stupid bliming bits!!! :(

ShowJumperBeckii

ShowJumperBeckii

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Yes you guessed it more about bits?
but i dont know what to do :(
i have taken your advice but as soon as she seens a course of jumps shes like 'cya mum' and i cant hold her back :/
shes only been to a few showjumpings shows with me so its obv shes just excited to be out but im stuck

iv tired :
loose ring snaffle-no control or stearing
fulmer- no control
hanging check-not bad but still not alot of control;
french check? no control at all
pelham-to strong
3 ring gag -she dont accepted it/isnt comfortable :/
tom thumb -no control

what now? im 14 so im not that expenived to re school her ect and we cant afford her to be re schooled ect and i do have lessons but im parents cant keep paying for loads of them
my YO/intrustor said we need to have a sit down one day and go thru all the bits and try them out on her and see what happens but surely theres not alot left to try?
 
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You need to find an instructor who will help you SCHOOL her over fences. Not an entire course, but get her listening to you before you put them together. There are just so many exercises to try. You just need to find an instructor who isn't just going to find the "quick fix". I teach a lot of people who don't necessarily have a lesson every week, sometimes once a fortnight sometimes longer if they can't afford it. The key is the right instructor and then PRACTISE religiously what they've taught you inbetween.

When were her teeth, back and saddle last checked by the way?
 
but we have just done a few and when we get out to shows so gets so excited and is like bye? ill speak to my eventer intrustor maybe? and see what he suggest?

teeth month ago new saddle few months ago :)
 
So at home she'll jump nicely and in control?

Then maybe box her out and hire a course of jumps somewhere, or go to a clear round eveing, so she learns that the same rules apply away from home.
 
Can you post a video of you jumping, just so that we can see whether it is something about your position that is allowing her to rush? That should give everyone a better idea regarding what to suggest :)
 
I've been reading your progress so far and i'm not that experienced with a range of bits either. I only have needed snaffles or at most a continental gag but that was for hacking only and I rode on a loose rein except when trotting/cantering in the fields where I didnt have the brakes with a snaffle.

I think you are concentrating far too much on what bit your horse needs. A change of bit isnt going to immediately change your horse's way of going. Personally I think you need to go back to basics with her jump schooling so that you train her not to rush and you school her to be more balanced when making turns. Start with poles then small crosses then a small double. Building it up to a course at a small height before you even bring the fences up to the height you want to compete at.

I really dont think you will get the control by changing her bit and going out jumping BN on a weekend. Its all about schooling. And I understand you are 14 and want to go compete and have fun which is fine but if you dont forget about the competing and spend weeks/months working on the schooling part you wont be getting the clears you want. To be honest if I were you I would spend the rest of the year schooling her and aim for next year to compete BSJA. Perhaps when you've been able to school her controlled in a snaffle over a small course at home you could take her to a unaffiliated show to school her away from home.

This probably isnt what you want to hear but changing bits isnt going to work a miracle.
 
BSJAShowjumper123 said:
i could try and get videos but my intrustors normaly riding at the same time
and yes but as iv said im not that expenived to re school her ect
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You just need to work with an instructor who will teach you the exercises to help reschool and wont just offer quick fixes.
 
dont blame the bits they are just there to hold the bridle together get some schooling done with trotting poles before and after the jump.
 
Out of interest, have you ever watched an experienced rider take her around a course of jumps? I'm just wondering if rather than it being her lack of schooling it's your riding. Please don't take that the wrong way, but my old boy was very whizzy. With a good rider he was no trouble to take around a course, but an inexperienced rider would have stood no chance. It would have been a mess.

It's just a couple of times in this post you have said you are not experienced, and I do wonder if that's the crux of the problem.... You managed to hurt/cut your horse with a pelham (which I have never heard of anyone doing before) and so I am wondering whether it is more you than her.

Sorry.
 
I watched the grid... Can't tell a lot from it. But an exercise I'd add to that is to see how quickly you can halt immediately after the grid. I mean in a straight line, before you turn.

I wantched another vid though that was linked, dated 8th July, I assum that was at home as it was just over one jump, and she' "wheelying" around the turn coming into it. You can tell she's about to just go. So I wouldnt say you have total control at home. I wouldn't have let my old boy take the jump if he'd come around the corner like that. So I'd definitly say some more schooling at home is needed.
 
Ok, couldn't really tell much from that video, but based on some of your others too, you seem to lean forwards a little going into the jump, meaning that you are in a forward seat, and don't really have much control. You need to focus on keeping your weight back and really sitting deep, so then you're using your body and seat to control the speed, not just your hands. Also, when going over the jumps, you seem to fire yourself forwards and land forwards, rather than sitting up and back, so then she has room to rush off, meaning if there is a jump soon afterwards, you haven't regained control.

I would really work on sitting back and deep into and after the fences, so that you're using your seat/weight rather than relying on your hands only. Just work on this over small fences until you have the required control needed to do bigger, more technical courses.
 
You could probably do both. A grid would be good as it gets her listening, and you have to sit up quickly to adjust her striding/regain control within a small amount of strides (1 or 2), so then you learn to sit up and collect again as soon as she lands. A course would also help as then you have to adjust her strides along with turning etc., and then it is more like it would be at a competition. I would just work over little fences first so that if you mess it up (such as over collecting her/something else goes wrong), then no one will get hurt.
 
I refer to my previous post. Please do read it. Start with the basics and build up slowly. This means poles then trot poles to a cross pole then canter poles to a cross. Galaxy suggested the halting as quick as possible after the jump. Very good exercise for control cuz it gets your horse thinking about steadying after the jump rather than whizzing off to the next one out of control. If I were you I wouldnt bother with courses of jumps yet until you can control her over a single jump then a double then a grid of 3 or 4.

