X hunter pony?

Question

my pony before i got her all she ever did was hunitng and now in the last 8 months she has been shown to show jumping and she is really but i find she trys to hunt the fence like she is still hunting if you no what i mean.

she get really close never knocks it but takes a massive leap . i have tryed placing poles but they dont help to much . other tips to get her to get a nice approch and not take off so close. and try to get her not to hunt the fench. thanks.

Answer 1

As others have said, flatwork and gridwork is the way forward.  You need to make sure you have control over speed and be able to get your horse into a nice rhythm before jumping,  not too fast or slow but bouncy and powerful.  

Once you have got the flatwork  Set up a long line of trotting poles and then put up the end one.  Start from trot to keep the horses attention. Keep it low enough that he can just trot over it and do this until he can do it without rushing.  Don't worry if he knocks it down this is about getting a controlled and balanced jump.  

Once he has got the hang of this you can start to build the grid so there is more than one jump.  Make sure the spacing is correct for your horse between the poles.  As more jumps are added the horse will have to be atheletic and get the paces correct in order to get over each one.

Answer 2

hi... we get that problem when we start to show our hunt horses over the summer! Try taking her back to basics... trotting poles, canter poles etc. Keep to flatwork for a week or two. Then start doing some gymnastic jumping. I find the best thing with the ponies is (on bounce strides) pole, jump, pole, jump, jump,pole, jump, pole, pole. This makes them really think. place them at a bounce distance.

She will take a massive leap because she gets in under the jump and then gives it a huge clearance (as hunting jumps are usualy solid!) If all else fails, stick up some fairly big jumps and just her jump them at whatever speed she wishes to! you will find that in the end she will back off them and come back to the hand easier as she realises she needs you to tell her to wait etc. You could also put down a ground line on take off side, and pull it about 2ft out awat from the jump. This will make her take off further away from the jump which will give you a better jump. Good luck

Answer 3

HIYA! i know what you mean ive had some horses do that and this is how i sorted it out. what you need to put a placing pole in front of your jump. this will sort out the horse's striding  and give the horse more confidance with showjumping and then soon stop thinking shes hunting. hunting is all she know and looks to had been hunted most of her life so we need to change the way that she thinks about show jumping.

good luck

Answer 4

Your horse is only doing what she was taught its her instinct so here's how you should do it:

Why don't you lunge her star of by jumping small jumps in a trot and then extend that a bit make her canter and jump and the extend the jumping and let her trot over and then canter and so on until she get's the Idea that she is no longer a hunter but a show jumper.:)

Answer 5

Take it slow and trot lots of small jumps with the poles before and after. Do this for a long time until she can do it in her sleep without getting overly excited. Slowly make the jumps bigger, then try it at the canter. If she starts rushing again, go back to the trot. And make sure you're sitting quiet in the saddle and not anticipating the jump. Also make sure you don't throw your body over the jump, as this can also make your horse rush the jump.  If you get quick, she will too. Have patience and it should eventually work out, but it may take a while.

Answer 6

Why don't you go right back to basics for a few weeks! No jumping! Do lunging  Get her stride right, then gradually build up to poles then jumping, just give it a complet e break first though! Be firm with yourself about this!

Answer 7

I have a solution but by telling you this I also tell you TO DO THIS WITH  TRAINER.  Someone who knows training techniques and how to measure out strides between fences.  I even suggest someone with extensive experience is on the pony the first few times depending on your riding level.  If you don't know these terms then you really should get someone else to help you.

You are essentially going to need teach her to "wait" at a fence. I don't know how high she's jumping but this can all be changed depending on it.

you set up 4 fences in one straight line an x-rail-bounce -18"-one stride --2'-two stride-2'6"  (again this can be changed if you aren't jumping that high and i will reiterate that you should be supervised!)   Visually if X = fence and | = stride  - = bounce

X-X | X || X

We use it on green horses to teach them how to be careful and wait.  The fences come up quickly-- especially the xrail bounce to the 18" and they'll learn they HAVE to back off.

One last time--  PLEASE do not do this without a trainer or someone with extensive horse knowledge.  PLEASE.  You could hurt your pony or yourself but it a great tool!

Answer 8

Trot up to it and give her have-halts. Then when you get about a stride away from the jump squeeze your leg and she'll canter it in a nice, even stride. Keep doing this for a while then do it from the canter. In show jumping the courses are a bit harder and the pony might be in shock. Maybe you should just canter around the ring until she gets tired then head straight for the jump. she will think you are still just cantering her. Sorry if that didnt make sense.

Hope I helped.