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Erika L
Member
Username: erika
Post Number: 1193
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, Apr 20, 2008 - 10:20 am: |   |
I ride my five year old mare on the trails and occasionally there is a tree down that I would like to jump. She doesn't quite get the concept yet. Her usual reaction is to stop, put her nose down and look at it, then step over.
I have followed other horses over, sometimes with success, sometimes not.
I think that with this horse, she might have an easier time of figuring it out without me on her back. I have seen reference to lunging over cavaletti, and free jumping here. I have never done that and am not quite sure how to introduce it.
My intuition would be to lunge over poles on the ground first, raising them gradually. But does the horse go round and round jumping each time, or does one lunge closer in, and then send the horse further out to the jump sometimes (hard to describe)?
I'm hoping someone here can give me a good method to try. This horse's mother is such a natural jumper--obviously the daughter didn't inherit that, but I don't think the occasional log on the trail should be the issue that it is.
Thanks,
Erika |
Diane E.
Member
Username: scooter
Post Number: 2060
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Sunday, Apr 20, 2008 - 11:59 am: | |
Hi Erika, mine will also put nose on and walk over said log on trail rides. They will jump it if I trot to it or at least have an energetic walk going. So maybe first let her walk up to it so she knows it's there...then go get a "running" start at it. Be prepared for a refusal it can happen at first. |
Sarah Blanchard
Member
Username: sarahb47
Post Number: 25
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Apr 20, 2008 - 3:38 pm: | |
Hi Erika,
Here's a book I wrote about teaching green horses and novice riders to jump-- Jump with Joy: Positive Coaching for Horse & Rider. Lots of step-by-step instruction for exactly what you're asking about!
Amazon and Borders should carry it.
Sarah |
Erika L
Member
Username: erika
Post Number: 1194
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 2:29 pm: | |
Diane, it isn't a refusal situation, I truly get the feeling she just doesn't know how to use herself to get everything in the right place for a jump yet.
One time as we trotted down the trail behind another horse, she kept going as if to jump but got a little scrambled and ran into it instead. Not unwilling, just unwitting!
I think it gave her a little scare.
I would like to help her confidence with little--but unyielding--objects for both our safety.
I have seen lots of discussion about free-jumping and lunging over jumps here, particularly, I think, from Elizabeth. I just am not sure how to set the equipment and how to send her over it.
Elizabeth? If you're reading would you mind chiming in with your method?
Sara, the book looks interesting. I checked out your web site. I think I already own your driving book! (along with several thousand other horse books!). I used it to harness train my last driving horse. When I get the chance I will certainly pick up Jump with Joy.
Right now I am hoping for some advice specific to this ground training.
Thanks all,
Erika |
Sarah Blanchard
Member
Username: sarahb47
Post Number: 26
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 3:38 pm: | |
Erika,
Here's some quick, specific advice:
Ride your mare over random ground poles in your training area -- arena, field, wherever. Just scatter a few rails on the ground so you can ride over them one at a time. Work in big circles or loops, so you approach each rail straight and she has time to see each one.
Start at a walk. Approach straight on light contact. Two steps out, lighten your rein so she can look down but don't let her stop. Do lots of random single rails or 6-inch-high logs on a trail, at a walk, until she has taht figured out to focus on the obstacle, adjust her steps, and step over cleanly without pausing.
Then do the same at a trot or jog. Again, keep the approach straight, do only one rail at a time, and give her her head. (YOU look up; she gets to look down!) If she slows to examine it, give her a nudge and tell her she's to keep going. You don't want her to rush but she's got to generate the energy. Doesn't matter if she steps, hops, or actually jumps the rail -- green horses often vary the amount of effort. Just be sure you don't thump on her back or catch her in the mouth -- be ready for anything!
Then do the single rails at a canter. Let her figure it out as much as possible -- if she hops over smoothly, great. If one leg lands on one side and three on the other, that's okay. You need to let her make little mistakes and figure it out for herself, and starting with a rail on the ground is the safest.
Then look for 6 to 8 inch logs, and trot or canter those. It can help to have another horse as a leader, but be sure to give your mare plenty of room to SEE the obstacle.
this should get you going!
If she longes well, you can longe her over single rails and small crossrails too. Don't try to free-longe unless you have a secure arena and a helper -- it's easy to scare a horse and get them anxious in free-longeing.
Some horses seem to be born with the inclination to lift themselves off the ground; others just don't seem to know that they can become airborne. Gaited horses (fox trotters, walkers) and horses that four-beat or travel very flat at the canter tend to have more trouble with jumping because there's no natural moment of spring-and-suspend in their canter.