I cant stress enough that there is no quick fix and you will need to spend a long time working on this. If she gets too excitable and out of control then you go back a step. You really need an instructor who can help you do this so you get ahead of yourself either.
 
Try this exercise.

Put 2 jumps out in a straight line on a long side. Don't "stride" them out precisely, but make sure you can put roughly 4 horse strides in betweem (2 of you strides for landing, 3 for each stride, 2 for take off). Ride down them counting out loud the number of strides. Don't make the jumps big. 2ft will be fine. Then come down again and see how many strides you can put in. Lets say you put 4 in the 1st time, well then work on getting 5/6 strides in and get her listening to you and not just plowing on.

When you come into a jump though canter some circles first. Get a nice canter with her listening to you. Don't just fly around the turn like you were on the vids.
 
I think you should maybe take her right back to basics. Can she trot over small jumps?
You want to be able to put her into a pace and she stays in it until you ask her to go any faster or slower.
I want all my horses to be able to walk trot and canter over jumps on a loose rein. This lets me know that my horse will stay in the correct pace. I think its important to be able to ride off a loose rein so that the horse doesnt rely on the reins to dictate the pace so much.

I would work on a lot of rotting poles and jumping small jumps in trot instead of canter.
I always prefer to stop a horse with one rein instead of two. Most people are taught to pull both reins to stop them. What this does is allowes the horse to resist and lean on your hands. I feel its far more effective not to let your horse ever learn she can pull.
What i think may help is to teach the one rein stop. Lots of info on the web, so wont go into detail here.
Ive trained a few pullers who wouldnt stop with two reins, using the one rein stop so i know its effective.
If you get it really good so that when you approach the jump and she rushes off, ask her to bend to a halt. Every time she tries to rush with you either on the flat or jumping in any pace, ask for a one rein stop.
Eventually she will learn that its easier not to rush. So when she can do this in trot over jumps, try canter. Just dont pull both reins as this just makes her lean against you. And dont worry about the bit. I do this in a rope halter so i reckon you can do it in a snaffle too. PM me if you want to know more about the horses i reschooled and how the one rein stop works. Best of luck.

Ps, what is she like to ride on the flat?
 
galaxy23 said:
Try this exercise.

Put 2 jumps out in a straight line on a long side. Don't "stride" them out precisely, but make sure you can put roughly 4 horse strides in betweem (2 of you strides for landing, 3 for each stride, 2 for take off). Ride down them counting out loud the number of strides. Don't make the jumps big. 2ft will be fine. Then come down again and see how many strides you can put in. Lets say you put 4 in the 1st time, well then work on getting 5/6 strides in and get her listening to you and not just plowing on.

When you come into a jump though canter some circles first. Get a nice canter with her listening to you. Don't just fly around the turn like you were on the vids.
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Agree with this to a t. Really works on you having control with collecting. Also, get a nice canter first, as you tend to just canter and go straight into the jump so it is a long, rushing canter, rather than a nice, balanced canter. This also included going round the corners, as she is motorbiking the turns, whereby your just pulling her head to the outside to stop her running into the jump, rather than having a correct bend and being balanced. Judging from the videos, you do need to do some schooling to get her paces more balanced, and to get her listening to you more and being more flexible in the length of her strides etc.
 
Lots of good advice here. A new bit wont offer a quick fix. She's resisting the stronger bits so you need to take the advice here.
You have a lovely mare but need to be patient.
 
hmm, I have just watched the clips and to be perfectly honest with you i am not 100% sure what the problem is? The clips are quite short mind so maybe I am not seeing the full picture but, she looks to be coming in in a rhythm and enjoying what she is doing? Is she stopping with you - ie racing at the fence and stopping or is she just going faster then you'd like?

I do agree with the advice of schooling more, but not just down grids etc but change. Do some grids but maybe also do things leg dog legs etc so you and her have to think a bit more. A grid with a very rushy horse can just panic them a bit and they can just end up faster and faster. I was expecting to see a much worse video to be honest - god I wish i had a video of my pony who we tried to school to improve him but came to the conclusion he panicked too much SJing so we decided to stop trying.

If she is strong then a bit change will help. When you said about the pelhamm do you mean the pelham is too strong or she is too strong in the pelham? Have you tried the pelham (maybe a vulcanite mouthpiece) but with the curb chain removed? I had to do this with mine as he wjumped better when he knew you were in control it gave him more confidence but, with a cirb chain he just backed off the bit too much and hated it so i took it off and he was 100 times better.

I would 2nd the sit back more advice too and, of you are coming towards the fence (schooling) establish your canter first. If she speeds up when she spots the fence then circle her and make her do something else, she needs to listen.

I am sure you will get there but, as I said if she's jumping fine as she is then i wouldn't mess with it too much. Sometimes you just have to let them do it in the style they feel happy with.
 
You need to take the advice given previously and stop jumping until you have complete control. If you put a chocolate cake in front of someone who has been on a diet for half an hour, they're going to crack, if you wait a few months they'll have stopped craving chocolate cake, and it won't seem so exciting any more.

I have some fantastic exercises to help with balance and control in horses who rush fences, so feel free to PM me if you'd like to try them.

Maybe try reading the answers to some of your previous posts too - I'm sure I remember 99% of people telling you to stop jumping until you had control, and lots of people suggesting fantastic exercises for you to try.
 
BSJAShowjumper123, what does she do when you say you have no control? I presume that she sets off at a pace with you and you can't shorten? But does she stick her head in the air? Or does she stick her head down and bear on your hands?
 
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