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So I have recently been thinking of getting an English saddle if I could find a used one at a low price. I sort of want to try jumping with my stallion (16h Cremello AQHA 5 year old-fashioned TB build and great movement) but I won't be old enough to show until 2 years from Saturday. AQHA says you can't show a stallion unless you are 19. I'm turning 17 on Saturday. Most shows around here follow AQHA rules. Fine, I'll ride mares until then. I like them better anyway.
Anyways, long story short I ran for Rodeo Queen at a local rodeo. Made friends with one of the girls running for princess. The point sheet says up to 15% of our score would be ticket sales, but they went 100% by ticket sales. I was 3rd out of 3. She was 2nd out of 2. Oh well. It didn't cost me anything, I had fun, I showed off my broodmare, and got a really pretty bronc halter as a consolation prize. Me and my new friend had a good time. On the second day, her mom gave me an English saddle, pad, and girth. They had just gotten a new one and didn't need it anymore. When talking about our different horses the first night we met, I had mentioned wanting to jump with my stud, so they gave me the means to start. I was ecstatic. I don't want to work with him right now since I'm getting ready for county shows with his half sister and her mother, but th saddle fit both of them, so I've ridden once each in it. The mom jumps small logs on trail rides, but she doesn't stop in a bit without shanks. She stops in leverage bits and bridleless, but not in a regular D ring. She's picky. The daughter is hyper, barrel and pole horse, but she rides in a short shank hackamore like I have seen in a few English shows. She liked the English saddle and rode fine in it, just her usual keep on moving self. She is very light on her feet and can really move. She doesn't exactly jump, but she knows how to pick up her feet. I plan teach her to jump up to 2'6" to gain experience before I train her lazy brother.
My predicament is that I don't know where to begin with how it should feel and what I need to do to stay balanced. I have a cousin who used to jump up to around 3'6" , so I can ask her for advice, but it has been around 10 years and she's gotten really rusty. Leilani, the younger mare, is a people pleaser and very easy to train, but she has been taught to go around things, not over them. I don't have a round pen to work in and don't have actual jumps yet, though I have all the materials to make them. The saddle feels weird for me and I'm more comfortable taking my feet out of the stirrups when loping. I'm planning to get used to riding in it with Blossom, who is very controllable, then move to Leilani, who I want to compete with first, and eventually have Saturn start using it, the stud I really want to jump. He is broke, but doesn't do much.
Does anyone have advice about how to sit and be comfortable, maintain balance, and maybe how to start a horse jumping? They're willing to learn, but I don't know how to teach what I want to teach. I learned by doing with speed events, but this is a lot different, at least for me.
Edit: autocorrect is the bane of my existence... |
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I know this is gonna sound very generic, but its by far the best advice. I'd go ahead and get many lessons under an instructor to learn how to ride english, and learn how to jump.
You can do alot of damage to your horses doing it incorrectly. Most horses already know how to jump. Its a natural ability for them. An instructor can help you refine those skills and teach you the proper way to jump. |
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Jellos Warmbloods said:
I know this is gonna sound very generic, but its by far the best advice. I'd go ahead and get many lessons under an instructor to learn how to ride english, and learn how to jump.
You can do alot of damage to your horses doing it incorrectly. Most horses already know how to jump. Its a natural ability for them. An instructor can help you refine those skills and teach you the proper way to jump.
I know that's probably the best strategy. I would love to get lessons, but there are barely any instructors in my area and they cost way more than I could afford. Since there is hardly any competition, they charge ridiculous prices and we can't drive 200 miles to find an instructor we could afford. I can get advice and some lessons from the woman who gave me the saddle since they train their own horses. Jumping is going to be more of a for fun thing for me than hoping to win anything anyway, so I don't plan to push any of them. I know the limits and abilities of the horses, which is why Blossom isn't taking part in anything other than getting used to the saddle. She's a classic slow moving quarter horse, topline starting to sag a little with age and because she's had around 7 foals in her lifetime (2 in the 6 years we've owned her). So far, the most I plan to do with Leilani is lunge over poles on the ground. She picks up her feet, but isn't super aware of where she puts them, so until she can consistently not touch any, the poles aren't leaving the ground. I'm very cautious with what I do with them and take things very slowly in teaching them new things. My mom used to ride English some, but never showed because my grandmother didn't want to do anything that they weren't guaranteed to win at. |
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Trivia Team
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Lessons. Jumping is fun but its so, so dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.
