[Couture TB]

So my one mare who has decided that she has no need to be nervous about jumping , which is an amazing thing, decided this last fall that she wants to go to the jumps and jump with her neck level to her withers. Not on her forehand, just LOW. Well to me it is.

I am use to the type of horse that is more up in your hand and bouncy on the way to the jumps not with a longer stride and level neck like she has decided to be. She has no problem jumping around the 3'6-3'9 courses like this, it is my issue.

Add to that I just got another project and well guess where she will just be bop around with her neck and head, yup level. She jumps well, they both do , but getting use to it will be interesting this spring. So any suggestions?

Here are pics of the latest one
http://m297.photobucket.com/albumvie...l?o=1&newest=1 This is her 2nd time jumping
http://m297.photobucket.com/albumvie...l?o=2&newest=1
http://m297.photobucket.com/albumvie...l?o=0&newest=1

[sammicat]

question ... Is she landing with her head down or is it just over the jump?

[reay6790]

I would recommend not jumping ahead and keeping your shoulders back O/F...also, a short crest release might help out as you won't be jumping "over" her.

[CBoylen]

What is it that is giving you trouble, exactly? You want to encourage her to reach down with that neck in the air by holding your release down through landing. Your horse looks like a hunter and I'm assuming is one, so bouncy and up in your hand on the way to the jump is not ok and her way of going is to be encouraged, as long as she uses that neck in the air.

[Couture TB]

I would recommend not jumping ahead and keeping your shoulders back O/F...also, a short crest release might help out as you won't be jumping "over" her.

Sorry, should have posted please do not say anything about the rider, that is the woman I purchased her from.

CBoylen- actually both the one in the pictures and the one not pictured are going to be trained for doing some jumpers and just low level up to Prelim eventing. The mare not pictured I showed in the 3'6 jumpers last year while I was reschooling her and after the first day when she realized that she wasn't going to get smacked in the face or spurred she did a 360 in her way of going and went from jumper to hunter way of going. Now that is actually is how she is built to go, so the big thing is I need to learn how to not get tense going to larger jumps with her neck level.

As for the new one, I have only worked her on the flat so far, but I know she is going to go just like the other one by how she works on the flat.

Now obviously I won't try to change how they go. But I need to get use to them jumping like that vs up in front of me more. And need to get use to it over the jumps that fall down before the ones that don't Though I have a feeling the new one may want to just play in the hunters for awhile and see where to go from there. But there is just something in my brain that doesn't like going to a 3'6-4' jump like that

[babecakes]

I'm confused. You have a hunter, that goes like a hunter, and you want a jumper?

[Simbalism]

Maybe try doing some gymnastic exercises where you have a line of jumps so you can just get in the line and let the horse flow thru the line without you having to really do anything. My TB mare usually requires a half halt coming out of the corner and then I swear she looks over her shoulder and says "Got this mom".

[GingerJumper]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but...

You have two hunters who go like hunters.

You want a jumper/event horse.

Solution? Sell the hunters and get an event horse. Don't ruin their hunter way of going to turn them into eventers/jumpers, both of which generally fetch a smaller price tag. (I'm assuming these are for resale as you said projects)

[caballero]

Maybe it's my lack of education but I am not understanding that there is a problem with the horses. Can they or can they not safely and comfortably jump 3'6" to 4'? You say you are not at ease approaching fences of that height with her way of going, so have you asked other riders who might be comfortable on them to jump them that high and give you their honest evaluation?

Has anyone taken them schooling XC yet?

[ybiaw]

If you don't want the hunter mare in the pictures, I'll take her!

[hunterrider23]

She looks like a wonderful jumper to me, and not a horrible mover, don't try and turn her into an event horse if you don't feel comfortable riding her. Get someone to sell her as a hunter, then find yourself a horse that suits the way you ride.

[DMK]

My younger horse could trail his nose in the dirt and still not be on his forehand, so I know what you mean about that disconcerting feeling approaching a fence with nothing out in front of you. My retired horse, who put his eyes below his knees over a fence, still has this wonderful long neck up in front of you on the way to a fence. I call it a catcher's mitt for all my stupid mistakes. It's always there to bail you out. And if you want to leap up the neck and dine on some delicate TB ears, nooo problem, he's got you covered.

If I did that on the youngster, I'd probably be dead, and if I survived, I would still look ridiculous (I have the photographic evidence). And it's been a hard adjustment to make and one still in process.

But I have always encouraged him to be up in my hand as we jump and it works. It still feels odd, but it's much more elevated than his natural way of going. After that, it's a matter of me leaving behind all the bad habits that I got away with for so many years on my old horse (trust me, I miss them. Deeply. So much so that I like to keep doing them). It sounds obvious - wait at the base, don't jump on the neck. Like who doesn't know that? But if you have one with a long neck up in front of you, it totally covers for how much you are NOT doing those things. Try riding the neckless wonder. Get an (unpleasant) reality check.

