[pep]

I was thinking, is there a such thing as releasing too much over the jump? I'm just thinking because in my opinion if you release so much that your almost touching your horses ears but you can not support your body and fall on the horses neck then you are releasing too much but if you can release that much and still stay off your horses neck then I don't see any harm.... Anyways just curious if anybody's ever considered this.... Anyways let me know your opinions

 

[Jumper12]

if you release more than necessary it can take you longer to regain connection with the horse upon landing, but if it doesnt put you or the horse off balance its not too bad. definitely better to release too much than not enough!!

 

[gypsygirl]

yes there is such thing as too much release. if you are balanced and not a beginner, i think you should keep a light contact over the fence. the length of the rein defines the length of the neck, and the length of the neck defines the balance. if you release up to the ears you will change their balance over the fence. this is not the end of the world unless you have another jump coming up or a tight turn.

 

[pep]

True that, I was just thinking about it because in my lesson last night over most of the jumps I had my hands in normal crest release position and then in the video I noticed over one of the oxers i could have probably touched his ears if I wanted to, but I was off his neck and I sat up quickly so I was just curious (before we did an excercise where we halted at the wall right after the jump and that helped me remember to sit up quickly) but yeah that makes sence

 

[princecharming]

i think over releasing is better then under releasing.i think you're fine ALTHOUGH i do know a girl that was riding with such a long release, with loopy riens in the beginning and her horse's legs got caught. they turned out fine though. no worries, i think your good.

 

[pep]

Okie dokie, like I don't always over release very often but when I do just making sure that there's no harm done by it

 

[Lifeofriley]

Definitely agree to over-release rather than under-release!If you're using a crest release anyway, the amount of extra time it will take you to sit up and gather your reins is marginal.

I keep a light contact over the fence which my instructor has now told me is leading to me sitting up *too* early and taking the contact back causing him to close his back end over fence.

Better to be a little bit long than a little bit short!

 

[Sphi]

Over releasing could lead to problems depending on the horse you're riding. If you're a beginner on a push button lesson horse, and you're not doing any crazy turns after the jump or anything, over releasing is probably just fine. It can even be beneficial, in fact, if you haven't gotten your balance down yet. Better than popping the horse in the mouth over every jump.

However, I think with a lot of more advanced horses it can be dangerous to over release. Some horses might buck after a jump, and over releasing leaves you vulnerable for losing control if that happens—your reins are long and you're probably leaning further forward than you should be upon landing. Same thing if your horse is strong and tends to bolt or get quick after the jump.

Also, over releasing makes it hard to ride a line properly if you need to fit in a distance. I think it would be a lot easier to do a mediumish release over the first jump so you have the reins there when you need to tighten up the horse's strides to fit the distance. Also, of course, if you need to turn right away after the jump, having more contact on the reins can help you signal for the turn before you even land.

That said, I do admit to have a bad habit of over releasing. My lease horse is super sweet and doesn't act up much, and my thinking is that a big release, as long as I stay balanced, is like a reward for jumping. I want her to be able to jump comfortably, because I've seen horses that just get really annoyed with jumping when every time they jump they get popped in the mouth. But yeah, I'd say it depends on the horse, and the amount of control you want to maintain!