Learning to sit there

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Kelly1982

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Right i have a problem (dont all shout we know LOL) but i have a terrible habit of tensing and kicking at take off into jumps as all my horses have been stoppers and have needed the extra encouragement but my new horse is the complete opposite. You have to sit there as quite a possible and cant even tense otherwise she shoots off, flatens and knocks.

I am fine over the little jumps but as the jumps get bigger i anticipate a stop (even though she has never even thought about it) or a knock so i ride her into it and we crash through it.

Yesterday i put a double up, 1st part small cross and 2nd part 1.10. First 4 attempts we had it down as i was ridding her through the middle. I was getting stressed and she was getting wound up so we took a break and chilled. Came into it again and i forced myself just to sit there like a rag doll and we cleared it by miles and again after that.

Thing is i constantly worry that if i dont help her out we will stop or knock and i dont really wanna just sit there like a rag doll in the show ring incase we do get a stop coz i would be kicking myself thinking i should of helped her out but then we will probably knock LOL.

So basically after all that rambling, she seems to jump better when you dont interfer at all but i worry if i dont interfer she will carry on knocking and maybe even start stopping anyway.

Any tips??
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Practice, practice, and more practice i'm afraid
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Like you i had a stopper once (my first BSJA horse lol!) and it affected my riding for years afterwards. You really do just need to learn to have confidence in the horse you're sitting on and let her do the jumping
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Your totally right and i do need to learn to just sit there and put my faith in her but coz she is a baby i feel the need to help her like i have done with all the others but then i end up messing it up
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I feel like she will mess it up if i dont help her but then if i do help her i will end up messing it up LOL.

I do need to practice more admittedly coz i haven't been jumping much lately due to lack of jumps but i have just painted our new jumps with their last coat so they will be ready for use this weekend and hopefully i can get practicing a bit more.

A do ideally need a few lessons but i am too poor at the mo.
 
I did exaclty the same as you, I was always worried about a stop plus I can't see a stride to save my life and I used to get really het up about it and really over-ride them into the jumps, this made the horses go badly and my confidence went very quickly. I had a private jumping lesson the friday before last and my instructor said to just ignore the fence, look straight through it (I usually looked at it) and pretend it isn't there, that way I won't be tempted to ride the horse into it, I just sat there and made sure the horse kept a consistnt rhythm (sp?) and it worked and we got a perfect jump every time.
 
Yep thats exactly the same as me so i think i will try what you said and just look through the jump instead.

With smaller jumps i am fine, its when they get bigger i start to over-ride.
 
That's spot on.....

It is the riders job to get the horse to the fence in a decent rhythm. The horse should sort out the stride, and do the jumping.

Looking beyod the fence is the best thing you can do....and also one of the hardest though lol! I still can't bring myself to do it everytime
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It is the hardest thing in the world not to do anything or indeed the right thing in front of a fence. My worst habit is that about 3 strides out I just slightly lean forward and take a pull. I know I'm doing it but I can't stop it, I have to try and think really hard not to do it.
 
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With smaller jumps i am fine, its when they get bigger i start to over-ride.

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That's just a confidence thing though
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I was the same with Bo when i first got him....but one day i just decided to bite the bullet and see how high he would go
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We stopped when we ran out of holes
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It worked though....i now 'know' he has the jump and so i don't worry about him chucking the dirty stops in
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Yes I do it too, just override, then the horse feels pressured and stops.
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It is difficult to do, but once you have a really established canter it helps as you dont fell like you have to do so much....
 
Thing is it was the stopping from other horses that got me into the habit but now i am worried she will knock (as she never stops) so still over-ride ha ha.

And i am the same as you DD i know i am doing it but really have to force myself not to which causes me to tense and she still knocks LOL. Its like a vicous (sp) circle.

We are using road works as jumps at the mo which dont halp as you have the choice of jumping either 70cm or 1.10 which is not ideal but now the new jumps are ready i can start jumping more within our comfort zone which will hopefully also improve us.
 
Is it worth using some canter poles in front of the jumps so that the stride takes care of itself so that you can concentrate on what you're doing?
Listening to music whilst you jump might help you relax a bit as well.
 
Okay so you will look pretty silly but try singing a song as you ride (at home anyways!!!) ... maybe just hum in your head if you are at a show. really helps to to relax.
 
