SJ and young horse

[sanjo]

My mare is doing great SJ, jumping carefully and confidently. I have been bringing her on slowly and carefully with a professional trainer. I have been riding myself for 30 years so still learning but fairly competent having jumped newcomers. Her issue is that she can’t work out how to jump the first part of a one-stride double and trips over / crashes the first element. Do you have any tips to help her understand them better? I think she’s looking at the second part and not seeing the first. She’s otherwise a super jumper and takes it all in her stride. Thanks in advance.

 

[Red-1]

I would keep it low until she's worked it out.

Maybe start with canter poles at around 10.5 ft apart, so economical enough. 3 poles, 5 poles, then 7 poles, build it up but just poles.

Have someone on the floor to be able to raise one then some of the poles. Start with, say, the 2nd and then the 4th pole in the line, but only do it as she is cantering confidently and accurately down the poles. Initially, always leave the first and last poles as poles on the floor.

Play with that until she can pop the lot as raised, so bouncing along. Then, start to raise them to actual jumps, always with the first one on the floor.

Play with a 2 stride double, then a 1 stride.

Then, start to lose the intermediate poles.

Then, start to play with the distances and spreads.

Once confident, then lose the first pole so there is no guidance. But only move to the next step once she is confident.

This would take a few weeks, not all in one day!

 

[sportsmansB]

Yes echo Red-1 above - back to basics with pole work and placing poles on the ground first and then slowly raising them, tiny grids you can trot into (starting with one placing pole, and two teeny fences and then building up), etc
What happens if you trot into a small double (with striding adjusted for the fact that you are trotting?)
She needs to learn footwork and her own perception, and that's the best way