But all horses can learn to jump a two-foot log! And it will make her a more savvy trail horse if she's learned how to manage her toes better over obstacles.
Good luck!
Sarah |
Elizabeth Kaufman
Member
Username: ekaufman
Post Number: 493
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 5:18 pm: | |
Hi Erika,
Yup-- lurking here.
So my method isn't all that professional, but every horse I own jumps cheerfully, including my broodmares.
I always start them in hand. To me, proper leading is the core skill for everything with horses. So I lead them over obstacles-- rails, ditches, whatever. I lead them from light to dark, into puddles, etc.. If they lead well, they will come. If they hesitate, I wait. If they back up, I return to leading exercises. However they get over it, I praise them quietly and move on. The message is that obstacles are no big deal.
To teach actual jumping, I will set up a small X or a tiny vertical and jog them over it in-hand. I give them a loose lead, and am watchful not to get smushed. (Note that they can be klutzy the first couple of times, and also have a tendency to follow too close because they figure my feet are in the magically safe spots). Again-- nothing is a big deal. It's just leading with an obstacle. Jumping is just riding with an obstacle. Reward effort, be patient with mistakes.
My horses let me know when they are ready to jump without me-- it's usually some expression of irritation that there's a human in the way. That tells me they're confident enough to free jump.
Free jumping is always my next step. I never lunge over jumps-- there are safety concerns, but it also cheats the horse of an opportunity to manage his body completely independently. They learn better from their own mistakes than from human direction.
I always give a ground line and placing rails at 9-11 feet, depending on the horse. The point is to bring him in quietly and consistently. I never chase or send them over jumps. If mine seem to need that, it means I'm rushing and over-facing them. If they swerve, stop or back off, then we go back to the leading exercise. The point is to develop their own eye and judgment and confidence.
As Sarah said-- they all can do it. It's letting them learn in a progressive way and develop their own eye and balance. That independent balance and horse sense can save your life, so you don't want to rush it.
I don't ride them over jumps until they are free jumping happily and consistently-- coming in quiet and in a steady rhythm with that happy look that tells me the confidence is there. I love watching them figure stuff out. If you are patient and do not drive them, they will not blame you for their inevitable mistakes. Just take lots of time, and don't do too much at once. Always end with success, even if you have to go back to lead them over a single pole.
Bill Steinkraus's book is the classic, and has wonderful advice. I haven't read Sarah's yet.
Here's my young stallion as a 3 year-old, showing off his free jump. That's a 3.5' square oxer, and he obviously felt it was too low (note that over jumping is also typical of a young horse, but he was showing off in this photo, because I was cheering.)
 |
Julie Masner
Member
Username: juliem
Post Number: 408
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 5:43 pm: | |
I know nothing about teaching a horse to jump, but have always wondered how you get them started free jumping? Erica,I don't mean to hi-jack your post, as it seems to me free jumping would be part of the training process, but for those of us who are ignorant, how does one go about that? |
Elizabeth Kaufman
Member
Username: ekaufman
Post Number: 494
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 7:05 pm: | |
Hey Erica, one more comment--
Any choice that safely clears the obstacle is a success. So if your mare is walking over a log, that's awesome. My Holsteiner mare won't jump anything lower than about 2.5'. She's bred to jump, and finds small stuff ridiculous. But as long as she crosses it safely, in the right rhythm, then how she does it is her call, and I would never penalize a step over. It's actually a nice safe choice, especially for an unschooled horse in unfamiliar footing. |
Muffi Delaney
Member
Username: muffi
Post Number: 232
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 21, 2008 - 9:42 pm: | |
Lovely - It's time for me to make jumps again! My boy loves to jump - just hasn't had the chance to in a couple of years.
Man - It's time!!! |
Imogen Bertin
Member
Username: imogen
Post Number: 1095
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008 - 2:15 am: | |
This is a great thread. I wish we had a way to vote certain threads "really useful" and keep them in a special area (stickies or similar).
Imogen |
Erika L
Member
Username: erika
Post Number: 1196
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008 - 8:27 am: | |
I second that, Imogen. Great advice from all of you. Please keep 'em coming if anyone has anything to add.
Julie, I certainly don't mind the segue to a related topic. I'm here to learn, too.
Love the picture of your boy, Elizabeth. I hope Cleo will be soaring so gracefully soon!
I am off to New Orleans for a week or so to visit my son. Don't know what internet access I'll have there besides my Crackberry, but I can't wait to check back for more great ideas.
Thanks,
Erika |
