go slower into his fences, which he was fine with at that level, but now under supervision from my trainer, we are working on getting him going forwards again in preparation for the bigger tracks lol!

Going forward more doesn't mean he is less schooled though...in fact if anything, his flatwork needs to be even better as we have less time to turn and correct now. He also goes in a nice outline most of the time
smirk.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

Going forward more doesn't mean he is less schooled though...in fact if anything, his flatwork needs to be even better as we have less time to turn and correct now. He also goes in a nice outline most of the time
smirk.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Agree completely, I still spend a lot of time on working on the flat but the exercises I do are very different from the ones I did when preping for stressage. Cant ever remember having to gallop 4 strides, stop turn, immediately gallop another 4 strides, stop turn.........etc etc etc in a stressage test
shocked.gif
I guess its about taking flat work to extremes in some areas.
That said you should have seen his trot the other day. Dressage diva wife was in awe
smirk.gif
Forward and uphill doesn't come close.
 
[ QUOTE ]

How are you doing with your horse at the moment?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wil answer that after tomorrow. We haven't competed since i started changing him back.
My forecast is it will either be brilliant and we will kick some ass OR we will demolish the course.
shocked.gif


Roll up Roll up, place yer bets!
 
thats a very tricky one......my ex grade A hates schooling and rides like a giraffe unless I use draw reins which I hate, however he is quite old now and probably just hates having to work lol!!!

Jumping wise, most people can spot he used to do some fairly high stuff as he jumps from the bottom of a jump and aims for the sky, rather than go across a jump he hoons up for the moon!

He definately is what I would describe as "up front", quite a forward horse but a true jumper will always be "up front with their head carriage a little, especially at a larger height...

Flatwork IS KEY for sure and it depends on the jumping height, I am sure my boy would struggle (or ditch me lol) if I asked for 1.40 now, as it is he doesnt have to power from the back end so much now as the height is so low....

Loose reins tho...nope, that really isnt good lol!!!

Number one key for nice round, a good rythmic canter.....and keeping that rythym (god I cant spell it!)
 
Yup - my ex bsja pony was v upside down and charged fences when I bought her. Also a bit sour when it came to jumping. Several years later she will now work in outline and can be jumped in just a myler comfort snaffle. I a gree with other post however that it is probably lower level jumping and local shows where you see it. Would also be interesting to see if there is any correlation between upside down necks and the use of harsh bits and gadgets.
 
I agree with rambo - you will notice a different at a higher level show. I'm a sjer and i jump my horse at home about once every month and thats in a jumping lesson. I school him flatwork 4 days a week, and hack twice.
I know what you mean about the upside down neck but honestly the majority of the horses i see on the showjumping circuit wouldnt look out of place at a BD event.
And riders with no contact and long reins?? Thats just down to poor riding most of the time - not down to the fact they are showjumpers!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top