seeing a stride - help please!

[Hemirjtm]

It seemed as though it was all coming together last thursday morning, I felt really confident about my jumping, and H was actually jumping properly.

Then I had a bit of a confidence knock, which I thought i took quite positivly tbhm but I obviously didn't. See here for details! : http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=377538 The pro doesn't want me to work for him but what he would like to do is give me lessons in exchange for riding one or two of his horses. So thats positive!

But I had another jumping lesson with my normal trainer yesterday and it took me over 30mins to be able to jump a small X pole without him stopping or knocking it down. It was definatly me making the mistakes, he wont jump unless I am 100% commited.

She was getting frustrated, as was I. So decided to go right back to basics and put a pole on the floor, I spent about 10mins just going over this pole getting the striding right, lengthening and shortening as needed. But going into the jump it just wasn't coming together. In the end I was just getting really cross with myself, and was ready to call it a day.

But trainer had something else in mind! She mad me shorten my reins, and REALLY sit to his canter, so I was asking him to really sit on his back end. She then told me to pop up the grid (a X pole, one stride, to an upright of about 90cm, one stride to an upright of 1m10). We jumped this smoothly and with enough 'upward movement' to not knock the poles. So we did this a few times, I had to turn into the grid on different strides. one time I had to turn 5 strides away from the first jump. And then another time I had to have 2 strides in front of it. This seemed to really help me, and him!

She then changed it and we had a small upright, one stride to an upright of 1m then one stride to another small upright. We had to jump up them, then turn a circle and jump back down them. This went completly wrong Not quite sure what happened, but neither of us could get the hang of it - stupid I know. Anyway she changed it, and put the last one up to 1m10 to get H lifting his legs up. But he kept knocking the middle one down. I wasn't doing anything wrong apparently he was just being lazy! So T put a big X pole (resting on top of wings) in the middle, and on the last part. This made him pick his legs up amd we jumped through it nicely.

We then finished. Had a breifing about what we are going to do for the next month, and exercises for me to be able to see a stride better. As T doesn't really want to put X poles up as they are my confort zone!!

Anyway, does anyone else have trouble seeing a stride? Or did you have a problem seeing a stride? If you did, what excersises did you do to help?

Any help VERY much welcomed!

Thanks

 

[Weezy]

Seeing a stride is all about knowing your horse's canter IMO. If you have a really adaptable canter then seeing a stride isn't important, so much as knowing the rhythm your horse is in and jumping out of it. If you get hung up on seeing a stride then it will evade you. Lots of canter pole work (sorry!) adapting the canter between 2 poles, so learn to ride on 3, 4 and even 5 strides between canter poles set for a 4 stride distance. This will give you more confidence in yourself and you will find it easier to ride into a fence.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

echo weezy-i havent jumper *properly* for many years and when i first started again, found setting up a nice forward deep stride difficult as not only was my eye *not in* but pony was only 4 and didnt have many *gears* to his canter.
a few months later and now the canter is far more established, all i have to do to keep comming is open my chest, to shorten the canter tighten my knees, to open the stride-take my shoulders back, and the horse is condfident enough to keep rocking on *my*canter and not pull me to the fence, and we never get a bad one.
canter is key!

 

[Hemirjtm]

Thanks both of you. We are doing canter poles for the next couple of days for me to be able to see a stride and work on flying changes.

H doesn't have a great canter, you really have to hold him up. And he's only just learning that you can canter in an outline and not with your head in the clouds! Plus he's 15.

Thanks again, I will try the things suggested tomorrow
L

 

[Weezy]

Stop trying to see a stride, even to a pole, honestly, if you keep with the *must see a stride* you will only fail as you will make it evasive! You don't need an outline either, just adaptability. From what you have said I would suggest you do lots of walk-canter-walk, canter-halt-canter work. You should also try shortening on the short sides and kicking on on the long sides, but keeping the rhythm, this will help you learn 2 canters and show your horse that he is capable of at least 2 canters. It will come quicker than you think, it sounds to me as tho you are going through paralysis by analysis ATM!

 

[jess_asterix]

Don't look for it!!! You will get hung up on it and then never see one, just get a good powerful canter rhythm and keep moving to the fence taking a check or opening the canter if needed. DDon't worry about it!

 

[Hemirjtm]

Weezy - I know what you mean, but when I don't think about things like striding, getting the canter right and riding to the fence, I freeze up 5 strides out and basically lose it. I just can't fight this.

We do lots of transitions at the start of every schooling session. I don't mean an 'outline' as for dressage, but I don't mean his head stuck up in the air like a giraffe, as I can't put him in a martingale so he needs to be roundish. As he just pulls himself along rather than pushing himself along (not making excuses here, as everything is very useful). He does have 2 canters, and one is starting to become quite bouncy which is what we are aiming for as he can get quite flat.

J-asterix - Now thats the problem I have with this horse, If I take a check he jabs his head about, so basically goes to the jump not looking at it. can fully understand why it is needed and is useful. I have tried and tested it with H and he's a nightmare trying to check him. We normally end up flying round a course of jumps because I can't 'hold' him. 99% of the time we go clear with a stupidly fast time as we have bombed round, and I don't really like this way of going. Its not good.

I'm hoping with practice we can get a good rythm and keep it. I think thats more why we are doing poles, to get the rythm, to shorten and lengthen the strides in accordance to where the poles are.

Thanks again for the help. Really appreciate it.
L

 

[hannahg16]

I get the same problem - Ive been yelled at before for doing nothing in front of a fence, apparently it's better to be wrong than do nothing, but if I start thinking I stop feeling and then I always get it wrong!

It might sound a bit babyish but the thing that always helped me was to count out loud into a fence, initially just like '1...jump' and increasing to '5,4,3,2,1,jump'. I usually do it out loud, under my breath, from 3, and I swear my horse hears me because I always get it right when I count Helps you keep your rhythm and if you think you're going to be on a bit of a flier you inevitably shout louder on the last stride, and that seems to make you kick a bit more too and ride much more positively!

 

[scally]

Totally agree, it is not about seeing a stride at the heights you are jumping it is about the quality of the canter.

Put a pole half way down the school and just keep cantering over it, till you get the same rhythm all the time, the canter should not then change whether it is a pole on the floor or a 1.20 upright.

Once this works, try going over the poles on one less stride down the long side, and then with one extra stride so you learn to adjust the canter.

It seems from your horses description that your horse stops through your lack of commitment not the fact you dont see a stride.

Learn to ride a powerful active canter as a horse thats stride is 6ft long with power can never be more than 3ft off the ideal take off, a horse with a flat canter that is cantering a 10ft stride will be 5ft off of take off and that is where the problem lies.

 

[natalia]

"Learn to ride a powerful active canter as a horse thats stride is 6ft long with power can never be more than 3ft off the ideal take off, a horse with a flat canter that is cantering a 10ft stride will be 5ft off of take off and that is where the problem lies."


Totally agree with this. I also find I see my stride better when I'm slightly intoxicated, lol. A couple of glasses of wine before going in the ring and I fly. Don't get hung up on seeing a stride, your horse should help you a bit at least. My little mare is very genuine and will jump off any stride, however once you get hung up on seeing one it is all to easy to pull them out at the last minute if its not perfect, which isn't always good for the horse. I tend to shorten to much in to a fence and over check, when really often all thats needed is to kick on. Try and go and have a jump on as many horses as possible, they all have different gears in to a fence and I think you were very brave for riding a pro's horse in the first place as you have really only been jumping your horse! I really wouldn't want to jump a pro's horse as they are less forgiving.