in hand jumping help :)

[shadowpaints]

hey all i have a gelding that has been trained really well to jump only problem is, the more i practice in one session, the faster he goes, even if i stay at a steady speed, and i just cannot keep up with him!! any ideas?? i am a novice jumper, and just want to do well at our first sanctioned show!

here is a pic of cici jumping.. i love this horse!

 

[shadowpaints]

try this again.... lol

 

[targetsmom]

Hi - Nice jumper! We have one like that (Cowboy) that just loves to jump and wants to speed up. Here are a few things that we try:

1. I can't tell if you have a chain under his chin or not but that is the firt thing I would do.

2. We make JUMPING the reward for a nice, steady pace (trot in our case). So if he won't trot nicely AROUND or to the jumps, he doesn't get to jump. Or if he speeds up, back to trotting without the jumps. We stop him between jumps if we have to, but that is a last resort.

3. A couple of trot poles in front of the jumps so he needs to concentrate on those will slow him down.

4. Our jumps are in the same place he gets turned out (our backyard) so when I bring him in (WITHOUT a chain) I often take him over JUST ONE jump. I am tiny, old, and not strong, and can do this. It seems to make a great reminder that jumps can be taken slowly and still in great form.

Other things are that no one who jumps the horse can be allowed to let him blast through the jumps!! Remember that you are training him ALL THE TIME, so you are either training him to blast over the jumps or that jumps are to be taken at a reasonable pace.

Good luck with him.

ETA: We train ours to do hunter AND jumper, hence the trot. But if we are doing a jumper class and need more speed - and they need a cue to go faster - we use a cue to speed them up. Cowboy doesn't need the cue but the rest do.

 

[Flying minis]

Set a grid - a little x, about 30 feet, another x, 30 feet, an in-and-out (jump, one stride - about 6-8 feet, another jump). The in and out distance will be fairly short because you're going to trot it. Start by working the grid at a walk, stopping between fences. Then trot, stopping between fences. Then work trot, just hesitating between fences. make sure he stops on the straight line after the last fence - he's not allowed to run ahead of you there either.

Also work without jumps. Sounds like he gets stronger and doesn't pay attention to your body position and staying with you, so do a lot of trotting without jumping, working on variations in speed, lots of stops, etc, then carry that through to your jumping. Basically, start asking more of him than just jumping the jumps - change speeds, direction, stops, trot a jump, then walk one, etc.

These are all things I did with my riding horses, that also have seemed to work well with the minis (of course, the ground work exercise was flat work with the riding horse, but you get the idea).

 

[Knighthawke]

I have one that is like that. I do alot of stuff with him just trotting next to me and make him turn right and left to get control on the ground. I also do a lot of stop and back up. When we jump him I will do a lot of jump one jump and then stop in a straight line and back up. Then the next jump and stop and back. After he gets good a that I switch him up and will jump a jump and stop and back up. Then jump maybe two jumps and stop and back up. To keep him guessing on when he will be stopping.

 

[Sandee]

Mine sort of picked it up by accident. She works on voice command and I always gave a slight tug on the lead and said trot after the jump if she cantered. Now she prefers to trot all the time.

 

[Yaddax3]

Or, try this: Between jumps, slide your hand closer to the snap that attaches the lead rope to the halter. It will give you better control of your mini and keep him from bolting ahead of you. When you approach a jump, let out the lead.