long or short stride to a fence?

Daisychain

Daisychain

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I am probably like 90% of people when seeing a stride into a fence, I no when im right and no when im wrong, but what is the best thing to do when your not quite sure wether to push for a longer one or check back quick for a deeper stride with the risk of being close to the fence, i always seem to get a bit flustered at making the discision before it is to late, i always feel this is the thing that is hindering me going any further at the moment, any ideas or suggestions to improve me!
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dont look ! You can get to caught up with trying to see the stride - trust me this is my problem aswell ! When I cant see what to do I start going " ohhhhhh" and then stop my horse or make a complete mess of the jump.
Just look to the other side of the fence - never look down - it might be where you end up!, keep you leg on, keep your canter and stay balanced and hopefully your horse will figure it out, and as long as you recover quickly you will be fine for your next fence.
 
I think that too many peple worry about seeing a stride and then make mistakes by interfering, one of my old problems. I now ride positive and let my horse sort herself out if the strides wrong either a bit close or taking off and leaving me behind. I personally would kick for a long one rather her cat leaping close and it feeling awkward.
Im teaching a 4 year old at the moment and he typically gets too close every time so we put things where we want him to take off. So infront of a jump we might put out a pole then tyres building it up where we want him to take off and it really helps. then stopping him get too close and knocking the pole.

Also poles on the ground before the jump. And trotting into a jump over poles first rather than cantering.

Good luck it will just click one day!!
 
I was taught by a showjumper to count - not just the last 3 strides but all the way on your approach. Somehow it really helps to see much earlier whether you are going to be deep or off and gives you more time to adjust. I would always want a deeper stride than an off shot so it gives time to shorten to meet the fence in a better place to jump it.
 
I echo what other people have said

Hold my hands up and say I'm the same... being obsessed sometime with the stride.

The advice I try to follow is to try and think/concentrate more on the canter than the actual stride. Generally, people miss a lot less on the xc, where the fence stride comes more naturally, because they have a better quality of canter. Therefore, try to bring the same principles to the sj ring - obviously not the speed, but the impulsion, engagement and feeling that you are on a springy wound up rubber ball that can extend and collect with a slight movement!
 
The most important thing is to be on a nice bouncy, rythmic, 'collected' stride as you approach the fence.
Position a marker (like a traffic cone) 3 strides out from the fence, and dont give with your hands until you pass the cone.....the rest will be done by the horse!! All you need to do is to sit up and deep until you reach the fence and carry your hands a little higher than you may do normally, so you have the horse between your hand and leg.
You will need to adjust the marker based on your horses normal stride.
Hope this helps.
 
I have a tendency to hold for a short stride and bury my girl in the bottom of a fence. She still makes every effort to get over it.

Sometimes I have to tell myself - 'don't pull, don't pull'! Then it works OK but it's very hard for me not to.
 
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The most important thing is to be on a nice bouncy, rythmic, 'collected' stride as you approach the fence.

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Interesting exercise! But I wouldn't use the word 'collected.' Although I understand and see what you're getting at, surely this would have the effect of burrying a horse into the bottom of the fence?

I'm only interested in what you mean. With this advice I could see many people pulling on the reins with no leg to back it up, thus killing the canter and so have little atheleticism to jump the fence. Alternatively, this could neglect that hind end/engine. However, I presume you mean a canter that is powerful, with the horse sat on its hocks?

(By the way - welcome to the forum. I don't mean to criticise, I'm just someone very eager and enthusiatic to learn from other people's approaches to riding and teaching
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Very good question. I'm the same! I can tell when I'm 4 strides out and then I have to tell myself to stop interfering!
PF will jump on any stride and virtually any distance (no thanks to me
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) to a fence. BUT because she's so forward-going and athletic I've been advised by several VERY respectable and admired SJ peeps that I'm always better off going for an extra stride and getting her deep into the fence. On the longer stride, even though she's only little, she covers so much ground she lands too close to the next fence for combinations, makes lines more complicated, etc.
HOWEVER, Antifaz is less snappy with his forelegs and in HIS case I've been advised to go for a longer stride / distance from the fence. This works for him too.
I would suggest trying to work out where 3/4 of your horse's strides is from a fence so aim for that so adjustments can be minor when you actually reach the fence and don't worry about being a foot or two out. I count down from 4, which seems to help
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Incidentally, people who say you can only be 1/2 a stride out strike me as completely bonkers. 1/2 a stride is 6 feet. That's MASSIVE! If you're 6 feet too close that would put you 2 feet on the other side of a 4ft fence!!
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Agree with you here, there is a very fine line on how much collection, without that feeling of loosing power, must admit i always feel slightly safer on more forward stride.
 
I can be obsessed about getting the right stride but has my horse has got more confidence he will always take the long stride - I generally find I have more success going clear over a fence that why rather then burying him under a fence and expecting him to climb out over it.
 
Me too. I have started having lessons with an eventer recently and he has taught me to count all the way round. I find it really helps and stops me from stressing about all the other little things!
 
I try not to think about it. We do cock up with striding but my horses have learnt to be good at jumping from too close etc.! It differs for different horses, but with my 2 I find a good strong rythm is best - if you find the rythm your horses likes to jump at then it'll be easier for him to lengthen / shorten. TBH I definately go on long ones in jump off / speed classes as getting close wastes way too much time.
 
if you're not sure, keep your shoulders back, your leg on (but not ramming the horse to the fence, just enough to give him a bit of power and encouragement) and leave it to him. don't take off until he has!
seriously though, if you have a good balanced canter which is slightly bouncy, not flat, then the most wrong you can be is half a stride, which is nothing to a horse. don't worry about the stride, think about the quality of the canter, the straightness, the approach, the balance, and the stride will be there. just let the fence come to you as you ride within the stride (i.e. using leg within the tempo of the canter.) this is fine for anything up to 3'9" imho. over that, you need a bit more accuracy.
 
Yes im sure i worry to much, am riding a seriously lovely 4yo which i bred at moment, who is so willing and hate it when i get it wrong, but to be fair she seems to no more than i do even at this stage!
 
sorry we didnt determine whether this 'stride spotting' was for XC or Showjumping...I answer from a showjumping perspective, having spent 30 years producing SJ'ers, competing and coaching showjumping upto Grade A level.

What I was trying to say with the 'collected' comment was that too many people allow their horses to rush at a fence. In showjumping you want to position your horse close to the bottom of the fence, setting them up to jump it by rounding over it....not flying at it, standing off and flattening their shape over it.
Clearly this means that you need to have the horse moving with impulsion and be controlled between hand and leg.
You dont want to be pulling and messing with the horses mouth, trying to shorten, just as he approaches the fence as this causes them to fight you. Also you want the horse to raise his head a bit in the last 3 strides. This lets him see the fence properly (horses see whats at the end of their noses...and its good to let them look at whats coming)
Setting up a marker allows you to focus on something other than the fence (psychological sometimes). A placing pole and jumping grids are also great aids to arriving at the right place at the right pace.

cheers, Steve
 
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