-le sigh- so i decided to teach my horse to jump. I’m sure this wasa mistake on my part, but i would still like to follow through and teach him even though he may never be used for show jumping. He seems to be afraid of everything we try to jump him over no matter how much time we spend on getting used to the object(s) he’ll have no problem walking around over them…but when it comes to jumping he just become scared crapless of the object… The two objects he’s had the worst time with are PVC pipes (becuase they are the same length of a regular jumping pole), and wood poles ( too short, and used to be used for trail obstical.) he well approach the jump, and then stop dead, and spaze out…he also will just run right through the jump tosseing everything apart…;-; I’ve been working for a week, and i’m trying to to give up but He just won’t jump when i’m trying to teach him to do it…He won’t jump on a lunge line, he won’t jump under saddle, but he will jump over a grounded object bareback, and thats the most i’ve been able to do with him… please some one tell me this isn’t hopeless. I’m getting some lessons btu my teacher dosen’t even know what to do ;-;
P.S i would also like to add that my horse was abused before i got him, and this has been taken in to consideration when we started to teach him.
That said, I’m pretty sure most horses can learn to jump. As long as the vet doesn’t see anything wrong w/ him, that is. Obviously a sore back, etc would make it harder.
I’ve always started teaching by lunging over the objects. Mostly b/c I feel safer on the ground , plus then if they do make some huge/insane effort to get over it, I’m not going to smack their back/hit their mouth accidentally. Once they start jumping calmly in stride then I’ll get on and go through the whole thing again.
I’d suggest trying trot poles (so you can use your wooden poles for those most likely, 4 1/2’ apart or whatever it is for him to step over one with each step). I’m assuming he’s ok with that from what you’ve said. Then I’d try raising the last one just a tiny bit off the ground. As in, maybe slide two extra poles under it so it makes like an H shape with the part he’s going over only a couple inches high. If he’ll go over that then just keep gradually raising the back pole/switch which pole is raised, etc. Eventually he’ll get to jumping x-rails and stuff, but you want to start off so small he doesn’t even realize he’s jumping. (I’ve had horses run through the jumps before while teaching them, and eventually they just decide jumping’s more comfortable than smacking their shins. That said, don’t put wraps on his front legs unless you have to… you want it to hurt if he hits something ).
If he tries to run out to the sides when you’re riding/lunging him over stuff, do the whole pole resting on the jump down to the ground so he’s got a funnel pointing him at the jump. He’ll have to jump something to get out. And don’t be scared to make him jump from a standstill. Unless you’re going over like 2’ then any horse should be able to make that.
Dunno how much of that you’ve tried, but those are my suggestions. In my experience it’s just a question of doing it so often that they give up and decide to do what you want. You could also try and see if it’s going between the standards he doesn’t like or if it’s just jumping by raising a pole with something like other poles/buckets/etc and see what his opinion is of that.
I think Andrea’s given some really good advice, I’ve ridden a lot of green jumpers and I use most of the techniques she mentioned. After he gets used to lunging over the jumps, just be ready for some wacky leaps in the air over the first few things you ride him over, but he’ll figure it out once he realizes that he really can get over it.
All of my jumping instructors have said to treat a jump as “an interruption in your flatwork”…i.e., you’re cantering along, there happens to be a jump, you go over it, and you keep cantering along, no big deal. That’s what you’re shooting for with your horse’s mindset, too.
As Andrea suggested, try something so insanely basic (i.e. a trotting pole) that your horse doesn’t even notice…then gradually make it less basic/more complicated until your horse is jumping without even realizing that it should be new/scary. Once you get to that point you can start the fun part of making it new/scary and getting towards actual show-jumping-ness. :twisted: (Assuming all goes well, of course).
And as Andrea said, I’d stick with getting him used to jumping well on the ground before trying it on his back again. Even if he’s angelic jumping bareback, you’re still riding an untrained (as far as jumping) horse with no saddle…given how funkily horses can get themselves over fences, how quickly they can stop/swerve away from fences, etc, you don’t want to be on his back until you can be in a saddle and be relatively confident that he won’t spaz out at the concept of jumping.
kk… after writing this I feel I need a disclaimer, cuz I didn’t mean to get so worked up!! LOL… Here’s some suggestions, much in line with the rest of the individuals on this forum.
Andrea and Shanthi gave A+ advice… Especially the “H”, and the “interruption in flatwork”… I use them with all my beginners; people or ponies… . I’ll say that with my little green one, the more ‘solid’ the jump looked, the better… even @ 18 inches, if we used say a faux brick wall instead of traditional jumping poles, she was more inclined to jump. Anything airy makes the young ones uncertain. Ground poles are VERY important too… They give any horse a takeoff point… The only difference I see here is that we started her jumping on a lunge line first, just as Andrea suggested, with trotting poles, then to raised cavelletti, and to ‘stylize’ her jumping, low crossrails. AND YES! Shanthi is SOOOOO right about making sure he gets over the jump; It certainly won’t hurt him if you force him to jump 2 feet from a standstill.
