Horse Question:Jumping?

Question

I see Jumper riders jerking on the reins all time trying to quickly collect a horse. Since jumps come up so quiclky in a Jumper course and you dont always have time to get "proper collection" like a dressage rider would apply light aids and their horses would collect seemlessly but as we all know they get to practice and plan their "course" how do you collect a horse like a dressage horse(not severly like a piaffe or passage etc) but for the Jumper arena and make it just as effective as a dressage rider?! (I know how to collect just not how to collect on the flat when i have time to plan but on a jumper course everything is just too fast for me to have time to proplery and effectivly collect. plz help

Answer 1

Pull alittle on one rein and squeeze with your legs to keep up the pace. Or give the horse alittle tap of the heel or whip.

It depends on the horse really, I think.

Answer 2

i would say that they have to be on the bit because you want them looking at the jump but you just Take and Give whilst apply the pressure slightly to keep them going...this keeps the focus and stops them rushing however it doesn't itterupt the jumping process

Answer 3

whatever suits the horse. alot of the time the rider isnt jerking its just that the horse throws his head up.  the horses are trained to put their heads down when they are going slower, so when they are quickly asked to slow down they throw their heads up, i know mine do.  generally its best to slow the horse down with your body, gebtly pull on the reins and squeeze with you legs, but not kick with your feet to keep impulsion.

Answer 4

It sounds as if the jumper riders you are talking about are those operating at higher levels (such as Grand Prix). When fences are 5' and times allowed are short, horses must run very hot.  Then, in turn, the rider makes more effort to rein them in just before jumping.

However, at lower levels, things are much more evened out and there should be no jerking.  You can very adequately jump lower fences (such as under 4') but simply riding well.  

That said, if you want to jump, please take some lessons with a hunter/jumper trainer.  As someone else mentioned, jumping and dressage are very different.

Answer 5

okay so you have this ring of fire. make them jump over that and you wont even have to tug on the reins. you get what im sayin!!!

Answer 6

put One leg farther back, with the other leg in a neutral position, both actively encouraging the horse forward, will usually aid the horse to canter. this will help The horse pick up the lead opposite the leg that is further back. This is how I collect my horse quickly and he jumps awesome when I do it this way, because I use to pull back harshly on my horses mouth and he got pizzy one time and dumped me. This is how my trainer taught me.

Answer 7

Jumping and Dressage are two vastly different riding disciplines, that require different skills for success.  While certain riding techniques can be applied across the disciplines at various times, they cannot be applied at all times.

Dressage operates on the platform of collection, where the horse's gaits are shortened and raised, and the horse's balance is shifted to the hindquarters to lighten the forehand, creating agility, elasticity and suppleness in a compressed frame.

Show jumping requires speed, turning agility and impulsion to get over the jumps.  While collection may be applicable at certain points during the course, there are many jumps and combinations that require the horse to extend and reach beyond collection.

Answer 8

it is hard to collect jumpers because the horses must have their heads up so they can look and judge the jump. save collection for the dressage arena.

Answer 9

We are still a work in progress, but this may help.

Our pony club instructor is always saying sj is just dressage with jumps in between.

My daughter is good at dressage, but her pony turns into a bull when he sees the jumps.

So our plan has been to work with lots of grids. We set up all sorts, even just rails on the ground work. Then the dressage moves are performed over the rails, right down to some pretty sharp corners. We then raise some of the rails to jumps and try and keep the good form.

It seems to be working for us, and my young rider has learnt how to effectively use QUICK half halts etc to achieve better form.

Good luck, you've got lots of interesting feed back.

Answer 10

Its a hard question because it depends on the level of training, mainly that of your horse. That's why showjumping is such a hard discipline; you must do everything thoroughly but extra-quickly. Practice lots of jumps, and trying to settle d collect as quickly as you can after the jump. Gradualy add one or two small jumps afterwards, and work your way up....it doesn't come overnight!!!

Hope this helps!

Answer 11

your the boss let the horse know practice a warm up of you go about 5 feet away from the jump so he does not have time to think about what he is doing and this will make your horse pay attention to the jump and who is boss