Try to keep the canter in a rhythem and sit still and keep to middle of the fence. If you feel youself go to check or push or panic, just look down for a split second, that way you dont think about the fence and you horse can get on with her job. The looking away will just distract you enough to take your mind off it. After a while you will get the trust/ confidence and will be fine.
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I am so good at just sitting quietly now, but only because I had to learn when I was young. Once you crack it, it stays with you. Now I struggle if I have a horse I have to gee up towards a fence as I'm so used to trusting them!

My mare is the same too, I can't even shorten my reins on a hack without it affecting her, chestnut mares eh?!

You'll get there eventually and it's such a useful skill to have - I have aquirred loads of opportunities and rides because I can ride quietly, it's amazing how many people can't do it.

One thing that REALLY helps, sounds mad but on the approach to a fence, look the the right or left, not a glance, actually turn your head in that direction - takes your mind off the jump and if you've got a keen horse just keep your leg there and they'll jump it - try it! you'll be amazed how much calmer the jump and approach is.
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I tend to over ride the smaller fences and let the bigger fences come to me. It is a strange habit I have. I squeeze just to reassure my horse but I like them to learn to jump for themselves
 
Senza is exactly the same, she anticipates everything and seems to read my mind. I only have to think canter and she does it, weird huh??

Will try looking away too as that sounds like a pretty good idea as well.

I did briefly think about blind folding myself but then quickly changed my mind LOL but looking away seems much safer instead.

Thanks for all your ideas guys, i have taken them all on board and will be trying them all to see what ones work best for us.
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I knew i could count on you lot for help.
 
Naww hunny you are NOT alone with this problem.
A lot of it is practice, but then you could practice and practice doing the same thing wrong and getting yourself in a right pickle.
The easiest way to get my eye in is canter endlessly over poles. Its repeat repeat and you soon learn what works and doesnt.
Like with winston, he loved being just put in a nice canter and left alone, but because i held round teh corner then pushed him into a fence he would stop!
You soon learn that doing that to him i was either gonna stop and or fall off! so selfpreservation started to kick in and I had to MAKE myself sit still.
Snoopy is slightly easier in that he takes you to a fence, where as winston never really gave you that *let me at it* going into a fence.
However, my new trick is that i push the last few strides to a fence *only when i see a stride* so again horse flattens and im lucky if we keep the fence up.
Alot of it depends on what kind of corner you have coming into your fence. Its the one thing that i try to work on and 9 times out of 10 it works.
If i ride my corner all the way through it (dont slow down or you end up pushing to teh fence) then you can sit and wait for the fence to come to you.
Its something I have worked on for hours over poles thrown in places around the school.

There are so many exercises you can use to help you work on the rhythm, but i also find you become very attached to the poles as if they are a safety blanket. But if you put poles out in different places of the school and work on your turns and rhythm you can then raise the poles as proper fences.

4Faulter told me a off a lot last weeekend because i didnt keep a constant rhythm around my turns in the warm up, but i found it very hard on a young horse whose turning to the right isnt brilliant, where as at home i find it easier as there is more room.

I have really started to relax when i jump, because 2 years ago I was scared of jumping a x pole!!!! because my confidence had hit rock bottom
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but now im confident becuase ive made an effort to work on it. I also find counting each stride out loud helps, even in the warm up last week, if your counting you are breathing lol so not tightening up.

Good luck
 
I have a problem with fiddling before the fences!!

I find this exercise is brilliant (However you do need a friend to help you.

You set up 4 jumps around the School, half way down each side. (The more space you have the better but make do with what you have)

Set the wings up but leave the poles on the ground.

Go around the arena in a good canter and let the horse work out the poles, you stay balanced and think of nothing but rythm, I found counting strides kept my mind occupied also stay in a light seat so you don't need to change anything as you go over the fences.

(Make sure you have a few breaks as you do this exercise)

Then get your friend to one by one start slowly putting the poles up to make small jumps. Ideally she will just do this as you are going around so you stay focused on what you are doing the horse does the rest.

Again, all you must think about is your balance and your rythm. Do not think about the fences, ignore them! Just keep counting!!

Following this exercise we were popping 3'6" beautifully and I wasn't doing anything!! We could have gone higher but the session had been long enough. LOL. (Amazing as I have been bad for fiddling before fences and we struggled to get over 3' safely).

You can do it!!
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Winston sounds like G! Ambles into it, and will jump, but only if you let them do it themselves!!
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Indeed. Very difficult to adjust when you have always ridden very forward going horses into fences.
 
I was told yesterday in my lesson that the bigger the fences the less you want to be doing which makes a lot of sense. The bigger they are the more your horse should be doing not you. If you watch the SJ in grand prixs they barely move. Sitting there is the hardest thing to do but I have found making myself look at things and counting quite useful as takes my mind of it very slightly.
 
