tips for keeping pony less whizzy when jumping

Firehorse

Firehorse

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please please please!!!! i dont jump very often and only little ones like 18 inches or so. but i do enjoy it and so does my pony. only trouble is, after the first jump he gets way too whizzy. it takes me another 5 minutes of flat work to calm him down and get him listening. then we jump again, and another 5 mins before he calms down etc etc. get the picture?! thats why we dont do it often. i know if i did jump more often, it wud be less exciting for him eventually.

anyway, today i managed to make him walk up to the jumps and then let him go, a couple of strides away from it, but then it takes half the paddock before we get back into trot. and then if i ask for trot work round the paddock, he thinks it time to canter again and whizz. i seem to spend most my time calming him down than jumping. after about 5 times walking to the jump, i managed to make him trot over it and trot immediately after it to, so we stopped there for today. there's not enough room in our paddock to do grids or stuff to slow him up and think, could do a bounce or a stride if i knew how to measure them out for a 13.3hh pony.

i've also turned him away from the jump as soon as he does try to take control. we ended up cantering sideways into them a couple of times, so i whirled him away quickly.

i wouldnt mind galloping flat out over jumps if there was room to do it, but there's not. :p
 
Is there room to circle before the jumps?
I have a really speedy pony, and my instructor has been getting me to circle before the jumps if she is getting too fast.
As you point out, the more you do it, the more she will calm down!
 
lots of polework and gridwork but mine is also and we walk into the jump if he gets a little too keen then pick up trot 4/5 strides out then repeat few times and then keep thinking walk and almost walk but keep a steady trot then build up as you like...just an idea of what we do but may help :)
 
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