By Ashley Forlie

There’s something so incredibly beautiful, about the magnificent power of the horse, as he soars over a jump. There’s nothing like the feeling of exhilaration being astride a jumping horse: flying through the air, in complete unison, with a common goal to clear the jump, and land safely on the other side, ready to tackle the next adventure. However, exhilaration can quickly turn to frustration, or fear, if the horse and rider are not in unison, or do not share the same goal of clearing the jump, and getting to the other side. I’ve seen many a horse and rider part ways at a jump because the horse either dramatically changes pace (stops), or dodges out to the side, sending the rider flying over the jump alone. In fact, I’ve been there myself, on a few occasions, when I did not properly prepare myself, or my horse.

I am going to give you eight tips to help you have a willing and confident jumping horse, so you too can feel the exhilaration of jumping, without feelings of fear or frustration.

1) Start on the ground.

Whether your horse lacks motivation, obedience, or confidence, the best place to start is on the ground. You can develop an athletic, confident, and willing jumping horse before you even get in the saddle, setting you up for success, not fear and frustration.

2) Make sure your horse is confident going through tight spaces.

As prey animals, it’s in the horse’s nature to avoid tight, narrow spaces where they could potentially become trapped and killed by a predator. Usually, horses that get nervous going through a tight space, are also nervous going over a jump. The jump causes the horse to feel the same vulnerable sensation as the tight space does. Some horses will refuse to go through the tight space at all, while others will bolt though it. The horse that plants his feet, refusing to go through the tight space, usually will do the same thing when presented with a jump. The horse that bolts through, and after, the tight space, will usually bolt after going over a jump. You can help boost your horse’s confidence in this area by simulating a tight space. Start on the ground. Set two barrels a close distance apart from each other, but far enough apart that your horse can actually go between them. First at the walk, send your horse between the barrels. After they have gone through the tight space, turn them around to face it, by disengaging their hindquarters. This will interrupt the horse’s tendency to rush after the tight space. Let the horse rest for a minute or so, and then repeat on the other side. If your horse will not go through the tight space at all, or is still rushing through it, try making the space wider, and wider, until the horse shows confidence. Once your horse is confident being sent at the walk through a tight space, try sending them at the trot, and the canter. Another way to challenge your horse, is to make the tight space narrower, or look different by using different objects. This can be done under saddle as well, but you’ll want to wait until your horse is really confident going through tight spaces on the ground.

3) Teach your Horse to “Seek the Jump”

Teaching your horse to “Seek the Jump” helps them to understand the goal. They will start to look out for potential jumps, asking you the question, “Would you like me to jump that object over there!?” Teach this concept on the ground first, and later you can use the same principles under saddle.

Start small. Teach your horse to go over ground poles at the walk, trot, and then canter. After they have gone over the pole, turn them around to face the object, as you walk over to the pole yourself, and let them rest standing near the pole while you do nothing! If your horse is fearful, this will teach the horse to be calm near the jump, and not to rush after the jump. If your horse is unwilling, this will teach the horse that there is rest and comfort on the other side of the jump.   

 Once the poles are easy, graduate to bigger and bigger jumps. Barrels work really well for groundwork since there isn’t much to get your rope caught on, like with a jump standard. After your horse goes over the barrels, at whatever speed you have chosen, go over to the barrels, sit on them for a few minutes, and leave your horse alone. Pretty soon your horse will LOVE jumping the barrels. You can get creative and teach your horse to happily jump almost anything! I’ve jumped my horses over traffic cones, picnic tables, water troughs, picket fences, saw horses, car tires, large cable spools, mounting blocks, pedestals, logs, up banks, and over water.  

4) Teach your horse to maintain pace and to be adjustable, and train your eye to see a good distance to the jump.

When a horse can maintain a consistent pace as they head towards a jump, the likelihood of getting a good takeoff spot is high. Furthermore, your chances of getting a good takeoff spot are even higher if

your horse’s pace, or stride, is adjustable. As the rider, you should train your eye to see the distance between where you currently are and where your horse should takeoff. If the distance to the takeoff spot does not fit complete strides, you should be able to ask the horse to shorten their stride and fit in another one (or half stride), or lengthen their stride and get rid of one (or half) before the jump.

Having a good takeoff spot builds confidence in both you and your horse. If a horse doesn’t have enough room to fit in a full stride right before the takeoff spot they will change something, breaking their rhythm and pace. The changes a horse may make are:

1. “Chipping in,” taking a small, tight stride right before the jump.
2. “Taking a long spot,” jumping early, and too far away from the jump.
3.  Stopping in front of the jump, and sometimes then jumping from a halt.
4. Dodging out to the side, going around the jump.

All of those changes can cause a rider to become unbalanced, or even fall off. This obviously can make a rider unconfident about jumping, but it can also cause the horse to question the leadership of the unbalanced person on their back. Some horses will even lose confidence in themselves, and their ability to successfully get over the jump. A lack of trust in the rider’s leadership, and unconfidence in themselves can cause a horse to have tension, speed control issues, or refuse jumps altogether.

A great exercise to teach a horse, and rider, pace and distance is notoriously called the “Circle of Death.” This exercise gets its name from the level of difficulty it can present if done too soon under saddle, or with jumps that are too high for the horse and rider to do confidently. However, we’re going to set it up for success, and call it the “Circle for Success!”

Teach the “Circle for Success” on the ground first, so the horse can confidently learn the goal without the rider in his way. The goal is for the horse to keep a consistent pace, giving them a good takeoff spot at each pole or jump. Set up 4 ground poles on a circle that are equidistant to each other. The size of the circle you set up will depend on how long your rope is, and how athletic your horse is. The smaller the circle, the harder it is for the horse. Send your horse out on the circle, and over the poles, first at a walk, then a trot, and eventually a canter. The canter is where your horse will really learn the goal. Your horse should be able to canter the same amount of strides between each pole, and jump over the pole without changing their pace. Once your horse can do this confidently with ground poles, start gradually switching out the poles for jumps, until each quadrant of your circle has a jump.