This is the youngster approaching a fence, that's about as up as it gets

this is the way he naturally goes if left to his own devices*

* I'm out for the winter following tendon surgery so I've got a reining trainer riding him once a week just to keep him in tune. I think he has found his first reining TB. And I have totally decided I am going to get a reining spin installed. And if it wasn't for the sliding stop, I swear, this horse could probably do both disciplines fairly well.

[Ponyclubrocks]

Since your question isn't about the horses ( the one pictured is lovely by the way) I'd say one way to get yourself more comfortable with them is to take out some of the other variables (like distances) and work in some grids that go from low to high in say three or four elements and repeat several times a week until your mind and body adjust and believe that yes they can jump this way! I can see how approaching a large single could be a little unnerving this way, you just need to condition your reflexes to accept it. Best of luck to you.

[Couture TB]

The one I did the 3'6 jumpers with I have schooled up to some Training level XC. Won't ever be a past Prelim mare but that is ok, I love her to death. Bought her to reschool and sell her but honestly I just love her to bits so the chance of her going anywhere is slim.

The other one I just got and have only ridden once. Our indoor is to small to jump in and since I will be having surgery will be having a friend of mine jump her around some bit before I go in to get chopped up.

Don't want to change the way they go, it is natural to them. Just need to get use to riding to the jumps more level. The mare I showed some jumpers I have jumped around just under 4' courses. The new mare has only jumped just under 3' as she has only been jumped 5 times. Easy going well mannered and not looky so will be fun to play with in the spring.

Like I said neither will be above Prelim, but that doesn't mean they can't play around Training and below. It is just getting use to that quieter lower ride going in to the jumps.

To the person that suggested grids, yes I think that will be mostly what we will do. I did some smaller grids with the jumper that we kept putting up till they were between 3'3-3'9 with the last being a 3'9 oxer with 3'6 spread and had a person video me to help me wrap my little brain around the fact that I just need to leave her alone and let her go like that. In fact now that she has realized that there will be no spurring and smacking and tying of her head down when she jumps her form has improved and she uses her body, knees, and neck so much nicer. Don't get me started on how the poor girl was when she came. But as I said, I need to get over the mental block.

[SillyHorse]

I have ridden horses that made me feel as though their necks and heads just disappeared over the jumps. Making sure I was looking where I was going, i.e. keeping my head and eyes up, helped me get comfortable with that kind of jump.

[Go Fish]

I'm confused. You have a hunter, that goes like a hunter, and you want a jumper?

Another case of "round peg, square hole" syndrome.

[Couture TB]

Another case of "round peg, square hole" syndrome.

No, I never said that I wanted to change the way THEY were going. I myself need to get use to how they are comfortable going as that is MY issue, not theirs. It is quite funny that I now have two of these to get use to now for this season. So I was looking for others that have had the same mental hang up. Unless I am the round peg and trying to get into the square hole that might be true

SillyHorse and Simbalism: Thank you, will have to keep those in my mental bank for when I get the go ahead to jump this spring. Ah till then both of them will just be plodding around with the lesson kids for a few months.

[Lucassb]

No, I never said that I wanted to change the way THEY were going. I myself need to get use to how they are comfortable going as that is MY issue, not theirs. It is quite funny that I now have two of these to get use to now for this season. So I was looking for others that have had the same mental hang up. Unless I am the round peg and trying to get into the square hole that might be true

SillyHorse and Simbalism: Thank you, will have to keep those in my mental bank for when I get the go ahead to jump this spring. Ah till then both of them will just be plodding around with the lesson kids for a few months.

I think it is a perfectly reasonable question, personally. I think - at least for some of us - it is a LOT easier to gallop down to a big fence with a nice, big chunk of horsey head and neck between us and oblivion.

I can't give you any useful tips, I'm afraid, as I never did figure out how to be comfortable with that ride myself. But I can certainly sympathize and validate what you are feeling!

[Couture TB]

This is the mare I was 3'6 division champion on for the jumpers in her most up way of going. Picture was taken while I was giving one of my 12 year old students a snow lesson on her , so that was the reason she was more "up" http://s297.beta.photobucket.com/use...c27ce.jpg.html

[Couture TB]

I think it is a perfectly reasonable question, personally. I think - at least for some of us - it is a LOT easier to gallop down to a big fence with a nice, big chunk of horsey head and neck between us and oblivion.

I can't give you any useful tips, I'm afraid, as I never did figure out how to be comfortable with that ride myself. But I can certainly sympathize and validate what you are feeling!

Yes, that is exactly it!!