How can i get better control of my horse when jumping?

Question

I have a cob gelding who's really safe but very forward going. We do a lot of jumping & most of the time he gets really excited & rushes the jumps by going at them in a very fast canter. I need to slow him down so i can prepare for a show in september. How can i get better control of him and slow him down?

Answer 1

What Carl Said :D

x

Answer 2

Maybe get a stronger bit?

Work on your half halts.

Do this:

Canter/trot up to the jump as usual. About 10 feet away, stop. Then circle back to it. DO NOT stop anywhere less than ten feet away, or you will be teaching him to refuse.

Or

Just circle around jumps. Don't jump any of them, just circle them.

Answer 3

The first thing is to make sure you're calm. As soon as you tense up your horse will too. Sometimes I'll sing songs too myself or out loud. (Row, Row, Row your boat works pretty well ;)    

Next, make sure you can control him well at the canter on the flat. Do tons of flat work until you get him moving nice and easily in a quiet, round canter. Work on getting him to extend and collect his canter as well. Jumping is 90% flat work, make sure you have that down first.

Gymnastics are GREAT for horses who rush. Bring the fences way down (start with a tiny cross rail) And put placement poles before and after. But don't use one, uses several (up to 5 in front and 3 behind). If you're doing a line, start with 5 poles, then a tiny X, another pole, a slightly bigger X, then end with 2 or 3 poles. Experiment with size of jumps and distance between poles. But remember to keep it slow. The worse possible thing is to progress to quickly.

You can also trot into jumps and them calmly bring him to a halt in straight line after. But be careful not to yank on his mouth. Do a line as a trot in, canter out. If it's a long line and low jumps you can even trot in, halt, trot out, halt.

And as a final note: remember to rule out pain. Take a good look at your saddle fit. Honestly evaluate your equitation. Are you tugging on his mouth? Are you releasing enough? (Sometimes it's hard to allow yourself to release on a quick horse, but he needs to have his head while he's in the air.) Are you sitting down hard on the far side? Is his bit bothering him? Sometimes these things will make a horse rush.

And make sure you're not over jumping him. Once or twice a week is plenty for most horses. And if he does it great the first couple times, don't keep making him do more. End on a good note. The more tired he gets, the more strung out and unbalanced he'll be.

Just be patient. I know that can be hard, but keep the jumps low for a while until he fully understands his job. It will make him a better horse in the long run.

Good Luck!!!  

Answer 4

i have similar problem when i ride my TB gelding. he has a natural quick pace but when he sees a jump he rushes and if i don't do anything he will get into a bad distance.

like Carl said, with some horses you can allow to go, but with my horse and probably your horse, its just not possible. My horse rushes so much that he get unbalanced and starts to lean and then takes off.

I dont know if it would work for you, but my trainer taught me how to control my horse better while maintaining a natural rhythm.

I have a very solid and concrete base and core, and i raise my hands an hold. I keep holding( but not pulling) and i dont let him pull me forward onto his neck. I hold until i feel him start to accept my hand and then,while still maintaining contact, i give a little release and he starts to relax and slow down.

My horse is very sensitive and i have to be very firm and quiet with my hands or else he will raise his head and pick up speed.

If your horse does that too then this should work.

But i'm warning you doing this take an immense amount of body control and strength.

I hope i helped and good luck :]]

Answer 5

u need to give him some kind of signal while riding him 2 let him know the proper time 2 speed up and slow down.it mite take a while but its worth it

Answer 6

dont fight him , let him approach the fence at a natural rythm and if that doesnt work use a placing pole