While your horse is going around the “Circle for Success”, you can begin to develop your eye for a good distance. See if you can tell where your horse should takeoff to keep the pace. Count how many strides he does between each jump. Can you tell how many strides are left before the optimal takeoff spot?

It’s important not to micromanage your horse through the “Circle of Success.” We want the horse to find the pace themselves. If they change their pace, or get a poor distance to the takeoff spot, leave them alone. Let them figure it out. Just like in the “Seek the Jump” exercise, give your horse rest and relaxation when you see them putting effort into keeping a consistent pace, even if it’s only for a few strides. Your horse will try harder for you, and will eventually be able to keep the pace around all 4 jumps.

Don’t expect perfection in the first session. This pattern can take many sessions for a horse to master. Look to end your session when you see an improvement in your horse, and progress towards your goal (your horse can keep a consistent pace and has an equal number of strides between each jump).

Once you and your horse have mastered the “Circle of Success” on the ground, do it under saddle. Start back at the beginning with only ground poles, at the trot, then the canter. When that is easy, gradually replace the poles with jumps just as you did on the ground.

5) Have a Strong and Secure Jumping Position.

The horse will become more confident and willing about jumping when the rider can stay in harmony with him as he goes over the jump. It’s your responsibility to improve your jumping position, or “two point”, so your horse can jump without interference from you!

My horse, Boca, has always had a propensity for jumping. When I first met her, she would jump over fencing out of fear. As her self-confidence and confidence in me as the leader grew, I was able to use her natural jumping abilities in a positive way. In fact, Boca is the reason I became so interested in learning more about jumping. I went through all of the tips I’ve listed thus far, starting on the ground, building her confidence and willingness. When it came time to ride her over jumps, I quickly realized that she was more skilled and confident over them than I was! I spent a lot of time walking and trotting around in my jumping position, building my strength and balance. Once I had a secure “two point”, jumping in harmony with Boca was easy, and fun.

6) Don’t “drive” your horse over the jump.

It’s common for a rider to want to add leg, or a crop, to a horse that is slowing down as it approaches the jump, driving them over it. However, this can create more problems than it fixes.

Some horses slow down as they head towards a jump because they are unconfident and nervous about that particular jump. Adding pressure as they near it, will cause the horse to get more unconfident and even panicky. Imagine yourself being forced, with more pressure, to do something you’re scared of. Like most of these horses do, you’d either shut down or panic. In horses this can look like: stopping at the jump, dodging out to the side, tension, high headedness, and bolting or bucking after the jump. If you think your horse is slowing down out of fear or un-confidence, go back to Tips 1-3. Get on the ground. Get your horse confident going between you and the jump. Get your horse “Seeking” the jump!

Other horses slow down before the jump because they lack the motivation, or desire, to go over the jump! These horses are typically labeled “lazy”, “stubborn”, or “needs a lot of leg.” If you add leg, or a crop, near the jump with this type of horse, they will usually get even slower, or trickier about avoiding the jump. These horses will usually “chip in” right before the jump, heaving themselves, and you over it. Some will come to a complete stop in front of the jump. Some will stop right after it, with their head down in the dirt. If you think your horse is unmotivated to go over the jump, you need to help him understand the goal of jumping is to get to the other side with enough power to tackle the next adventure! Tip #3, “Seek the Jump”, is an excellent strategy for this. Other strategies that work really well for this type of horse are: point to points with a jump in the middle and a rest at either end, speeding up after the jump (not before it), and lots of variety and rewards!

7) Don’t hold your horse back.

Jumping can bring up a horse’s adrenaline very easily. Adrenaline causes horses to run faster, and jump higher. This can quickly become a tension situation for the horse and rider. The rider doesn’t want to go faster, the horse does, so the rider holds the reins tighter in an attempt to slow the horse down. Now the horse feels trapped between the reins, or uses the taught reins as leverage to go faster. And the cycle repeats.

Small amounts of adrenaline can be a positive thing, when not combined with cortisol, or stress, helping the horse to be even more athletic. The key here is to help your horse learn how to not be stressed while experiencing adrenaline, and to remain confident and in harmony with you.

Make sure you’ve done all of the previous tips, preparing your horse properly to jump with confidence. When your horse gets fast heading towards a jump turn your horse in a circle until your horse slows down. This will cause you to use one rein for control, instead of two like when you pull back, which will help the horse to not feel trapped. Continue to ride lots of circles, smaller ones when your horse speeds up, and bigger ones when your horse slows down. The “Circle for Success” is also a great pattern for horses that want to go too fast while jumping. Like stated in Tip #4, start with ground poles, one at a time, and then adding jumps in the same manner. Another great strategy for slowing your horse down is to ask your horse to do things other than go over the jumps: have them go sideways along it, back up with their tail touching it, or stop in front of the jump (you may have to do this from a walk for a while). This helps your horse to tune in to you, and what you are actually asking them to do, rather than making assumptions, and operating on speed and adrenaline when they are near jumps.

8) Go back to the ground!

If you or your horse lack confidence with a specific jump, go back to the ground! If your horse is unwilling and is arguing with you, go back to the ground! Help your horse “Seek the jump!”  If you are introducing a new jump, or a new height, go back to the ground! This will build confidence in your horse, and yourself, about the new jump before you are even in the saddle.   

I’ve used these same tips, with countless horses and riders, with amazing results. Using these tips, I know that you too can experience the joy of jumping in harmony with your confident and willing horse.