lovely jump but rushes to get there?

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horseandshoes77

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ok my mare has not had a great start but has loads of ability and is as brave as they come(too brave according to one instructor) main prob, came with ewe neck..hollows unless totally relaxed (not easy when in comp) shes the type that carries her head really high and wants to rush into fences, however once she gets there most of the time she jumps really well and makes nice shape...so sjumping she wants to rush if i hold she bounces on the spot then blasts the last 2 strides...x country shes in lovely forward but controlled canter and then once she locks onto jump she get fast and rushes(should add she was broken in ireland at 5 years old then hunted for a season, but did nothing else til she came to me) im not the best jumper so have been taking her to a local eventer whos been working with her and no change..we are in a riding club and have attending a few rallies with different instructors who have given a little advice but always the stuff we have tried .. grids etc so im now using a sheepskin noseband for the high head carriage which is working along with a running martingale i have to use nathe or happy mouth bits as she dislikes metal..obviously we are working on the flatwork but tbf she is good in the school and out hacking its just when jumping or exciting fast work so any suggestions more than welcome thanks ps shes had tack back and teeth etc done no probs detected...seems her bad start has left many pyschological scars ! Ive now had mare for 2 years and first year were just getting to know eachother etc we are just doing small stuff but my confidence is getting shot to bits !
 
I have had mine 6 years and she still does exactly the same. She has got better with time and now is a lot more correctly muscled but she still tanks off at the fences when given half a chance. In fact my instructor pretty much just closes her eyes and says a prayer for me :-) However when the fences get up over 1m (the bigger the better) she does actually start to think about slowing down. I also find she is better when doing a proper course as she doesn't know where she is going. I trust mine to jump when she gets there so if you can trust yours to jump then just try to go with her and not get left behind. Sorry can't be more help but I will be interested to read other peoples suggestions.
 
thanks flight...nice to know im not the only one...yes i trust her completely to jump. its not in her to refuse shed rather go thru them than round them(which is another worry lol) i wish i could just have the nerve to jump bigger, oliver townend clinic suggested standing infront of jump but even when this was done she still came at it like she was jumping him too !! I know its going to take time and schooling but we are 2 years down the line and we still cant get round a course without me just being a terrified passenger :eek:
 
How big do you jump now? I find that with my mare stopping her in front of the fence and backing up and doing lots of circles in front of them can work quite well. The less idea she has about where she is going the better. She is much better in a large arena too than a small one. My mare doesn't do pole work either as she just leaps over them and gets incredibly silly but have you tried poles in front and after fences?
 
We are only doing up to 90 cm at min..well we jump 1 m when we are only doing a couple but i darent do a round that big as the more jumps we jump the faster she gets...yes tried the circling which does help but when we go to local sjumping she is ok the first round(well quick but not scaring me silly) but then anything after she loses it...if i hold we get bouncing on spot and then leaping etc if i relax a little she gallops into them. her evasion is always head in air then tank off..or shell hold and bounce back at me?? iv been doing circling etc at home and related distances because they are terrifying...she locks onto the second jump and i cannot hold at all so we have been trying to jump stop then slowly trot and jump..she does great at home lol..but in a round she just runs !!
 
Could you tell me what Happy Mouth you are using and have you tried a Neu Shule type of bit.
I am generally not one for gadgets, but I would be looking around for something which gives you more control.
I would be doing loads of small jumps and combinations, to try to remove excitement and improve the bascule.
Sounds like there is no easy answer.
 
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yeah iv tried ns universal and verbindend and also couple of mylers...end result she fights and rears or ends up trying to run through my hands gets sore mouth, so we have weeks off then try again and she fights and we have weeks off...so tried her in nathe and less fighting..still high head carriage but less fighting and throwing head around..tried pretty much everything over the last 2 years ..market harborough, standing martingale, shes in dutch gag happy mouth or nathe which looks exactly like ns universal im using running martingale but tbh she fights that a bit too!! have tried kimblewick etc and pelhams etc..she just comes behind the bit and rears shes so difficuilt because shes strong but very sensitive in the mouth so i either have charge forward which is slightly better than bounce back head in face etc :eek
 
My horse used to do this, my instructor told me to pick up canter before the jump, and count the canter strides. It didn't matter if i got to twenty+ because by counting it made me think of a rhythm (god knows how you spell it :o) and I rode her with that rhythm. I also was told to not give so much of run up to stop her from goining momentum ;)
Could you not even try trotting her up to the fences? if she gets excited, turn a circle, calm her down then try again. She'll soon get bored :)
Or do loads of schooling work with poles on the floor between wings. Intergrate them into your schooling work so she doesn't see it as too much of a novelty.
Hope one of these is usefull to you :) x
 
how about schooliing in arena with jumps up every time but not actually jumping for the first few weeks then building it up so you are jumping one of the jumps (diff one each time) just to try and get her out of the assumption that if there are jumps she is going to do them.

Only a thought and not the easiest to put into practice unless you have your own arena/jumps

on another note - I think you are v brave as you are working through it
 
I think you need an overall work plan. One exercise here is not going to help you overcome the problems you are having. Instead of going to different clinics with different trainers I would try and find one good instructor that could help put a plan together (B.S. coach maybe who will have dealt with this problem lots of times)

There are exercises you can do in the mean time, flatwork is key. Practice plenty of lengthening and shortening ofcanter strides and teach a really good canter to walk to canter transitions. Once you have mastered these you can use the transitions a few strides before a fence or in between fences or a few strides after.

Remember that after a fence is as important as before, if your horse cannot run on after the fence then she is less likely to run at the fence. Try putting 3 trotting poles 2 strides after the fence and then 1 stride after and make her trot by the time you get to them.

Make sure you are not leaning too far forward on approach to fences.

The circling before and after a fence can help.

There are many more exercises that can help but a decent instructor can help you choose which ones are right for you. There is no miracle cure unfortunately
 
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