PS> Also super important: Make sure you reward him for getting over the fence. Look for licking and chewing as a sign of acceptance when you reward him for a job well done. And finally, here’s the difficult note: don’t over do it. I know, I know… I sound like a horse activist or something… but it’s very important to build up gradually… don’t ask him to do the same fence 10 times in a row… he’ll process it as a negative experience and ‘check-out’, which is definitely something you don’t want…
AND ONE LAST THING!
As a riding instructor… I freaked when you said you were teaching a green horse to jump bareback!!! AHHH! lol… kk… here are the reasons: As has been said, you never know what the horse could do… and most importantly, none of us want to see you get hurt. For the horse’s sake, the reason we jump w/ a saddle and have a specified ‘jumping position’ (besides those outrageous bareback jumpers, who are professionals) is because the construction of the saddle allows us a balanced, and smooth transfer of weight to the stirrups, and off the horses back (which he needs to use over a fence). It’s very easy to sit too early over a fence, which has much more impact on the horses back if you don’t have stirrups. Landing on his back has a similar effect to catching him in the mouth with a poor crest release. In saying this, perhaps I am falsely assuming that you are a beginner w/ jumping. Please, don’t take offense. At some point in our jumping careers, I’m sure all of us have jumped combinations w/o stirrups, which is very important for an independent seat and hand over fences; but without seeing you and your horse, it’s hard to make a 100% diagnostic.
Good Luck and despite all the chastizing…ops:…I hope some of this has helped!
Ditto to what Kerry said re: jumping bareback. I’ve only done it on 2 horses - one very fat, very old gelding (we were trotting over 18" verticals just for fun), and my old mare, who would jump anything with or without a rider if she could get close enough to it. Both horses were well-trained, reliable horses and even then jumping bareback was a challenge. I had to concentrate on staying in “2 point” (as much as that’s possible bareback, anyway), and I waited to sit back down until a couple of strides away from the fence.
Even so, the highest I went with either of them bareback was probably 2’3" or so with my mare.
Jei XD I must agree, you really shouldnt be jumpin much of anything bareback on a horse that doesnt understand his job. I don’t know if this was mentioned or not, but you can also just go between whatever you are using as jump standards and see if maybe those scare him more than the fence. In my ground training book, it mentioned that alot. They said setting up ground poles towards some jump standards and then just trotting through them helped both the horse and the rider relax. It also gives you an awesome chance to practice timing your jumps and counting your strides.
I cant even do that wiht my monster though, so I dont know how well it works ;-; He sees a raised groundpole and makes an obvious effort to drag his feet and knock it over. :lol:
Thanks for everyones advice i’ve put all of it to play (sept your edea, i haven’t been on to read it, but i’m sure i will use it), and he’s progressing quickly over the last few days he’s come a long way, and can now jump (on a lunge line) over something about the height of an orange cone with ease, and not even noticing he’s going it ^^ my trainer is very glad to see him comming along this well… i’m so proud of my little boy ^^ -coughs- yes he’s my little boy…he’s my baby >> lol but my trainer is lending me a jumping saddle next week, and she’s going to start working with me now…i hope all gose well…i’m nervious about it… thanks every one…thanks a ton!
I ride western…but i hate it…-.-; i was basically forced to for the school equestrian team. I normaly huntseat/saddle seat because thats what i was first trained in…when i was like 8…and i’v ridden that way untill 3 years ago…my horse hates western, on account no western saddle has fit him…not even full bars on 4 diff brands of saddles, he has naturaly wide shoulders. But i was switched to western because i didn’t have proper english/saddleseat ridding attire, and i’m a larger person so it’s hard to find cloths around my area to fit me, and my dad is paranoid i’m going to hurt myself in an english saddle -.-; no more than in a western I have no english saddle because as i stated my father… but he’s getting calmer about it…and he’s allowing my to sell my 3 western saddles in order to buy proper fitting english clothing, and tack…
If it helps convince him, my roommate took the worst fall of her life with a western saddle. Granted, she was riding a green 2yo, but still… She was wearing an eventing vest for extra-protection, and when she went to dismount, it got caught on the horn, so she was hanging there. That freaked out Stormy (the 2yo), who proceeded to spaz out and bolt (stupid Arab…). Somehow my roommate got twisted around and ended up getting dragged head-first for 20 yards or so. She had to get plastic surgery to fix up her face, had her jaw wired shut for 6 months, and still has limited feeling in her upper lip.
i’ve had something in the lines of that happen to me with a western saddle my chaps got cought on the horn (how, i don’t know) my horse got pissed off at the horse behind him commenced to bucking. Then he took off and spazed with me hang by my chaps… >.< not as bad as your friends…but i don’t think i’ve ever hurt so much in my life… I would rather ride english anyday as well… I was in a show, and i had no helmet … I have refused to show this year…because they would not let me use and approved helmet instead of a ‘cowboy hat’ -.-; i will never do western again unless i can use a helmet…
Yeah, I find the whole “no helmet” thing to be ridiculous. I also think the “fake helmet” thing for show jumpers is really stupid, too, but at least they’re professionals so it’s their own fault if they want to look cool rather than be safe.
