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Teaching my horse to jump-critique?

9K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  NordicJuniper 
#1 ·
:D A year ago I bought a 23 yr. old horse (now 24) and when we got him he couldn't jump anything. The owner told me he would never jump anything in his life, I may even forget trotting over poles. Of course, that did not stop me. XD

So I (first time horse owner) bought this really mean horse. He was terrible. He would makes holes in the ground from pawing so much and he wouldn't stop for anything. At a 1 to 10 scale of badness, he was a 9. Now, he is a 6 or 7ish. But anyway...

When I first teached him to jump, he would refuse 9/10 of them... literally. Now he accomplishes 7/10 jumps. We are jumping around 26 inches, I think.

As for me, I have been to lessons but never learned to jump higher than 6 inches. That was actually the reasons I quit lessons, the only ones close to here were Western and very boring. So I have been learning, a bit, too.

My problem is confidence issue. I have this "I'm just an AWFUL rider..." and I think all I need is some people to tell me what they think. :D The first pic is to critique my baby and the second is for me. I know in my critique pic, I need to look up more and need to have my calf farther up. The first pic was a TERRIBLE one of me, so please don't think I usually do that. :oops: Or look so big/awkward. =(



*Face bleeped for safety reasons*



Hard to see....=( I hate this pic... to be honest. But for now it's all I have.



Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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#6 ·
When I first teached him to jump, he would refuse 9/10 of them... literally. Now he accomplishes 7/10 jumps. We are jumping around 26 inches, I think.
90%-99% of refusals is rider error.

Right now, you really need to focus on flat work. Really work on strengthening your lower leg as to where it needs to be, and build on your horses muscle capacity, balance, etc, etc.

You aren't an aweful rider, you just need help :)
 
#7 ·
how long have you been jumping? If you haven't been jumping long I would recommend using a saddle before you go bareback. Like CharliBum said, you have to have a really good seat to do bareback jumping. I think it would help your horse too, if you had a saddle. Then you could learn to let HIM jump the jump instead of jumping ahead.

Just my two cents :)

ps- he looks pretty good for 24
 
#8 ·
I have been jumping for four years, I think...

I have never fallen off from a jump. My balance is excellent, so I am not asking if I should be jumping bareback. My horse refused most of the jumps due to the fact he did not want to and wasn't ready. He didn't like it much, either. I have to admit, though, that I needed to be more patient with him. I will get some pictures today of me in the saddle. He doesn't do as well with a saddle. I have tried just not jumping the jump with him... I am training HIM to jump, it's not the other way around, so I need to guide instead of just holding on. If I don't help him match his stride up he fails.

I know you all are really trying to help... I appreciate it. I am also going to try to do as charlibum suggested. I will be getting pics and you can see how I'm doing. Would video be good? Also, I AM taking lessons this summer. I have never had real lessons, I have been to horse camp a few times but you gain only so much knowledge in those. I took one lesson and the instructor (trust me... she is the type to tell you you're terrible if you are) said I do great, BUT, I need to keep my calf in place. But even pros, I've noticed, legs slip terribly. Of course, they are going over 6 foot jumps at an alarming rate, but still....

But what I want to know the most is if i've done a good job training him. Not my looks, as such.

Sorry for the sass. It's too hot here and I have been in a bad mood...


Thanks! :D Keep the tips coming!
 
#9 ·
Your horse actually looks like he's interested in jumping. He's got a curious and actually kind expression on his face, his ears are forward, his knees are fairly even and high and he's being careful. Maybe he's not mean so much as smart and really bored. A lot of horses need different "games" such as jumping to keep their minds engaged. I've never jumped bareback before. All I can say is wait for the horse to jump and just close your hip angle.
 
