Jump horse jump easy 10?

Question

i was jumping my 4 year old horse today. he is a paint. i can jump 1 ft 5 and 2. i stoped jumping two untill he mastered the 1 ft 5. well he has been doing good over them. i put the two foot back up and he wont jump it. h goes around or plows threw or jump steps over it. please help.

Answer 1

You've asked this before - how about a video, or even a picture of you jumping? That would help us a lot!

Are you cantering or trotting the fences? Do you understand stride and placement? How about using some placing poles? And most importantly, where is your instructor???

Answer 2

he's too young to jump.

Answer 3

Well first I think you need to identify the cause of the problem so that you can fix it.  It most likely comes from one of four things.  First, always make sure your tack fits and your horse is healthy.  A poorly fitted saddle will discourage your horse from jumping especially when the fences get bigger.

Second, make sure you are not discouraging your horse from jumping.  If a larger jump causes you to fall back or get ahead of your horse, he won't want to jump it.

Third, are you nervous?  If you know that the jump is bigger and anticipate your horse misbehaving, you may be sending him unconcious signals.

Finally, your horse may not respect you as the leader.  He realizes that he can push you around.

Now, I think that your problem might be coming from a combination of these things.  However, I'm going to assume your tack fits and everything.  I would also like to note that your horse stopping in front of the jump, going through it, or just stepping over it, are far, far less severe faults then going around the jump.  If your horse just steps over the jump, it's no big deal, just make sure that you have more impulsion next time.  But if your horse goes around it, you need to immidately correct him.

I think you should ask an experienced friend, or trainer to ride your horse a couple times and see what happens.  If the horse is fine with another rider, you know that it's you that needs work.  You should ride some more experienced horses to get your confidence and position.  But if the horse still misbehaves after a ride or two, you know that you need to do some more schooling with the horse.  You could try free jumping him so he figures out where to put his feet.

Last, I think you need to do some groundwork with your horse no matter what you decide the problem is coming from.  Work on defining your space and making sure your horse knows that you are in charge.  Maybe try looking at some natural horsemanship books or something for ideas.

Answer 4

I think it's in your head, you know that the jump is higher and you're thinking about it too much, he can't tell the difference, to him a jump is a jump.

Is it a cross rail or a vertical?.. I'd make is a 2 foot cross-rail, the low center point is kind of like telling the horse where to jump so it's less intimidating.

I hope I helped, good luck with your horse.. over the winter I trained my 4 year old to jump. (:

Answer 5

See if you can slowly hire it from 1 ft 5 (whatever that is... 1 ft. 5 in. or 1 ft. 6 in.?) to 2 ft. Put it up like an inch or 2 at a time so he is gradually getting ready to jump 2 ft. Also, put a pole or jump at a right angle to the jump so he can't go around it and put something more substantial (a box or log, maybe) in front of the jump so he doesn't think he can jump over it. Good luck! ♥

Answer 6

stop jumping your freaking horse. he's 4 years old, his growth plates have not closed yet and are still open to grow. when a horse is 5-6 their growth plates close and it is safe to jump.