From: Luci
I own a QH mare that is supposed to be a hunter. She is about 15 hands. I have just moved her in the last 8 months to a new and better facility. It is owned by a woman who was involved with hunters/cross country horses for over 25 years. She tells me that my mare does not know how to take a jump. She is teaching both of us to learn where to take off and how to take a jump. She is now using cavellettis on the ground. She does put up one very tiny 6 inch high jump at the end of the cavellettis so that my mare will learn how to take the jumps in rhythm. What concerns me, is that: 1. I miss the actual jumping, we don't jump very high, perhaps 2 feet at most or cross rails, but they are still jumps; 2. My mare does a lot of refusing and always has done this. The trainer says that is because all she knows is to run or gallop up to a jump and then figure out how to get over it any way she can. Thus jumping is not fun for her. I have owned my mare for close to 5 years but just recently in the last couple of years started to jump her. I feel like the blind leading the blind. Is this how jumpers are trained? I've done a ton of retraining of my mare to the point that she is almost push button. She responds to leg and seat cues; when I first bought her and for about 2 years she was "dead sided" she was worked strictly off the rein. When I first bought her, I was told to "kick her" until she canters. Now she canters on a gentle leg and seat cue. With that said, it seems to me that there should be even small jumps set up. The trainer said no, not until she gets it into her head that this is fun and doesn't have to be uncomfortable for her. Thanks Luci
You've done the first part of the necessary work already, since you've retrained your mare to respond to leg and seat. Now it's time to move on to the next stages - trot poles, canter poles, cavalletti, and exercises on the flat that will help educated your mare AND help her become strong and flexible and able to jump well. Your trainer has probably already told you this, but just in case she hasn't, I will: 90% of jumping is FLATWORK. Your preparation is all done on the flat, the muscle- and flexibility-building exercises for your horse (and yourself) are all done on the flat, and even if your instructor sent you into the ring right now to jump ten high jumps, you and your horse would have, out of 100 (or more) strides, 10 over the jumps and 90 (or more) ON THE FLAT.
The height of the jump shouldn't be a factor at this point - your mare is still learning the basics of relaxation and rhythm. Your trainer is wise to focus on teaching the mare to gain confidence and learn to enjoy the process - that's what makes a good jumper. Raising the height of a jump and chasing the horse over it may get the horse over a higher jump, a few times anyway, but does nothing for the horse's confidence or technique. And there's the rider's technique to consider, as well.
To be able to jump well and safely, you need to be able to ride your horse without interfering with her movement. You need to be able to rate your horse, and you need to know exactly how to bring your horse in to a jump - or a line of jumps - and how to leave her alone OVER the jump, pick her up softly AFTER the jump, and make a good approach to the next jump. All of this takes time and practice - lots of CORRECT practice.
The problem with just going out and flinging your horse over jumps, even small ones that are only 2' high, is that it doesn't teach either of you how to do it correctly. Jumping isn't the safest sport in the world, but the combination of a balanced, well-trained rider on a balanced, well-trained horse is always going to be much safer than the combination of an untrained rider on an untrained horse. The latter combination will tend to race around the course, far too fast, at a flat canter, and the horse will usually get far too close to the jumps, fling itself over them, and just barely jerk its legs out of the way in time to avoid catching them and doing a somersault. This is a formula for disaster, and all too often, that's the result. It's also a way to seriously limit the jumping that either of you will be able to do, partly because going over fences WRONG can only work if the fences are small, and partly because by the time you might otherwise be learning to tackle bigger jumps and more complex lines, your horse (and quite possibly you) is likely to be injured and unable to continue doing ANY kind of jumping.
The bad news is that it sounds as though that's exactly what you'd been doing at your previous barn, when you were on your own. The good news is that you and your horse both lived through the experience, and the BEST news is that you ended up with a trainer who understands how to start you both over again, from the ground up, so that this time you and your horse will BOTH be able to do it right, enjoy it, and go on enjoying it for a long time.
I know you miss the sensation of flying over a jump, but be patient, and you'll be able to have that sensation again, better than before. Your instructor may have other horses that she could use in your lessons to help you learn what YOU should do before, over, and after a jump. If you could get some jumping "mileage" on a trained, experienced, responsible horse, it would do you a lot of good. Learning to jump isn't very difficult if you have a good instructor with good school horses, because you can relax, follow instructions, and focus on yourself instead of worrying about whether the green horse under you will take the jump, trip over the jump, refuse, or run out.
No responsible instructor will put a green rider on a green horse and send them over fences, for that very reason. You and your mare will do much better if you'll let the trainer take you both through every step of the training you both need. Many riders fall into the hands of self-styled "trainers" and "instructors" who know nothing about training and routinely put both humans and horses at risk, but you've had amazing luck - you found someone who is obviously interested in doing it right. I know it seems as though you've gone backward and are being taught to crawl when what you want to do is run, but stay with it, and you won't be sorry. It it's worth doing - and it IS - it's worth doing well.
So the short answer to your question would have been this: YES, this is how jumpers are trained - and it's how their riders are trained, too. ;-)
Jessica
Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org
Please visit Jessica Jahiel: Holistic Horsemanship® [www.jessicajahiel.com] for more information on Jessica Jahiel's clinics, video lessons, phone consultations, books, articles, columns, and expert witness and litigation consultant services.