Mare VERY fizzy when jumping

H

horsey4life

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2006
Messages
72
Location
Sefton
Visit site
I part loan a wonderful Welsh cob 14.2hh mare and love it. But I have been struggling to jump her. She loves it and will jump until it's physically too high for her.

She is very forward anyway, you barely have to squeeze and she's off, and I can handle her during flatwork. But when it comes to jumping, I just can't control her. I've tried a snaffle, pelham and gag with waterford mouthpiece but all the time after a couple of jumps she goes mad (never bucks or stuff like that), just puts her head down and really bombs off to the point where I have to stand up in the saddle to stop her. The jumps aren't huge but she charges towards them and runs out. I have to immediately put her on a tiny circle after the jump but she'll just run off again when I stop circling. She's ok with small cross poles but still goes mad at them.

The owner doesn't have this trouble, and was very confused as she finds her ok in the stronger bits, but I found her very evasive of the waterford, opening her mouth and sticking her head up or down. I feel mean and I hate having to be so defensive with the reins but if I had no contact she'd run off too. The owner has never had her run out unless the angling was bad, she tells me to relax and use my weight to calm her, and not to hold her back on the jump approach or she stresses, but she still runs out of bigger ones and it frustrates me cause she gets SO wound up.

Any ideas from people with this problem? She's calmer on hacks if that helps, much hotter in the school.
 
I had this problem with my TB; it was also a lack of confidence on his part and consequently mine. He'd only been lightly reschooled when we bought him after his racing career.

I was advised to make jumping boring, by leaving a jump up in the school at all times and just pop him over it, school seriously, pop him over again etc. Each time I schooled, I moved the jump and changed it in terms of colour/shape/height.

He soon became desensitized and we increased the number of jumps and found it really worked to calm him down.
 
I second Bahhumbug's approach. Rode a little gelding for a while who'd always been hyped up to jump and consequently got very over excited when they were put up. Found that mixing it in with normal schooling not only kept him on his toes, but stopped him getting so wound up. Worked for him, but rushing can be a few different things so I'd try out some other approaches too and see what fits :)
 
Thank you everyone, that does make sense cause she was manageable when I was first getting to know her and only jumped every so often. The owner works very near the yard and has offered to watch and teach me if I don't sort it out. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top