Mega case of 'swinging' leg when jumping!

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lauren-rebecca96

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So, I'm fairly new to jumping... I've been jumping about 3 months, and have a major case of swinging legs! I have pictures, but cant seem to figure out how to put them on here! I have weekly riding lessons at a riding school local to me, and theyre improving me on the flat, but cant feel an improvement over jumps :( I cant use the mane of my own horse because he doesnt have one (i dont think my upper body positions quite there, but its better than my lower body) The thing is it knocks me completely out of sync with the horse im riding... & my own horse is young and inexperienced, he also has ALOT of scope, lets say, jumping about 4ft over a 1ft fence :/ and advice would be appreciated!
 
I'm an old fashioned riding instructor, so I would say there is no easy fix, just hours in the saddle, work hard on keeping your heels down, and above all practise sitting trot without stirrups. This last one is hard on the horse, so don't overdo it, but I do think it works well as it teaches you balance.

While you are having lessons regularly, I wouldn't try to jump your own horse at all until you are balanced. If he is ballooning over a small jump, it would test even an experienced rider, and if you lose balance it could frighten him, especially if you catch him accidentally in the mouth.

Just give it time, and perhaps get someone more experienced to school your horse and teach him the basics until he is easier to jump.
 
if it were me, I would hike my stirrups up a few holes and do lots of work in two-point seat, forcing my heels down.

my horse jumps big over fences and putting my stirrups up has helped when he throws a big jump.
 
Its almost as if , my lower leg is coming up to the seat... Looking at the pictures thats how far back my legs going, every other lesson we do work without stirrups in walk, trot, canter, last time we done a whole 35 minutes! Which was mainly trotting... I had no leg left after, major weak spot for me! I do ride with my heels down & im always checking, as soon as we get to the the takeoff for the jump my legs straight back :(
 
No stirrups work. Or even better, bareback work! After the first few times you wobble, because of your lower leg moving about, you will soon learn how to keep it still :)
Progress from walk right up to canter bareback. Once you've mastered that, try jumping bareback. I promise you that if you have done enough bareback work, your lower leg position will be better :)
 
I know they say theres no excuse... But hes WAY to unpredictable to ride without stirrups or bareback, he tries to run off & evade the bit quite often aswell, and occasionally sticks the odd buck in & today he managed to brocho me off & kick my leg! My own fault for keeping hold of him :/
 
Sounds like your stirrups are too long. Hike them up hole at a time and work hard on keeping your lower leg on the girth, you will then feel far more stable and secure.
 
Why cant i be you! Your positions spot on! Lol, & i rode considerably short anyway, & do put my stirrups up 2 to jump & feel as though im about to go out on the flat! Lol
 
I did last time (not today) i jumped, still do different, i dont think it helps that i have funny ankles, both have been sprained, one of which i was on crutches for 3 weeks with!
 
Just a thought, but how experienced are you on the flat and when you refer to "your horse" do you mean that he is a horse you own or one that you loan/share from the riding school or elsewhere?

I only ask these questions because if you are on the novice side in all aspects of riding, then it doesn't sound like your horse is a particularly good match for you, either in terms of you learning and improving or him learning and improving. It can be done, but it's a constant uphill battle when it can be much more rewarding to learn on more experienced horses.

If your horse is just starting to jump, he really needs an experienced rider to help him through it.

Sounds like you could benefit from some no stirrup lunge lessons on a solid mature horse that will give you confidence.

I wish you the very best of luck, we all started somewhere and it isn't easy, but having a green horse really won't be helping you.
 
He is my own horse, we got him ownership handed over as a bombproof 10yo, turns out he was 4 & barely broke! I had been riding a year in February, although that doesnt sound long, i am in the advanced (top group) at the riding school i go to
 
As above, but also the difference between my jump and flat stirrup length is a lot more than 2 holes! I did mine gradually and worked hard on the lower leg position, practiced in the school lots and out hacking as it does pull the muscles to start with. Can you have a word with your jump instructor and see what she says?
 
I've spoke to my instructor & shown him pictures, he said my upper position is fine, just needs minor tweaking (hand position) & he seems to think the leg problem is down the scope he has, but he does notice at the lessons, just not on the scale it is on my own boy
 
lauren-rebecca96 said:
He is my own horse, we got him ownership handed over as a bombproof 10yo, turns out he was 4 & barely broke! I had been riding a year in February, although that doesnt sound long, i am in the advanced (top group) at the riding school i go to
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There are people that have been riding for years that are not experienced enough to take on a 4yr old. They can do things completely out of the blue. I have been riding for 30 years, went to Hartpury, competed Advanced Medium dressage and broke and backed youngsters all through my childhood, but I still ended up on the tarmac with my 4yr old on top of me a month ago aft a freak rear due to fear and panic totally out of my control.

I am not going to tell you you should sell the horse, but novice riders and novice horses are a recipe for injury to one or both.

I really mean this in the nicest possible way of being concerned for you and the horse. Could you perhaps not have so many lessons at the riding school and instead have an instructor concentrate on teaching you and your horse? Just to work on the basics and maybe have them get the horse grounded in the jumping work before you do that with him?
 
I'd second what GG said. But also, why don't you have some lessons on your boy with a good instructor, not the one from the riding school but a BHS approved one that can come to your yard if you don't have transport. :)
 
My mum helped break him, she worked on a stud & handled youngsters, her & her friend are both qualified ais, although choose not to teach, and they give ,e pointers and suggestions, i check him if i know hes going to have a turn, and riding him more has got me used to his actions before he does turn, when we did get him and he was barely broke, i came off badly & lost all my confidence and had to have physio on my back for around 3 months, so i have the injuries! Lol, i also have a nicely swollen and bruised leg now!
 
