So frustrated...my riding is rubbish

[jumpthemoon]

I'm so fed up with my cr*p riding at the moment

My aim is to jump BSJA with my horse, but at the minute I can hardly get over a single fence

The problem is the first time I jump a fence - I get better afterwards. I just assume the horse is going to stop, when I know he'll jump if I ask him to properly! It's so frustrating

I try to tell myself that I need to ride as if he is going to jump, but I can't put my finger on exactly what I do differently, so I don't know what to focus on

He will jump the fence as I make sure I put my leg on, but he hesitates as I'm doing it all wrong...

I feel like I'm ruining him and it's all a waste of time.

Just ranting really - feeling especially pathetic tonight and not sure how to fix it

 

[icestationzebra]

A good instructor! They will very quickly put their finger on the problem and help you ride through it. Lots of work on the canter on the flat, making sure your horse is between your leg and hand and that you have gears within the pace. So when you ask your horse to canter to a fence it WILL jump the fence because you are sending him forward... Help on the ground is invaluable though.

 

[redmerl]

Not rubbish, just need to think more positive!
Have you been riding one that stops? My old horse used to stop, so instructor took me XC. It seamed to work.

Just keeping looking at something on the other side, and keep kicking!!!!

 

[jumpthemoon]

Thanks both of you. I'm having a lesson on Sunday so I'l see if that helps. His canter is pretty good - his flatwork is ok but it all seems to go out of the window when there is a fence there!

I haven't been riding one that stops lately, but the horse I had before this one used to stop. I did get back into it and was jumping courses with fillers etc fine, but I've not jumped properly since before xmas and now I seem to have gone backwards. I need to look at the other side of the fence though, redmerl - i noticed tonight I was gawping at the jump on the approach (probably part of the reason the horse was too!)

 

[icestationzebra]

I'm sure a lesson will help. Also incorporate jumping into your flatwork so that it doesn't become a big deal. A couple of little fences - just pop them into your canter work - don't think of them as jumps - just a bigger canter stride. You don't expect your horse to stop dead whilst cantering around the school - so don't 'expect' him to stop when asking for this bigger stride. Just take your time and enjoy it

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

Start small. I lost my confidence with a dirty stopper and another who bronked after fences and I nearly gave up. The mare I have now is great. When I got her, I was petrified of a x pole but have now recently affiliated BSJA and went XC schooling for the first time in about 3 years and jumped lots. I started with x poles from trot and worked to canter and then just kept sliding the fences up a hole at a time until you dont notice the difference.
I am sure your riding isnt cr*p I used to feel like this, it is just your confidence knocking you a bit.
Start with your lesson and go from there. Don't give up. I was honestly the biggest wimp with shaky legs at the sight of a jump so you can do it.
Remember if you think the horse will stop they probably will so positive thinking.
Good luck with the lesson!

 

[moneypit1]

Hi ya, I know exactly how you feel. I have developed a bad habit of looking at the fence and waiting for a stop, and guess what....that is exactly what Fly does! Mind you, he can be a bit of a serial dirty stopper when the mood takes. All I can tell you is what my instructor tells me and that is you have to communicate to the horse that you really WANT him to jump this etc, it does work, just keep em small and concentrate on rythum as that seems to be the key! Cheer up, ive been on my a** so much this year its getting a bit "normal"!

 

[bex1984]

jumpthemoon your riding is the absolute opposite of rubbish!!! You ride so nicely and I am alwasy so jealous when I see you ride.

Just think what you'd tell me: don't look at the jump, sit up and kick!!

I sometimes line a jump up with a letter in the school, and then approach it telling myself to keep looking at the letter.

 

[muddy_grey]

I'm sure you're not crap. We all have days (or months!) like this. If it is just the first fence then jump the same set of fences a few times small and gradually build up the same fences.
As for looking at the fence my old instructor said "If you look at the fence that's where you'll end up" always helped me. Try to focus on something beyond the fence not just anything. We used to have a wierd branch that looked like it had a monkey sat on it so - Look at the Monkey - as we used to say.

 

[jumpthemoon]

Thanks everyone

I'm just going through a phase I think. It doesn't seem to make any difference if I put the fences down - in some respects it makes it worse!I think part of the problem is that our school is so small I struggle to get a decent approach, then struggle to ride away as well. Also the surface is too hard to jump more than about a foot anyway

I'm hiring out an arena tomorrow in prep for my lesson on Sunday so I'll see how that goes. I'm just so frustrated that I think to myself on the approach - 'ride like we're going over it', but physically I'm not sure what to change in order to convey that to the horse

I'll try a random fence for schooling tonight and pop over it a few times while I'm doing canter work - I like the sound of that idea

I'll also try and find something to focus on - thanks everyone

 

[TarrSteps]

Riding a horse that stops can and often does permanently change one's riding, although it doesn't have to be a long term disaster. Before refusing doesn't really enter one's head - if it happens it's just a momentary thing with an easy explanation. But riding a horse with a stopping issue makes one doubt oneself and raises the spectre that the horse might NOT jump, which one cannot just erase no more than one can stuff a genie back in the bottle.

The most annoying bit is that it usually gets less with practice and then reasserts itself after a break. So no, you are far from alone. This is human nature and knowing it, while not exactly helpful, should help you separate out your confidence from you actual riding ability, which has obviously NOT got worse since the end of last year.

That said, confidence issues happen to almost everyone at one time or another and the act of working through them can actually be a catalyst for good change - it doesn't have to be a long term disaster.

Keep in mind the horse has a brain, too - he might need some work to get back in the swing and feeling good about his task. It's easy for horse and rider to feed off each other, good or bad.

Can you chat with your instructor at all about how you're feeling? Not in a touchy feely woe is me way, but so he/she can specifically target the lesson to both help your weaknesses (which is the point of the exercise) and demonstrate your existing skills in a way you can "take home" with you? Grids and other exercises can be great for getting your eye up and reassuring you both you and the horse can easily jump what you need to.

I find jumping small stuff repeatedly helps a lot. Just a couple of fences set to jump both ways and then KEEP jumping them, from different directions. When that works tighten up your corners, jump in an angle etc. I know space is a problem but the jumps don't have to be large or many. Don't just jump the same jump from the same line every time and don't circle away or make huge changes if you think you're going to be wrong - keep the jumps small enough so that you can just keep coming and reassure both of you you can cope with a bit of a bad distance etc.

Visualisation helps in such cases, too. Sit quietly and "see" yourself jumping the sorts of things you want to address. Start out with "perfect" jumps and then imagine making corrections etc. All a bit hippy dippy? Here's an off horse exercise that will prove what an effect it can have: Sit quietly and turn your head in one direction, taking note of the farthest thing you can see in your vision. Then turn back and mentally "practice" turning your head, imagining turning it further and further each time, thinking about how it feels to do that but NOT actually turning your head. Then turn your head again . . . I guarantee you'll be able to turn MUCH further if you've done the exercise correctly. Your mind really does have a huge effect on your body.

Hmm, too much information? Some of it is "just doing it" as the sneaker people say but it goes a lot faster and better if you understand what you're doing!

Good luck and really, you'll be fine. It's nothing unusual.

 

[jumpthemoon]

Thanks TarrSteps. I've just tried the visualisation excercise and it does work

I'll sit and have a think at lunch

I don't feel 'woe is me' so much as frustration that although I know I can jump the fences and I know the horse won't stop, even if I do ride a poor approach, I can't seem to snap out of it

I think the lesson will help at the weekend - I'll make sure I explain the problems we're having so she can see what's happening. Thanks for your help