#14 ·
ohk first things first is get him cantering or going at the correct speed alot earlier then a few strides because he ended up throwing in a half stride and im not even sure it was a canter. therefore I didnt like the take off, you need to let him see the jump and help him plan his takeoff point as well as you. he was also on the wrong lead but this isnt that important at this height. your still trying to get up and off his back, this is not the go with bareback jumping! the idea is to sit there and move with the horse. what also concerns me is that your leaning on his neck still now this is not a problem as long as you arnt jumping as when you are jumping you seem to give no release and your horse is suffering he cant get his knees up if your restricting other parts of his body.

now back on the throwing yourself this is meaning as you land your bum has to land aswell which means you land the jump with a thump, I could tell this would be the case just by looking at your other pictures.

all over its not a horrible picture but you really need to work on staying more seated and really giving him a release!

good luck with him and he is looking great for his age!

wow I hardly ever do critiques sorry if it makes no sence and doesnt help hahaha
 
#15 ·
:D
ohk first things first is get him cantering or going at the correct speed alot earlier then a few strides because he ended up throwing in a half stride and im not even sure it was a canter. therefore I didnt like the take off, you need to let him see the jump and help him plan his takeoff point as well as you. he was also on the wrong lead but this isnt that important at this height. your still trying to get up and off his back, this is not the go with bareback jumping! the idea is to sit there and move with the horse. what also concerns me is that your leaning on his neck still now this is not a problem as long as you arnt jumping as when you are jumping you seem to give no release and your horse is suffering he cant get his knees up if your restricting other parts of his body.

now back on the throwing yourself this is meaning as you land your bum has to land aswell which means you land the jump with a thump, I could tell this would be the case just by looking at your other pictures.

all over its not a horrible picture but you really need to work on staying more seated and really giving him a release!
I forgot to mention this was a few months back. We really have improved. :) But I will try to sit deeper and give him more rein. I thought I was just overall terrible. If I DO decide to throw myself forward-should I try really hard to land softer? Thanks!!!!!!!
 
#16 ·
oh ok. my bad. you do have a pretty good base of support. I was just wondering because from the pics you posted first it didn't look as though you should really be jumping bareback....

good job though! The last pic looks alot better.
 
#18 ·
I have to question why he does better jumping bareback? sounds like a saddle issue. I think you should work on jumping with a saddle, you can switch off of course. I certainly don't think you are horrible but I agree if you work more on his flat work, being collected, shortening and lenghtening his strides, etc. the jumping should come. You are making good progress considering he is an older cranky horse
 
#19 ·
First off, I think you guys look great together and your horse looks wonderful, I would never guess he is so old. [:

There are a couple things you need to fix, just like everyone else though. I realize the pictures and video were from a few months ago, but I would be willing to bet that you still have the same position problems. The biggest thing I see is your release. In the video, you look like you're bracing yourself on his withers for balance. I can understand how jumping bareback would induce that. You need to pick your hands up and then give him a good solid crest release. Grab mane, jumping bareback makes it easy to accidentally pull on your horse's mouth and grabbing mane would ensure that he doesn't get a jab in the mouth for obeying you.

You also need to have a much better approach. Trot around the arena, find a nice trot or canter, get into a rhythm and give him a decent approach. Count your strides as you come up to the fence, it will help you begin to see distances easier and will help HIM learn to see them.

Your bum does not need to lift off of him at all when you jump him bareback. Just let him close your angles when he lifts off the ground and give a good release. The way you are jumping now, you are ahead of his center of gravity and making it harder for him to lift his legs and clear the fence. He's a bit older, help him out by staying back.

Your leg looks good, but I would do a lot of no stirrup work WITH A SADDLE to strengthen up your calf and thighs. Posting with a saddle develops a completely different muscle than riding bareback does. You don't have to jump him with a saddle, but you DO need to practice flatwork with it.

Overall, you guys look very good together and your horse is a cutie. Good luck with his jumping!
 
#20 ·
Good news! I am went to see him today... well.... I tried my seat and without pics know I did pretty bad. But I was releasing and he really stretched out quite a bit. I am going to be working on my seat some more later, and you don't become okay to wonderful in just a half hour. Any seating advice? When I sat back he knocked it over. I guess I should just not move my seat at all and just hang on, maybe lean slightly? Thanks!
 
#22 · (Edited)
Picture. This is me going in the saddle. For once. XD I think I need to do something with my lower arms. Like make them higher or something. I know what's wrong. And maybe I should have released more. (But I have been doing much better on this) Anything else? What about me looks GOOD? ;)



I have a video I may post later.
 
#25 ·
I think you guys are doing well, your heels look really good!

I don't know how much help this picture will be, as it is a front view, but it gives a little of an idea of what the others are talking about. Instead of trying to fully two point just bend a little at the hip, as I did in the picture. My release is horrible because that was when I was first learning how to jump [I think it was only my third month of jumping if that] so ignore that.

 
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