Jumping exercise for horses that rush
Jumping exercise for horses that rush. This exercise is absolutely brilliant for horses that rush, or get super excited, or anxious when they jump. This showjumping exercise will eventually take your horse to a comfort zone in order for him to relax while jumping. Patience and time are required while training your horse to work through this exercise. Eventually, however, it will become an exercise you can use to warm-up for jumping. You can also return to it, to restore some calmness to your jumping. So in short this is a great jumping exercise for horses that rush
Jumping exercises for horses that rush – video
Jumping exercises for horses that rush – get started
So you have a hot horse that you’re struggling to slow down or control. The thing with hot horses is that they get overly anxious when they jump. And horses being flight animals tend to want to run when they’re anxious.
What you want to try to do is take your horse to a comfort zone as often as you can when jumping. And to do that, you need to create a place where he’ll feel calm while doing something that usually makes him anxious or excited. And this exercise will do just that.
Now, this isn’t just a one-day fix. It may take you a few weeks to get this exercise working well for you and your horse. It’s a gradual progression until you are doing the exercise the way it’s intended to be done.
Once your horse is comfortable doing this, it’s an awesome way to warm up before you jump. It’s also something you can turn to if things go a little pear-shaped. You’ll be able to restore some calmness back into your jumping.
Introducing totting poles
The first step is to get your horse relaxed about trotting over poles on the ground. You start off with just one. When he’s completely relaxed about that, you add a second one, one of your paces apart, and repeat the process.
Now if your horse may get excited about two poles and wants to canter them. This usually means you’ve gone to the next step too quickly. So go back to one pole again. Patience is KEY to getting this exercise to work well for you. So just relax and take your time, it’ll be well worth it in the end.
Now you repeat these steps until your horse is trotting calmly over 3 poles on the ground. Each poles placed one of your paces apart.
Now you introduce a jump
Then the next step is to place a vertical three paces away from the last trotting pole. However, you leave the pole on the ground so you can just trot over it. And then, as with the trotting poles, you trot through them. Now as with this horse (in the video above), your horse might get a bit excited when you introduce what looks like a jump. However, if you just keep working him quietly through them, he’ll eventually just relax, and calmly trot through them. Remember… if your horse gets super excited go back a step or two and start again.
So once your horse is completely relaxed about this, which could take days, you can make a tiny jump. It must be small enough that he can literally just trot over it. And start the process again…
Once your horse is going through it quietly, you make the jump slightly bigger. So slight that he won’t recognize it… literally… And start again…
Now you repeat these steps over and over again for what could be weeks until eventually, your horse will be calmly trotting into a jump that is the same height you usually jump him.
Hot Horses get Anxious When They Jump
Horses Instinctively Run When They’re Anxious
Try to Create A Comfort Zone When You Jump
Create A Calm And Relaxed Environment
Not Just A Quick One Day Fix!!!
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