jumping exercises

As it is often the case, the rider’s position and mind-set are the root of the problem: fear of jumping, incorrect or disorganised use of aids, lack of strictness in keeping the horse at the same definite speed…..All these influences will increase the problem when it will come to jump a course during a show.

Charlotte rides a nervous horse who has a tendency to rush while approaching fences and get over them quickly. When a horse rushes the fences, his jumping trajectory is modified which is a factor of faults or even stops for some horses.

Michel offers, here, a very gradual approach to solving this kind of issue in a calmly manner which will enable the horse to enjoy jumping again by breaking down his movements.

The exercise begins with some work over ground poles at a walk, then a trot, and at a canter. Next, the rider will go over few cavalettis and some fences at the 3 gaits. In the end, Titus succeeds in jumping a good size vertical breaking down his movements without rushing the fence when approaching it or upon landing. This is the result of focusing on the fence with calm and serenity.

This grid encourages the horse to flex and stretch his entire body. The double on the way-in encourages the rider to approach the line with a cadenced canter and sets the correct length of striding prior the water jump. Therefore, the horse is ready to cover the length of the water jumper that is next. The distance between the water-jump and the oxer on the way out reinforce the horse stretching motion.

Michel teaches Alice who spends a few days at the yard for a clinic. During this session, Alice rides Undiams, an eight year old gelding who has been trained for the last few weeks by Michel to reach the top level. Alice has, here, an excellent opportunity to discover new sensations with this horse who she rides for the first time.

Michel has set up a line of jumps that includes a water jump, a combination on the way-in and an oxer on the way-out. The horse has to bring together the quickness of his front legs, the stretching of his top-line over a wide obstacle and the pushing power over a high fence on the way-out. The key elements to be successful on this exercise are relaxation, steadiness of the strides, straightness and the rider’s eyes with a wide angle view.
 This set-up is also a good way to practise water jumps which can be feared by horses and are causing many faults during a course. It is therefore very wise to work this type of obstacle at home without the added stress of the competition.

Undiams has usually a tendency to speed up in combinations. After jumping the line a few times, it appears that the exercise is profitable for his training. The horse is focused and attentive to each single fence and deconstructs each element of the line.

This thorough exercise encourages the horse to stay calm on combinations and to break down his movements on each jump. The grid is also excellent at improving the horse’s style and his front legs ‘speed of reaction.

Horses who have a tendency in rushing to the rails will find themselves in difficulty over the grid. They will have to analyse the situation and understand that staying calm and reorganising their trajectory will be the correct answer. Riders will have to be in the same state of mind and wait for the jump, up to the take-off stride yet maintaining a straight line going thru the grid.

The session starts with a warm-up in a varied terrain: transitions, figure-eights, lead changes… Michel takes advantage of the slope of the ground to encourage the mare to find her balance. He’s also trying to place himself in the same conditions as on a course and consequently he works on his position: speeding up, slowing down, wide turns, tight turns….

 At the beginning of the session, lead changes were not always successful. Michel doesn’t focus on that problem, and continues his work calmly. He knows that everything will get back to normal as soon as he has established correct communication between him and Zeta.

 After the warm-up on the flat, he works on several lines of fences. Some cavalettis, some combinations and different kinds of fences, like a water jump and a log oxer. He’s mainly looking for a steady canter. To reach that goal, he’s using, among others, some rubber foam poles to set up the tempo of the canter strides between two fences. He varies the exercises often, still with the idea of not fixating on issues.

During this whole session, Michel adapts his position to cope with the challenge of each exercise, and with the mare’s attitude. A good point of reference for every rider wanting to work on his/her position and looking for references and practical advice in that matter. Towards the end of the session, Zeta is doing good lead changes, and the control in the lines of fences is more than satisfactory.
 

After a good warm-up on the flat to verify the responsiveness of the horse and his ability to respect a precise speed and track, start by jumping a couple of times with a straight approach, the oxer or central vertical according to the set-up. The horse has to stay perfectly under control and straight on his 4 feet on the approach and on the landing of the fence.

For the next step, jump the two lines of verticals, staying focused on your track and particularly on the quality of the canter during the turns. You can start with some cross-rails and set up a 6-stride distance between the two verticals. Also jump 2 or 3 times the verticals or the cross-rails as, a single, on an angle.

Next, practice the final exercise, first, with some cross-rails or small verticals. Stay exact in your track and the control of your speed. Stay alert to avoid a run out since some horses may be surprised by the exercise at first.

When the exercise has been well understood, and all the parameters of speed and control of the path are well established, you can raise the fences. The distances and heights can be modified according to the horse’s stride length, his level of experience, as well as the rider’s experience
 

Using poles that are 2 metres long is even better. It will allow you to test your ability to keep the horse straight. If the horse drifts from the line’s median axis, it will soon exit the exercise. Using 4 metre poles makes it more difficult to notice this.

If the horse tends to rush or accelerate, place the line’s last landing spot
3 strides from the school’s wall. One should remember that - in most cases - simply imagining a 2.50 metre wall at the end of the line is sufficient for solving this problem.