My horse runs out?

Question

Hi, I have a problem with jumping.. obviously..

first of all. my horse is not in any pain he is perfectly fine.

When we first start jumping he will run out but towards the end of the ride we will be able to do the jumps or the whole line perfectly fine! I know he is taking advantage of me and that i need to be more aggressive but every time he runs out or refuses my confidence goes down.. but after a few times i get really angry and then I am able to fix it.

I want to know if anyone has any advice about how I can get angry or more aggressive at the beginning of the ride? I do take lessons and am trying to work on it but I was just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

thanks.

Answer 1

what i would do is do a warm up ride so he can act up out of the public eye, if that dont work when you go out there during the beginning, hold the rains tight and hold on to his sides with your legs with extra force, let him know your not messing around

Answer 2

my horse does the exact same thing!! Put pools on cones on the sides of the jump so that he has nowhere to go but over the jump.

Getting more aggressive is really hard, Try making your horse do things that he doesn't want to do. If he wants to go left make him go right. If he wants to trot make him walk. He is really wants to go make him stop and back up. The main thing is that your horse is always paying attention to you. Ask him to do things constantly. Don't just walk trot and canter then reverse. Walk stop canter trot jump side pass, things like that. Mix it up every time.  That way you aren't so predictable. i also found it that if you are trotting and jump he won't be able to go out of it. But the main thing is to make him pay more attention to you.

Answer 3

Keep your legs wrapped around his barrel and if you feel him shifting weight out of the jump, I'd verbally say "no you don't!" and push some pressure on that side, if he ignores it give him a little thump with your legs, or if need be you can carry a whip and even tap his shoulder to move him back over to where he needs to be. Just talk to your horse, I do it all the time. I've been in the middle of a lesson, my horse started a bucking fit and I said, quite loudly "you -insertcursewordhere- KNOCK IT OFF!" popped his bottom and kept going, letting go of what he did.

Don't go into the ride thinking "my horse is going to dodge a jump or refuse" go into it thinking that he is your mold of clay and you sculpt him with your legs - if you feel him shift say "no, going this way" verbally if it helps. I always say things verbally mostly because it takes the stress away from my body and allows me to concentrate. I swear I'm always talking when I ride XD