-nodds- truthfully i’m terrified of jumping, ^^ i just decided to do it because it’s my Sr. of HS i’ll have nothing to do for 2 years wile i’m attending Community College before transfer (hopefully to Savanna College of Art and Design, because they have an awsome Equestrian team -insert starry eyes, and drool-)…i plan on getting a registerable horse (my horse has no papers -crys-) so i can do a circut or something fun with my time, and then open shows wih Tucker (my loveably Spazoid of a horse) I know i shouldn’t be scared, or nervious because Tucker is going to feed off of that… >>; but it’s hard.
The Horse i might use in a circut or something is a 3yo Arab…green broke -points to her father- -.-; she is spitfire, and nothing but spitfire. She’s nice on ground, and as loveable as can be but if she see’s the saddle she knows she can get away with acting stupid. I haven’t had alot of time with her though, and my dad is still working things out with the owner it’s a free lease thing because they can’t do anything with her, and they need some one to do what they can’t. -rolls eyes, and laughs sarcasticaly- they better be paying for my hospital visets, as if the nurses (on all shifts) don’t know my by name already…thy will be seeing me alot more… (notes: i’m very hazard prone, and i don’t tend t get hurt around horses…it’s noraly every day activities…like playing FF, or washing dishes that gets me hurt ;-; )
I was taught never to jump in a western saddle. My instructor told me that she was practicing some low jumps one day on her horse and the horn got caught in her ribs. I mean really caught there, she had to go to the hospital. Tis no fun.
Jei! Now you will have to spazmatic evil crazy arab spitfires watching you through the window It wont just be old Romeo the terror anymore lol. I still think you and I should buy some paints and show the circuit together.
yeah XD -closes the curtain to the window behind her- … they torment me day, and night -crys- lol i would never jump in a western saddle…my dad would be the first to kill me if i did…btw i have three western saddles i need to sell… a dark oil, and a black practice/throw around saddle…i still need to mesure them. I also have a ‘Billy Cook - Light Oil - Western Show Saddle - Standard Bars’ i need to get rid of them -crys- i hate looking at them…and none of them fit my horse properly, the Billy cook was sold to us as a Full bars…later to find out it was wrong -.-; i’ll ship any where (under one condition) … -begs- any way the arab mare next door is so pretty though she’s Steel Grey, and looks to pretty
Jumping on the bandwagon: The no helmet thing is crazy! I’ll admit that I violate my own rules via dressage; but at least the lower levels require an approved hunt cap. I’ll admit I’ve ticked off some of the QH people when I take my 4-H kids to shows; but seriously, there’s no reason for these kids to get hurt. And QH can be as dumb as my lovely TBs…
On the Arab thingy… lol… I’ve only had one Arab in my life… An old, retired son of Safire ++… He was a stallion, but had been pensioned for a long time before we got him… He’s been the only 1 out of 2 arabs total that I would ever consider owning ( the other happens to be another son of Safire++ :wink )… But seriously, I think Egyptians give the rest of the Arab world a bad rap… they REALLY are nuts, especially if they’re not raised well. If anyone is interested in owning an Arab, I would totally suggest anything related to Safire++; he’s known for throwing intelligent, kind, beautiful and down-to-earth horses.
I teach at a barn that also teaches western; barrel racing is really stressed here. The instructor is a good friend of mine, and doesn’t understand why I’d be willing to partake in eventing, but not barrel racing… Anyone else feel the same way? I just can’t believe the power and seeming lack of control that these people experience with the horses…
Jumping in a western saddle? Now seriously… that just seems silly… :lol:
, plus then if they do make some huge/insane effort to get over it, I’m not going to smack their back/hit their mouth accidentally. Once they start jumping calmly in stride then I’ll get on and go through the whole thing again.
. I’ll say that with my little green one, the more ‘solid’ the jump looked, the better… even @ 18 inches, if we used say a faux brick wall instead of traditional jumping poles, she was more inclined to jump. Anything airy makes the young ones uncertain. Ground poles are VERY important too… They give any horse a takeoff point… The only difference I see here is that we started her jumping on a lunge line first, just as Andrea suggested, with trotting poles, then to raised cavelletti, and to ‘stylize’ her jumping, low crossrails. AND YES! Shanthi is SOOOOO right about making sure he gets over the jump; It certainly won’t hurt him if you force him to jump 2 feet from a standstill.
ops:…I hope some of this has helped!
Now you will have to spazmatic evil crazy arab spitfires watching you through the window 