PETER - For goodness sake.

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moneypit1

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How long has it been? Must be 5 or 6 weeks since Peter came to live with me. He is the most genuine, sweet, hard working boy and i feel humbled by him. BUT..I struggle to jump him. It is NOT his fault. He has been taught to get in tight and bascule over. I am waiting for a flyer and that doesn't happen. Have had lessons on him and it is entirely my fault. I need to hold him in a tight canter and three strides out push on. When we get the stride right it is AMAZING!, when we get it wrong it is hideous. He gets so close but is so honest hes tries and I just hang in their for self preservation. Not giving up yet but have to say this is the first time I have considered coming off! Working hard at it. I could hack out all day but Peter is a jumper and that is "what he does". I want to do it too. Could appreciate a bit of encouragement to be honest, met my wall me thinks. xx
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He is a big, big horse for you- it may just be that he's too big for you to be able to ride effectively over a fence.
I struggle to jump anything over 17hh.

Dont do the 3 strides out push on thing, it'll flatten and ruin the jump!
 
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He is a big, big horse for you- it may just be that he's too big for you to be able to ride effectively over a fence.
I struggle to jump anything over 17hh.

Dont do the 3 strides out push on thing, it'll flatten and ruin the jump!

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But that is when we jump the best. Luckily I can "see" a stride, or "three". If I leave it to him he is flat and gets soooo close. If I see three strides I let him go and he delivers. Its having the confidence. in all honesty he is too much horse for me but we have eachother and have to get on with it. Will give it my best for another month or so and then will re-evaluate. x
 
Yeah, I'm with Boss...you could be overhorsed in the jumping stakes.

Also I'm no jumper (by any stretch of the imagination) but I've always been taught to sit quietly for last 3 strides, otherwise your more likely to confuse the animal?! But like I said I'm not jumper, could be totally wrong
 
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Yeah, I'm with Boss...you could be overhorsed in the jumping stakes.

Also I'm no jumper (by any stretch of the imagination) but I've always been taught to sit quietly for last 3 strides, otherwise your more likely to confuse the animal?! But like I said I'm not jumper, could be totally wrong

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Of course i am over horsed! But he is what i have to work with and so i will give it my all. if i fail it will be completely my fault and i can live with that so ...... lets give it a go. x
 
I don't think the amount of time you've had him in that much in all honesty. I think it takes a while to get to grips with a new horse's style. Mine has and alway does favour to be held to the fence and he will come in short rather than long if we mess the stride up a bit. He has always been honest and genuine although we went through a period following him injuring his back and stopping that I lost my confidence in him.

Is your instructor a showjumper themselves? Is he strong into a fence or is he more of an ambler? My horse is v v spooky with fillers which breaks his momentum so I have to hold him short all the way to a fence and keep my legs on. My advice would be to do the same, don't 'let him go' just keep riding him, keep hold, keep your legs on until take off basically. I haven't read your posts but people say he's a big horse so he probably needs to be kept shorter and bouncy in order to use himself better over the fence and get all his power onto his back end.

Our SJ instructor will always say "hold hold" when approaching the a fence but you also have to hold with your legs to keep the forward impulsion (god it's difficult to explain without being there to see what's happening) I would give it a try and see how you go. Don't 'push on' if he's coming at a nice steady rythm and is confident enough you shouldn't need to - save that for x-country!!!
 
Yes, peter has been taught to come in short. He needs to "bounce" on his hocks and then i need to push on three strides out. He immediately comes back to me after a fence and is most obedient. If i leave him "long" he flattens. He is just shy of 18hh and is "big" with it. My trainer is a grand prix trainer and says that he has been taught to get "in close". I am only 5ft 4" and am fairly in experienced with jumping at height. However, i am brave and determined, so desparate to give it a go and not let Peter down. x
 
I know nothing about jumping so can't give you any advice in that but will just give you some encouragement. I'm a very inexperienced, nervy rider but I'm starting to jump very small jumps. Its taken me three years to get this far so please don't give up yet I didnt.
 
This isn't what you want to hear but in short a 5'4" lady rider ( however good) is always going to struggle with a BIG 18HH showjumper; the simple fact is your legs aren't big and strong enough to keep his quarters engaged. (Eeek my opinion, other will no doubt disagree)

Keep up with the lessons otherwise
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Oh and keep posting photos, love seeing them.
 
give it time, it sounds like you are pressurising yourself which will make it worse. why not just hack school and keep everything teeny tiny and see how you are in another couple of months. I have just bought a 16.3 my first horse and its a whole new ball game. i had the same issues but found when i relaxed it just happens naturally. If this is the horse that you got recently just take it easy, sure he would appreciate it too. Good luck!
 
Well see how it goes. As you've admitted, he's too much horse for you and there is no shame in that - god knows I would not be strong enough for a big 18hh horse! What is your long term plan with him?

If you find the jumping ultimately too much, you could always offer the ride to someone else, who'd find him easier to cope with and could jump and compete him for you, and you could hack?
 
