Update Jumping advice

ktj1891

ktj1891

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I jumped my boy myself today he was really good. I set up a grid of a bounce to 1 stride to upright with v poles.

image_zpstjgtyuyl.png


[video]http://vid156.photobucket.com/albums/t17/kt-15/Mobile%20Uploads/trim.DD48B8C1-33EB-40EA-BBBF-99E61C409101_zpsncqm6gxh.mp4[/video]

Any other short grids I can work on? Also how can I improve my way of going with him over a fence. I have always say up right too soon and I don't know how to get out of it? When I try to over compensate and over exaggerate with my hands I fly out the saddle like my butt is a foot out of the saddle? Any tips?
 
Security in your jumping position comes from your lower leg and core. The ability to maintain contact over the fence comes from being able to control your body position independently from your hands - so even if he takes a huge leap, your body stays in the same place but your hands can follow his mouth.

What do you consider sitting up too early? My horse has absolutely no neck, so I'm basically sitting upright at the highest point of the jump. Anyone who doesn't is in danger of coming off the front on the way down! It's now so habitual for me that I do it even on sis' big horse, but I don't see it as a problem. It allows me to be in the right place to influence him as he lands.
 
smja said:
Security in your jumping position comes from your lower leg and core. The ability to maintain contact over the fence comes from being able to control your body position independently from your hands - so even if he takes a huge leap, your body stays in the same place but your hands can follow his mouth.

What do you consider sitting up too early? My horse has absolutely no neck, so I'm basically sitting upright at the highest point of the jump. Anyone who doesn't is in danger of coming off the front on the way down! It's now so habitual for me that I do it even on sis' big horse, but I don't see it as a problem. It allows me to be in the right place to influence him as he lands.
Click to expand...

How can I develop that though as I have always done it and done know how to change. The video attached shows me sitting up too soon. I can do this worse if I have a dodgy stride or I am nervous!
 
Vid is interesting. If that was my horse then the first thing to focus on would be the flat work with emphasis on the canter. At the moment it is lacking impulsion (not speed) and loses balance through corners with incorrect bend. This resulted in the stride shortening on approach (not what you want) and giving you a slightly iffy jump over the first. Remember that a course is a collection of single fence so being able to hit fence one of the grid spot on is important. Once in the grid fence 2 and 3 are sweet :)

Major issue with your jumping position is your hands. They are fixed and you fold over them. Work on getting them to follow the horse as it stretches it's neck over a fence and the rest will fall in to place as your lower leg is pretty stable.

ETA - stop gripping with knees would also help with balance over fence
 
He does lack impulsion I agree but I would say its more the size of the school its so easy for him to drop off of the leg coming around the corner, so I try to combat that by having him a little bit 'too' forwards. He has reasonably good flatwork which my instructor was really happy with when I had my first lesson but yes I agree the canter is lacking, I have had this in dressage tests before saying in needed more 'jump' which I did work on with my flat instructor.

I agree with my hands I find unless I really focus on it my hands wont go forwards. regarding my knees I don't feel like I am gripping with them but then again I don't think about it whilst I am jumping as I am just so nervous! Thanks for the tips!

Just for reference I will attached a link to a dressage test so you can see his flat work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOuQ7zbV7k
 
Sorry, didn't see the first vid!

The youtube link shows PaddyMonty's comments being even more true - you can see him losing balance around the corners, even slipping at the back end a bit, and the canter is flat.

The actual timing of you sitting up isn't that bad, but because your hands haven't gone forwards at all you end up leaning backwards and the horse doesn't have enough rein.
 
if he was my horse i'd concentrate more on the flatwork and getting a bouncier canter where he's taking more weight behind and more balanced around corners. at the moment he's long and flat and kind of dragging himself forward with his shoulders.

i'd love to see a video of you doing the grid with no reins. you balance a lot on them and horse isn't able to bascule correctly as neck is being pulled in. i think you're position would be lovely if you depended less on reins and knees.
 
How can I make the canter more bouncy? We do a lot of flatwork and he works nicely that small clip doesn't show the way he truly works in the school. When it comes to jumping I focus more on making him forwards as he is so lazy. I will work on my hands!
 
yeah the key is getting them more forward and ride them up into the bridle more. I got a semi carthorse who spent his time dragging himself forward on his shoulders and it took a ton of dressage work and bodybuilding the correct muscles to get him strong enough to take more weight behind.

The key is to is really to get the horse more forward and in front of your leg, then work on getting some gears in the canter so you can alter the strides. That pole exercise where you set out two poles and ride 4, then 5 then 6 strides for example between them is brilliant. Also canter squares and tons of transitions. For a less forward horse i'd do loads of walk to canter, rein backs etc, anything to get them sharp and thinking. I'd get him snapping into transitions instead of falling into them as he is now.

Then loads of polework, raised poles etc. And if i was doing grids i'd bounce the bejaysus out of him to get him back on his hocks more. He's lovely though and you ride him really nicely!
 
Brilliant I will keep up with the flatwork he's just such a laid back horse by nature. Will do some squares! He does the strides between poles pretty well, I will still do them though. He went to dressage today as part of Team Quest and got 69.02% in prelim 12, clever boy!
 
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