Regardless of the scope of your horse over a fence it shouldn't affect your lower leg position if secure. Please speak to your instructor again and ask what you can do to improve the security of your lower leg when jumping. You will be surprised at the difference a secure lower leg makes as it doesn't matter what the horse does, within reason, you can cope easily. If you don't have a secure lower leg then you will be very unstable and more likely to be unbalanced and come off, which we don't want to happen. You will also find that with a secure lower leg it will help your upper body over a fence too.
 
Pointers from your mum, whether she is qualified or not, is a lot different to getting a proper, good instructor giving you an hours lesson.
I'd suggest you get some proper lessons with a good instructor on your horse.
Alternatively, I would sell him and buy a genuine horse that is good for novices, a horse that has the experience and ability to teach you, rather than you having to teach him.
You can't become a lecturer in micro biology if you have never studied micro biology. It's the same with riding, you can't teach the horse something you don't know yourself :)
 
lauren-rebecca96 said:
My mum helped break him, she worked on a stud & handled youngsters, her & her friend are both qualified ais, although choose not to teach, and they give ,e pointers and suggestions, i check him if i know hes going to have a turn, and riding him more has got me used to his actions before he does turn, when we did get him and he was barely broke, i came off badly & lost all my confidence and had to have physio on my back for around 3 months, so i have the injuries! Lol, i also have a nicely swollen and bruised leg now!
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I honestly wouldn't would rather you have a seasoned horse that you would be ten times safer on...i am worried for you.

That said, you can learn a lot from going through all of this with a horse BUT in order to not make the horse suffer through your learning...it is really important to have an experienced pair of eyes watching over you. Pointers and tips won't be much help if you are always having to solve something. Getting an instructor that can just get you both established properly will do you both the world of good.

I may come across a bit down on the situation, but it is because I have seen too many people get seriously hurt in these situations, and I don't mean bad bruising and swelling.

I really do wish you luck but just in case....please don't do much if anything with this horse when you're alone. Deffo jumping. Just too dangerous.

People are too precious to take silly risks and a novice rider on a green horse being allowed to just get on with things with a few tips and pointers is a big big risk.
 
My mum does also ride him, shes got 40 years of experience under her belt too, so that helps, hes come on massively since we have had him, as has my riding, so im not ready to give up just yet!
 
PingPongPony said:
Pointers from your mum, whether she is qualified or not, is a lot different to getting a proper, good instructor giving you an hours lesson.
I'd suggest you get some proper lessons with a good instructor on your horse.
Alternatively, I would sell him and buy a genuine horse that is good for novices, a horse that has the experience and ability to teach you, rather than you having to teach him.
You can't become a lecturer in micro biology if you have never studied micro biology. It's the same with riding, you can't teach the horse something you don't know yourself :)
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Beautifully put.
 
lauren-rebecca96 said:
I dont EVER ride him unless there is a responsible experienced adult around watching us
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That's very reassuring....just checking as the wording of your comments made it seem a bit like your mum and friend were kind of just around. We can only go by what you say, so any comments people make are based on that.

We didn't know your mum also rode him so that's why we have the concerns we do.

As i said before, you can learn a lot by learning with a horse, but in terms of the jumping...it would be better for you to get established on a horse that knows what it is doing.

Good luck with it all.

Out of interest and not a dig...how did your mums 40 years experience not help her realise that the horse wasn't 10?
 
Not really it is getting your leg used to be in a shorter position that you need to work on. Have a good chat with your instructor about this on Friday please? It may be that you need a different instructor who is more able to help you adjust your position jump wise. Some are better for different disciplines. Once you have mastered a secure seat over poles and small fences the rest comes easily, but if not you will struggle.
 
lauren-rebecca96 said:
So, I'm fairly new to jumping... I've been jumping about 3 months, and have a major case of swinging legs! I have pictures, but cant seem to figure out how to put them on here! I have weekly riding lessons at a riding school local to me, and theyre improving me on the flat, but cant feel an improvement over jumps :( I cant use the mane of my own horse because he doesnt have one (i dont think my upper body positions quite there, but its better than my lower body) The thing is it knocks me completely out of sync with the horse im riding... & my own horse is young and inexperienced, he also has ALOT of scope, lets say, jumping about 4ft over a 1ft fence :/ and advice would be appreciated!
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I do that! I think mine partly comes from childhood instructors yelling "grip with your knees" and "fold" ... Evidently I used to concentrate so much on those that the lower leg just developed a life of its own :D

I've had to relearn. What I'm finding helping is to a) really concentrate on keeping my heels well down, b) shortening my stirrups more than I'd like c) chanting "lower leg forward" all the way into the jump...

As a consequence I do feel much mroe secure, but I think I've a way to go.

Hope that helps!
 
OldNag said:
I do that! I think mine partly comes from childhood instructors yelling "grip with your knees" and "fold" ... Evidently I used to concentrate so much on those that the lower leg just developed a life of its own :D

I've had to relearn. What I'm finding helping is to a) really concentrate on keeping my heels well down, b) shortening my stirrups more than I'd like c) chanting "lower leg forward" all the way into the jump...

As a consequence I do feel much mroe secure, but I think I've a way to go.

Hope that helps!
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Ill be trying that then! Sounds healthy enough ;) lol
 
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