Random taking off after a jump

[Jericho]

Can anyone give any tips on some schooling exercises for this new habit pony is trying on? 90% of the time he is fine, will jump very steadily but I am noticing that he is starting to just take off at speed after he has landed after a jump, particularly if heading towards the gate. His head goes down and if he is feeling particularly cheeky he puts in a buck. Rider is quite small on him and he knows he can get away with it at the moment as she has come off when he has bucked. Shortly after we got him we found out that he is very forward XC and really got excited resulting in lots of holding back and then shooting off at speed once he was 'let loose' over a fence so we stopped XC until control has improved. However the problem is starting to happen in an open field with show jumps even if he has been trotting or cantering in a rhythm towards the fence. There doesnt really seem to be a trigger for it. Instructor has been doing some grid work to get him to think on landing but other tips would be greatly appreciated. He is ridden in a hanging cheek french link and I think I will put him back in a gag for a while so rider has more braking power...

Pretty sure its not pain related as not consistent and back and saddle have been checked and his general demeanour is not one of pain, just pure pony cheekiness!

 

[mystiandsunny]

I've known horses do this when their rider has accidentally touched/pulled on their mouth during take off/in the air/landing. Also when a rider has lost their balance slightly in the air and landed hard/too early. Does he do this with other riders? If it's intermittent it could still be pain also, most likely from the saddle.

 

[Cabaret]

I've definitely seen this too when the rider will perhaps balance off the mouth over the jump or lands hard/early.

If you have ruled out all pain-related complaints, have the rider grab mane over the jump to ensure complete release of the mouth and that her seat stays off the back until landing. It sounds like your rider is little, so you may want to use some trot/canter poles into the jump so they can grab mane a bit before the jump and the pony will still arrive at a correct distance.

Another exercise is to halt after every fence, in a straight line, before the corner, and then back up for 3-4 steps. You do not want to make it an abrupt halt, as you don't want to panic the pony, but a smooth downward transition, emphasizing that the halt must be straight. You could also use a landing rail and tell your rider to start the halt after that rail so she doesn't start the halt over the jump.

Crookedness over the jump can also cause the rush on landing. The straight halt afterward will demonstrate any crookedness the pony may have and then your rider can use the appropriate leg/hand aids to correct it in the takeoff.