If money is an issue, I would ask a trainer if you could work for her in exchange for lessons. You'll learn more that way anyways, just being IN that jumping environment.
Your horse sounds beautiful. Best of luck with him! |
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FirstLightFarms said:
Lessons. Jumping is fun but its so, so dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.
If money is an issue, I would ask a trainer if you could work for her in exchange for lessons. You'll learn more that way anyways, just being IN that jumping environment.
Your horse sounds beautiful. Best of luck with him!
Thanks! There is only one person around here that I might be able to work for. She raises registered boer goats, and man, they are awesome goats. They consistently win at the national show every year and usually place pretty high at the state shows. She used to jump and one of my friends, who shows goats and barrel races, gets occasional jumping lessons from her. The only problem I could run into there is that I don't have a driver's license and my mom doesn't have a ton of time to drive me with her job. I plan to take a few months to work up to even jumping a foot. The mare I want to work with first will jump thick brush, ditches, and logs on trail rides, so I don't doubt her ability, but I don't want to risk hurting her. |
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Be careful not to scoop if you post. Try to keep your legs back and sit up straight as possible |
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TikTok Stables said:
Be careful not to scoop if you post. Try to keep your legs back and sit up straight as possible
Thanks! I'm going to try that with my older mare, who rides very smooth. The other is very up and down, so I'll need more practice before we go fast. |
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Lessons is best, but of course that is a well-known fact so i'll skip to some advice on riding english.
It is going to feel weird. To a western rider it's like your becoming a jockey until you figure out how to stretch comfortably. Do your best not to tense. Your body might automatically want to become a stiff board to try clinging on but it only makes it worse. Reeeeelax.
Make your heels your shock absorb-ers. Don't angle your toes out too much, keep your heels comfortably down, and steady yourself by putting weight in your foot when you bounce down. Instead of you becoming a bouncing sack of potatoes the "shock" goes into your feet and you glide happily with your horse, not slamming their back.
Do NOT rely on your reins. Everything you do with your rein must be backed up with leg, typically inside leg. If you want to be a jumper your horses must be desensitized to contact. Do NOT use your reins to steady yourself. If you don't feel stable enough to not yank on them then don't worry about contact yet.
To get stronger and more used to the english riding style, stand up. You heard me right. Stand up nice and tall, using some of your horses mane to steady yourself if you need to. Make sure you keep a slight bend to your knee. You'll start off by just standing still, then walking one wall, and once you are very steady you can move to trot and canter. As a jumper you must know how to do light seat in the canter.
Teach your horses basic dressage. AKA, just do some normal english flatwork. Look up some youtube videos for good examples. As a jumper your horse must have a good dressage foundation. If you aren't willing to do that then you have no right being a jumper. A basic explanation of trying to collect is holding contact in the outside rein and giving occasional taps on the inside rein while backing up with inside leg.
If you ever have trouble with teaching your horses then pleeease PM me. I retaught a western trail horse with reining and racehorse parents to be an eventer. I know that things can get difficult and frustrating, even when you love your horse to death. I can give video/in depth explanations of things I've said here among many other things. I love training and I'd love to help you.
Videochat jumping lessons? Kidding lol X3 *whisper yells* I would do that though.
I'm insane, don't mind me.
(Whoops, meant to post this from GreysAnatomy Stables) |
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Heartstring Manor said:
Lessons is best, but of course that is a well-known fact so i'll skip to some advice on riding english.