(quicky reply)

Also guily of this since I had my TB who tanked into fences off the corner and flung himself at whatever it was..

Think about establishing your canter as your coming around the school, and as you come to your corner you want to be thinking about sitting up and tall around your bend, maintaining the canter you've got. As you start the approach to your fence you want to concentrate on sitting up, relaxing and looking past your fence. It sometimes help if you think in your head, "sit up, and soft"... you want to be trying to stay soft in your hand and leg, so its there if you actually need to use it, but your not actually doing anything until its required.

It'll take a lot of practice, but try it over fences of a height your happy with and slowly progress upwards, once you've cracked it you'll come on leaps and bounds.

Good luck!
 
completely understand, mine is the same and it took me such a long time to trust him enough to site back and let him get on with it. I was always so tempted to put my legs on or half halt and normally interupting him ended up in us crashing through the fences or a stop because I interfered with him rythm.

Loads of practice has helped me to learn to trust him. Lots of repetetive exercises focussing on rythm helped me to relax enough and change my attitude. Now when I ride into a fence, three strides out I sit back, lower and quieten my hands and stay as quiet as I can and we are getting on so much better over the fences. If I feel he needs a little brakes I stay still in seat and keep my hands low and just give a little pull and release on the reins so not to restrict him.

It's def a psychological thing as I hate stopping as well so I was completely over riding my approaches too, however the more you learn to trust your horse and eachother the easier it will become
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Thanks guys keep em coming
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Its nice to know that i am not the only culprit of over-riding fences too and that people have managed to over come it. There is still hope for us yet LOL
 
I have been doing bounces with her (but only small ones) and we was a lot better at those funny enough as like you said i didn't have a lot of time to check inbetween.

Will try and add a few more to the grid as you have suggested and see if that helps. Will keep her thinking too!!
 
lots of practice will help as Pidge is the same. If I interfere we knock it down! If I leave him to it we are fine and it stays up. Ok we're only jumping up to 2'6" but the principle is the same? One of my instructors summed it up for me by asking me "who is jumping the fence" when you answer "the horse" you start to realise not to interfere and just concentrate on getting the horse to the jump. I don't even try to get himon the right stride as if I do the fence comes down
 
Oh god totally know where you are coming from - previous Ned was a stopper (in fact just a general brat) and made me lose my nerve quite a bit, current Ned has a super pop but as he's still quite young any slight change from me means he will stop or run out (as in my usual tense and pray a stride out & he goes....'if you're not convinced neither am I!')

I have worked & worked on my canter & my turns - current instructor's attitude is it's your job to have a good rythym (can't spell that word!) established, to line up the horse to the fence well & the rest is up to him....so I focus on a point in the distance & try to ignore the fence....only jumping 80 - 90cm so not mahoussive but at home we're going clear whereas last Friday at local league we knocked two at 85cm because I was 'riding too much'...

A good trick I found was to jump a decent height from trot at the start of each session (cross-pole to start & then move it up) it really makes you recognise how much they can do without being in canter & sort of reminds you how little work you should be doing, also gets their back end working better and because there's a 'one-two' to focus on you can't go forward to early or do as much fiddling...then when you move on to canter try and replicate the 'stillness'

That said we'll see how we go jumping tonight - am determined we're going to eventually get a clear over 85 (sick of doing a jump-off against 10 year olds on 13 2 ponies in the 75cm class!!!!)
 
I have a tendency to do exactly the same, end up half-halting in front of the fence, using loads of leg, interfering with the rhythm and so making my horse put in half strides.

I have found that looking at the fence, concentrating on maintaining rhythm, riding a good corner and then yelling in my head 'soft hands, soft hands' works a treat! My horse is not a stopper at all and I find that we are so much more balanced when in rhythm and I just leave her to it. When facing your fence concentrate on a wall/tree/fence post at eye level the other side and don't look down (what I was told to do when being wary of XC jumping downhill). Keep reminding yourself to be soft in the hands and leg, hold on to a section of mane with one hand if you think you might interfere too much.

You will find that if you approach the fence in the same rhythm that you ride your corner then you will produce a much better jump, just keep thinking soft hands and practice this over a small jump until you get it right each time. Make sure your leg is soft and only used if you feel your horse backing off.

Good luck! I know it's hard, especially if your horse is pretty sharp and you are used to stoppers, all my previous horses were.
 
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