Seeing a stride? tips?!

[sherwood']

I have been having a few problems recently of getting my horse wrong at a fence and him stopping- I don’t feel that I have been that wrong but it stems form coming into a fence too quickly which I am trying not to do. I think I ask for a more forward canter as I think its easier to jump out of but obv its not. I just panic about seeing a stride and kick.

Any ideas how to stop me panicking about seeing stride? The more I look for one the less I see one!

 

[TiaPony]

Don't look for a stride. By having a light seat. you will be ready to take off whatever stride your horse takes. Concentrate on getting him happily over the fences, forgetting about strides and then experiment with different tempos of canter for different fences and getting him to take off on your say so. Grids and counting strides might help too

x

 

[flyingfeet]

Easy - don't

Unless you are John Whitaker, chances are that you will balls it up.

When approaching the jump, do not look at it, try and focus on something in the distance. This should help stop you muffing things up and let the horse get on with his job.

I still get the urge to fiddle before the jumps to try and set them up, so I won't say its an easy habit to break.

 

[samp]

As said always look up and ahead, not at the fence and come on a nice forward canter, keep your legs wrapped around and do not fiddle last 6 strides

 

[sfward]

Easier said than done I know, but i think the key is to concentrate on the canter and make sure you ride a good corner and line to the fence, then it should all fall into place. Counting strides does help I find. Try and resist the urge to over-ride the last few strides and if you can't see your stride don't panic, just hold your rhythm and keep your legs on and allow the horse chance to sort himself out.

 

[FREESTYLER]

Canter poles scattered around the arena helped me, I pretended they were fences and made up a little course etc... much easier to concentrate on a pole on the ground and also improve the canter and know your own horses stride!

 

[lifeslemons]

I am with Freestyler on this! I have recently been having the same problem, and am trying to stop my habit of always looking for a stride, and instead focusing on the canter. A forward moving balanced canter with tons of impulsion - plus a good turn into the fence - means that the stride and fence will come to you. If you feel you are slightly wrong, just soften the rein - dont kick - and the horse will have sufficient impulsion to make up ground if needed, or be agile enough to jump from slightly closer.

Once you have the impulsion, you will find your horse will CARRY you into the fence, and you wont have to ram it into the bottom of it. (I have just discovered this myself!)

Good luck!

 

[Fiona]

Having the same prob myself at the moment. I had a terrible evening SJ last night, was either stuck with not enough impulsion in the smaller class, or tried to hunt her round a bit in the second one, but forgot to hold onto the front end which was fairly disastrous. Only just got it together by the second round fortunately.

Sit on your bum, legs on, and contact, and hopefully the fence should come right. Wish I could take my own advice though, thats the problem.

Fiona

 

[Scarlett1980]

Don't look! Use placing poles to get a feel for the correct place but just keep your chin up and keep trying. The more you do and less you look for one the more natural it will become.

 

[gloster_image]

Look at something in the distance which puts you on the right line - a tree, bush anything, just look up and keep a rhythmic canter and you will never be far wrong.
Also sit up. I used to collapse forward on the final stride and that would completely throw out the jump, so sit up and look up!

Also at home put a pole on the ground and canter over it and over it, don't look at pole, just pretend it isn't there and you will find you'll never be far off the right stride - then apply that to the jumping.

If your horse has a problem with getting a rhytmic canter, lots of schooling over canter poles, first in a straight line then on a circle.