Tips for jumping position?

Question

I am confident with riding 2' to 2'6" jumps, but I never really seem to get into any kind of jumping position while going over them. It seems to happen really fast and I just sort of stand up lol =P when I practise trying my position in trot and canter i'm fine with it and can stay balanced for a long time, but when I actually jump I just tense up... has anyone got any tips to help?

please and thanks :)

oh and another thing, there is one horse at the riding stables i go to who gets a bit nervous when jumping and then will rush jumps and jump a 2 foot fence like a 4 foot one! is there anything i can do to steady her? (previously she's been trotted slowly up to a jump and then canter the last couple of strides. this worked for a bit but now she just rushes into the canter)

Answer 1

Standing up isn't good! Ask your trainer to let you work over smaller fences until you can solidify your position. Try and keep your butt down and push your hips toward the back of your saddle while closing your hip angle. Eyes up, heels down, keep the bend in your knees.

It certainly doesn't help to be on a rushy horse. If its a lesson horse, your trainer should be telling you how to slow it down. When I have a horse who wants to get quick, I'll set a grid of trot poles in front of the fence - raised poles are even better.  If the horse is really rushing, try halting in front of the fence, then backing a few steps before trotting over the fence. Eventually you should be able to replace the halt/back with a half halt.

Lesson horse tend to get "zombiefied" - they do the same thing every lesson, they know it, so they do the routine and ignore the rider. Ask if you can practice transitions more - so instead of doing walk, then trot, then canter, then jump, you might do walk/trot/walk/canter/trot/canter/walk/t... keep the horse waiting to find out whats next.

But never let the horse run into the fence, circle away if you have to - what doe your trainer say to do?

Answer 2

Heres what i do.  get your but off the seat and arch your back a little so your chest is sticking out.  When you aproach the jump make believe theres nothing really there and keep looking straight or to your next jump.  get into this position one or two strides before the jump what ever is most comfortable for you.  then at the same time you get into your position grab a little mane half way up your horses neck so you dont pull on its mouth  while going over.  then when your going over just let the jump flow through you.  keep your position for about one stride after the jump.  good luck and happy trails.

Answer 3

First question:

Read this website and if you want you can read even more on other stuff too.  http://www.artofriding.com/articles/jump...

http://www.artofriding.com/articles/jump...

Second question:

My first horse loves jumping.  When I first got him he would get very excited and gallop over a cross rail like it is a 3 foot jump.  The only thing I had to do to get him to stop doing that was to hault right after going over the jump.  This makes him anticipate the hault and slow down before the jump so he can stop sooner.  Eventually, then you start nudging him with your legs and encourage him to keep moving and the landing.  My horse caught on quick and I only had to do it twice.  He hasn't rushed one jump for 3 months now.  I actually have to encourage him to go a little faster now.  But that is fine with me.  He still loves to jump and tries to jump it alittle bigger than needed. I am okay with that though b/c the  bigger the jump the better for me!

Answer 4

squeeze  the horses belly and use it to stand up and troot over the post that you are jumping

Answer 5

Maybe you can thing about bending your elbows (not out. keep them straight.. if that makes sence?) but keep your hands against your horse's neck. And think about keeping your back straight and just kinda tipping over. Get someone to video you so you can look over it and think about one thing you can improve. Then work on that.

Hope I could help (:

Are there certain jumps she does that at? Or all of them? She might be afraid of that jump. But if it's all of them, try using a martangale. It might help some. Other than that, just sit back, keep your eyes up and your reins tight and stick with her. Pay attention to your breathing. Think 'in.. out..' slowly. If your breaths start getting fast or you forget to breathe, she'll notice and it might get you both nervous.

Answer 6

I dont know what you could do for the horse, maybe walk her around it have her near the jump next to it alot. Then bulid it up gradually as you take her over the jumos until every jump is perfect!?

Answer 7

start from the beginning with caveletti and working up from there. If you don't take lessons try taking them and working with a trainer. Sounds like this horse needs training, she either never had proper training over jumps or learned bad behavoirs from other riders who didn't know what they were doing.