Jumping help question

Question

i haven't been jumping very long, i've ridden for bout 6 years just never tried jumping. anyway i was watching another girl at our barn working with her horse on jumping and after she went over the jump she said something like "she changed leads like she's supposed to, but she didn't have to since there was only one jump"

is your horse supposed to switch leads? i'm going into a small cross rail jumping class at an up coming show. i heard that it just has two jumps in it. but i'm just confused about switching leads now.

thanks..

Answer 1

all you really have to do is try not to fall off and push the horse into the jump, the horse will do the rest.

When you get really asvanced, you can do a flying change over the jump and land on the other leg but you would have to be going on a straight otherwise it will land on the wrong leg and have to change again which might make him trip and fall.

Answer 2

a horse can switch their leads over a fence...i think thts wat she meant

Answer 3

Well when your horse jumps, he can land on either lead.  When you approach a jump on the diagonal your horse should either land on the opposite lead, or change leads on the landing side.

In your case you will probably just have two jumps on either side of the ring.  So you might jump both off the left lead.  If you land on the right, it's no big deal, just trot a step and switch back (or ask for a flying change) to the left.  The best rule is to always make sure you're on the inside lead (so if you change direction, you need to change leads).  I hope that helps.  Before your horse show, ask an instructor or experienced friend what exactly you have to do.

Answer 4

if you are riding on the left rein  in canter the horses left leg should be leading(when he brings his left leg forward you should be sitting). you usually dont have to change legs unless you are changing direction or approching the jump from the other rein. That girl maybe be riding a course of jumps and that involves making changes from the leg you are riding on, so are leading with the correct leg when you change directions. If you still dont understand ask your instructer to help you!!! Good luck in your jumping class!!!!

Answer 5

Maybe she just meant that the horse landed on the correct lead. Like if she approached from the left lead, but was going right after then jump, then the horse "switched" to the right lead. Not what I would call switching leads, but maybe that's what she meant.

If the horse switched leads BEFORE the jump, that would be bad form. Hunters are marked off for swapping leads in front of the jump.  

Answer 6

Yes, it helps the horse to have the right lead to be able to turn.  So which ever way you plan on turning, you should have the right lead to go that direction.  There are a lot of ways to do that, Simple lead changes, and flyings are ones you probably know of.  But, the last is to ask while over the jump, and that one can be hard if your horse doesn't know what your asking for.  (to do that, pull on your inside rein slightly and put your outside leg on.  it might take them a while to figure out what you want, so if they don't do it at first do a flying or a simple to show them what you wanted.)

Plus, judges give points to those who have their right lead as opposed to those who don't.  Leads are EXTREMELY important, so lead changes are huge in jumping (especially in show jumping, any kind of extra points you can get are worth it).  Mostly because it can make the difference of a turn, and that could make a difference in getting the right distance and getting a good spot.  But if you don't get the right lead, don't beat yourself up.  Just do a simple lead change, trot, turn the way you want to go and ask for the right lead.