Jumping Advice

[pst]

I'm having a problem with our jumping... when jumps are small Eddie pops away fine but when they start to get bigger he starts to jump big & he's launching me into orbit!!!! He loves to jump & it doesn't excite him just every now & again he puts in a big jump which is resulting in me getting off balance & then he's started bronking until he gets me off.

Last night I thought I'll give him a wee jump before a competition we were going to today well I ended up so high in the air oh said I had snow on my hat The ground was rock hard & I ended up knocking myself out. Oh was not amused & he got a real fright he had me in recovery position when I came round. I'd been jumping earlier in the week on my own so I got a right earful.

I think all the problems are coming from me & I was thinking of maybe going for a jumping lesson on a riding school pony to try & learn to go with Eddie more. I haven't done sj before so it's new to Eddie & it's new to me, maybe this is a bad combination, but I feel I'm going to ruin him if I carry on like I'm doing.

We did a working hunter a couple of weeks ago & he had a few baby bronks but nothing serious & we finished 5th, he jumped well but I feel like we're guessing where we are going to take off. Maybe I'm just getting too old & I don't bounce as well as I used too.

I just wondered if you had any advice as to how I can go with him better & not jab him in the mouth every time he puts in a big jump. many thanks

[bobby]

I would definately go with the lessons, but with you and eddie. If your only just starting with showjumping there's a lot to learn.

Good Luck though.

[misstickle]

Ouch, gentle hugs I hope you're ok.

Lisah has organised a jumping clinic in june, maybe worth taking the lovely Edddie to and seeing if that helps.

He's not sore anywhere is he? Jumping higher can sometimes bring out niggles that he wouldnt normally feel.

[pst]

We've had lessons all through the winter & it was decided we needed to get out & do stuff as he does jump well in the school. We've done clinics with David Gatherer & other jumping clinics and we get on fine it's just every now & again he puts in a big jump & then starts bronking & I end up on the floor.........

I don't want him getting a fright as it's me being unbalanced & him over jumping that's causing the problems & it keeps putting us back to square one again. If I could keep better balanced when he jumps big I'm guessing he wouldn't bronk

[pst]

We're going to both clinics God loves a trier

[bobby]

If it's just every now and again then not sure what you can do, because it isn't something he's doing all the time it doesn't sound like a specific problem, if you know what I mean. If he was doing it at every jump then there is something you can work on. Have you noticed if it's a particurlar type of jump he does it at, like an upright or a spread or a scary filler? Just wondering if there is a common thing that makes him think he has to give it some clearance.

[pst]

Not really he just does it every now again, he can give fillers more height but maybe I'm ready for it when there's a filler & he's not catching me by surprise. He does have a sensitive mouth.

[bingbong]

here is my advice.... send him to me ;D my kind of horse ;D
sorry joking, but he does sound my type.
poor you it wont be doing your confidence any good either.

is there any chance you can get someone to video you and post it on here?

coisty does the exact same he jumps things as if they were 5 ft high and then takes off bucking, he just loves his job so much he dosent mean anything bad by it, fortunatly i have a good seat and hes never had me off, yet ( well not through this anyway)

its difficult to advise as i dont know how he is doing, often they seam to be jumping huge when the canter aproch is not good enough
make sure your stirups are short enough that your knees are right in the knee rolls of your saddle - it helps too if you have big blocks to cling onto, you maybe gotta work on stretching your calf and getting your lower leg more secure and this will help you stay in the saddle - doing this in the flat will help your jumping too

so maybe some lessons on your position might help. and yep ridding lots of diff horse improves your seat, confidence and experience too

good luck

failing that just send him to me

[misstickle]

Get in the queue Bingbong

I love Eddie Hes fab

[bingbong]

darn i nearly had him too he is a lovely boy and added that he has a big pop....pst any day you wish to part with him, phone me first

[pst]

Thanks, I love Eddie too so he wont be going anywhere , I will work on my lower leg position & I'll try and get a jumping lesson booked with the local riding school.

[bingbong]

awh i know you do i hope you get it sorted hes just the bees knes. where abouts are you?east cost is it? dont worry im not planning on stealing him

[pst]

I'm just outside Hawick - I'm sure we'll get there just a few bruises along the way

[Alliecat]

, I'm with you on this one - bl00dy difficult not to hang on when they put in one of those huge leaps!

Best money I ever spent was on 6 loads of lunge lessons - realised it was worth it when Flynn started broncing (hadn't been ridden for a week) & i just sat there & laughed!

Need to repeat the exercise, as Dennis dumped me last week.

[lisah]

Hi Pam

I am sorry to hear you were knocked out and I hope you are OK honey

These huge leaps now and again are so typical of these boys DJ used to do it now and again - taking off a stride before i was ready and launching me into space. It is something they do, there is nothing wrong with him physically honey so you don't need to worry about that.

It really just takes lots of patience and you are right to get some more lessons, but like Bobby says, you should have them on Eddie as it is his huge jumps that you are wanting to get used to sitting to.

All I can say is that is is a relly soft landing at Burnside for the clinic - I have tested the landing many times and in many differend styles from landing on my face to flat on my back - the sand in your teeth is a bit annoying as those wee grains seem to get stuck in your teeth for days

I am sorry this post is not much help - you are really brave for persevering with his jumping. It is something you can work on together so that when he does put in the odd huge one you can sit to it.

One thing that really helped me with DJ's huge leaps was a proper jumping sadde with really big knee blocks and thigh blocks to stop my legs slipping back !!! It saved me many times from hitting the deck and if you don't have a jumping saddle it may be worth considering getting one as it will give you a wee bit more leverage and lower leg security.

LisaH xxxxxxxx