It is going to feel weird. To a western rider it's like your becoming a jockey until you figure out how to stretch comfortably. Do your best not to tense. Your body might automatically want to become a stiff board to try clinging on but it only makes it worse. Reeeeelax.
Make your heels your shock absorb-ers. Don't angle your toes out too much, keep your heels comfortably down, and steady yourself by putting weight in your foot when you bounce down. Instead of you becoming a bouncing sack of potatoes the "shock" goes into your feet and you glide happily with your horse, not slamming their back.
Do NOT rely on your reins. Everything you do with your rein must be backed up with leg, typically inside leg. If you want to be a jumper your horses must be desensitized to contact. Do NOT use your reins to steady yourself. If you don't feel stable enough to not yank on them then don't worry about contact yet.
To get stronger and more used to the english riding style, stand up. You heard me right. Stand up nice and tall, using some of your horses mane to steady yourself if you need to. Make sure you keep a slight bend to your knee. You'll start off by just standing still, then walking one wall, and once you are very steady you can move to trot and canter. As a jumper you must know how to do light seat in the canter.
Teach your horses basic dressage. AKA, just do some normal english flatwork. Look up some youtube videos for good examples. As a jumper your horse must have a good dressage foundation. If you aren't willing to do that then you have no right being a jumper. A basic explanation of trying to collect is holding contact in the outside rein and giving occasional taps on the inside rein while backing up with inside leg.
If you ever have trouble with teaching your horses then pleeease PM me. I retaught a western trail horse with reining and racehorse parents to be an eventer. I know that things can get difficult and frustrating, even when you love your horse to death. I can give video/in depth explanations of things I've said here among many other things. I love training and I'd love to help you.
Videochat jumping lessons? Kidding lol X3 *whisper yells* I would do that though.
I'm insane, don't mind me.
(Whoops, meant to post this from GreysAnatomy Stables)
Thank you very much! I'll definitely try this. I'm taking my older mare on a walk about a mile each way in a couple hours, so I'll see about applying this advice. Her daughter is still going to do speed events mainly, but when I start working the stud this fall, I'll definitely try teaching him the basics. If I need more advice, I'll keep your offer in mind. |
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When jumping, which you should definitely try to work for lessons, or learn some how even it is reading on a horse Jumping forum. But that is common sense so here are some tips:
Get comfortable in the English tack (Both you and your mare) before you even think about jumps or even poles in the ground.
Establish a solid flatwork/Dressage foundation, by doing figure eights and sepentines half circle backs and the many other lateral movements
Start working on you half seat/2 point/jumping position over ground poles, getting in the habit of grabbing mane (so you don't yank on the reins if you lose your balance) and make sure you stay off her back a bit after the jump also (If you sir down too soon you can land really had in her back and cause pain)
After you get good at your position and balance move up to small cross rails or "x"s. Doing the same thing you did with the ground poles. Make sure that you do some lateral movements and flatwork properly warming you horse up before you jump.
Slowly move up in height establishing balance and good habits, be fire moving up higher. Make sure you have protective boots on your horses and don't jump for more than 15 - 20 minutes a day with plenty of loose reins walk breaks.
Riding with out stirrups, but pretending you have them (keeping your leg in the correct location, heels down, toes in) is a good leg muscle builder.
You also want to make sure that you keep your lower leg from swinging not by pinching with you knees but calves and thighs. Also, make sure you horse has enough energy to clear the jump and only trot jumps untill you have good balance. (Cantering away from jumps is okay, just not up to them) but also remember that trotting over high jumps is hard on horse and you should canter after you get over 2' - 2'3".
I found an app it's called Eqisense and for it to work completely you need to buy a certain sensor, but the app has tons of exercises to do. There is a free app, that I use all the time called Eqilab and it records your rides and stuff. It's cool you should try them. (Both apps are free to download but the one requires a $250ish sensor)
PM if you have any additional questions, please. I love to teach and do it often |
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