Have to say I agree with everyone esle with regards to the striding. If i interfere with my mare that close to the jump it is awkward and uncomfortable and I feel like i am hanging onto her, surely it is better to hold him on the approach then let him go and make the last three strides. Like you say he is a big horse so holding onto him won't help him - he has a lot of horse to get over!
If jumping is his thing but you love hacking him could you find a share? I am sure there are lots of people looking fora talented jumper to ride....
 
Don't give up! I was feeling exactly like you did and having the same problem with mine (although he's only 16.2!) coming into a fence. He would get in too close as that's what he'd been taught to do and more often than not the jump would be awful. My instructor almost couldn't watch - she said it was THAT bad. It really knocked my confidence and I felt like I couldn't ride, when generally I am a very confident rider. I changed instructors and have had a few lessons now with a really lovely chap who put me totally at ease and we have been working with grids and poles, etc so that the horse gets it right more often than not and doesn't get in so deep. Well even after 2 lessons with him I went back to old instructor just to test ourselves out really and she could not believe the difference! So please do persevere if he is a horse that you really like in every other way and maybe a fresh pair of eyes on the ground/instructor could be what you need?
 
I'm a bit confused . . . in all the pics in your sig the horse is about as far away from the jump as I'd like any horse jumping a good sized fence to be. If you look at the second shot in xsprialx's sig above the horse is at the same place in his arc as your horse is in your second pic but centred over the fence and jumping "around" it. Ideally every that's what you always want - the horse to make a round shape centred over the fence, using minimum effort to clear maximum height and width.

You say your horse has been taught to go to the deep distance but this is pretty standard with modern showjumpers. As the fence gets higher the arc gets steeper - to be most efficient and controllable and careful the horse no longer takes off the height of the fence away but slightly closer.

A good horse jumping well isn't exactly the most comfortable experience, especially if you're not used to it. I know lots of people who have gone out and bought very talented jumpers after having pretty average ones and then spent the next 6 months getting regularly jumped off them! The trick, though, is not to have the horse jump worse (the easiest way of fixing the "problem") but to a) develop the skills to ride it and b) learn how to smooth out the ride, not take the jump away.

It sounds from your description like what's happening is the horse is running past your distance. The reasons for this are impossible to tell over the internet of course but could be anything from a ridability issue to the horse not having confidence in his new ride (which will be strange to him too - why is a given he has to learn to accommodate you rather than the other way around?) but your instructor should be able to sort that for you.

How about little grids, trotting in until you get used to his jump? Small fences, comfortable distances - nothing too fancy at first. You can work on your position, stepping down into your heel etc. (athletic horses need BETTER riding) and get used to his jump in a controlled way so you know not only when it's right but why it's right. You can gradually go up and tinker with the distances to get him jumping better and better, which will give you both confidence and help you adapt to each other.
 
Don't dispair! You've A. Not had him very long at all and B. He's a big horse and they take far more riding into fences than smaller animals.

Henry is 17hh and has an awesome jump - when I learn to let him do his own thing. I have learnt to hold, hold hold (to stop him rushing and encourage him onto his hocks), and then release three strides out and push him into the fence - like you. My trainer is a 4* eventer and knows her stuff - after several experiments and a few tears from me, this is what works for Henry and I. I went through a time of being nervous about being jumped out the saddle - which I compounded by hanging onto his head the entire time. Bless him, he'd always jump clear but it was very uncomfortable and not very pretty! Now I ride him forward three strides out he and I are much better.

What really helped me was firstly just going and having some fun XC (bizarrely I am more comfy jumping big solid fences than flimsy SJ poles!) - I treated the fences like SJ though, practised finding strides and releasing him into the easier type jumps. Then in the school, we used grid work and lots and lots of circles, leading into a 7 stride approach with me releasing and pushing him forward 3 strides out, and then off and out after the fence itself.

Sounds like you have a talented horse and you just need to learn to find that point at which you're both comfortable. Good luck and don't give up!!
 
Sorry to confuse everyone. The horse in my sig is one of my other horses, we don't have a problem together! Sorry to confuse everyone I don't think I have made sense very well! Peter is beautifully controlled on the approach etc, I just let him have his head and do not interfere 3 strides out and he jumps beautifully. The problem occurs when I do not collect him on the approach and he "runs" at the jump getting in tight. Thankies for all you advice, much appreciated as usual and I will persevere! He is just so damn big! x
 
don't give up - i am at the very beginning of my journey with my new horse who, much like your own, is a big boy standing at just over 17 hands.

i am having to adjust to my horses way of going, having been trained by a dressage rider and in spurs, and likewise he is having to adjust to my way of going as i have showjumped for the best part of my ridden life and quite obviously ride alot shorter than he will have been used to.

i am 5ft8 and find chester alot of horse but in all honesty its all about you and your horse learning to work together, to meet in the middle. that will take some time... keep working with your trainer, as you say when it goes right its lovely... hold on to that knowledge and do what you got to do...

i am sure that i am going to hit the deck more times than i care to imagine and miss more strides than i would care to admit but its all part of the learning process. don't be so hard on yourself keep at it xxx
 
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