This only happens sometimes.
Answers:
my horse had the same problem for a while... and she still does just a little bit.
last summer we were just starting to jump, and at first she wasn't confident at all, but once she started to get the idea, I couldn't stop her... i'd turn toward the jump and there was no stopping her.
First I tried shorter reins, but she'd run right through them... I could pull all I wanted, but it didn't matter. So I tried getting her a new bridle with a stronger bit and it may have helped a little.
Then the thing that helped the most was this... I went back to school so I wasn't around to ride her a lot, so when I was riding I didn't want to jump (I wanted to consistently work her over jumps... I didn't want it to be a once in a while thing... so i waited until I had the time to work with her before I jumped again)... so over the winter when I'd ride her, I worked on keeping her collected and going the speed that I asked her for... I did a lot of work on a circle and with figure-8s. And I got her down to the point where I could really completely control her canter. I could make it as slow or as fast as I wanted.
So when I put the jumps back up, she was really a lot better. I could make her go to the jump at my speed. And I said she still has a little of the same problem... if I've gone over a couple jumps and she gets a little too confident, she starts to run at the jumps again... usually I can sit deeper and pull a little to slow her down... and it REALLY HELPS to take a little break and just do some walking/stopping. when she gets a little too full of herself I let out the reins and i let her walk, but she speed walks, so i take a couple laps around the ring and make her stop periodically until I have her concentrating on the stopping instead of the running toward the jumps. then she's collected the next time I go toward the jump.
A lot of people will tell you to stop and back up when your horse goes too fast and it's true it's a good correction (it tells the horse 'no you're not doing what i want')... but i don't think it really really works... I mean I try it and I make my horse stand for a little bit, but when I ask her to go again she's the same as before. I think you need more than a stop and back... you need a break to take the horse's concentration from the jumps and focus it on relaxing and going slow. And it's good for the horse to stop and catch their breath once in a while too.
good luck!
Keep the reins shorter and show him whos boss!
Before you get on him and start to jump put him on a lunge line. Then take him out to the jumps and lunge him making him go over the jumps. The reason for most horses freaking out and stopping when going to a jump its because horses do not see straight in front of them. The pretty much guesstamaite. Try this and see how he does. Another thing is maybe you are pulling to tight on the reins when jumping or approching the jump. If you have any more questions I will be more than happy to answer just email me.
shorten the reins. you may also want to lower the jumps/hurdles (horses are not natural jumpers so beginners tend to be nervous).
Stop him and back him up. The thing that excites him is the jumping and his momentum. So take it away from him, so to speak. After he has halted and settled down then quietly ask him the trot /canter away from the jump; what ever gait you were jumping in. If he explodes in between the jumps, do the same thing. Just remember to stay as still and quiet as you can when he does this. Good luck!!
First of all I would say this: Stop jumping and get control somehow. If it's working on your flatwork and responsiveness, or bending, or lunging just do something without jumping him that will calm him down enough to concentrate. Then go back to jumping, but remember to hold him back when coming up to a jump, don't let any reign loose keep him under control through the jump by keeping yourself calm.
Second of all, you need to find out why he does it sometimes. Are you doing something different? Giving him more reign? Going over a type of jump? is it straight going into the jump? Finding out why he is doing this will also prevent his unruly behavior.
Hope that helps!
check what hard feed he/she is on
also check your saddle because i used to have a saddle which jumped in and my horse went ballistic, no matter what. i then changed my saddle to a new one and she was a different horse!!
i could just be he needs a gear check or change because he could be in pain
hope it helps
Make sure you always let him know your still in control and still guiding him. Before a jump try just checking him and see if that helps any. If a horse feels like the planes goin, but theres not pilot, then he'll flip out.
Do not jump him right off the bat. Run him for a little bit first.
Also, it sounds like he has had a bad experience jumping,
possibly, a fracture of some kind, or a severe brusing of the
bone. That is enough for any horse to remember that jumping isn't always safe. Ease him into it. Go back to basics. Start
real low to build up his confidence, and build slowly from there.
You need to train the horse a little more. Try exercising him 10 min. or so before jumping. Start little, like ground poles to calevettis to a little bit higher and so on. Don't start off with 4ft tall jumps. Get him running a bit before jumping, he might get a bit more tired, which will make him less wild.
If this only happens occasionally it suggests it is something to do with your riding or the surroundings rather than with your horse. Get his back and teeth checked just to be sure. Next you need to isolate what it is that causes him to go 'wild'. Ride him like normal but at the first hint of him going wild stop and acess what is going on. Are there other horses nearby? Has he not been worked for a few days? Are you chasing him round the jumps? (not literally), Are you asking too much of him? Is he bored? etc. Once you find the trigger you can work on removing it so you are always in control when jumping. Good luck and don't put your self in any danger. Also why not have some lessons with an experienced instructor?
if you use a crop try not using it, my horse completely flips out when a start jumping and i am using a crop it's not like I hit her in the face or anything, I guess she just had a bad experience once.
try lunging him before you get on to ride, your horse may just need to let out a little steam before he jumps. don't punish him for not jumping correctly backing is good to help calm him down but don't run in circles or jerk on the rains this will just make things worse. you should check the saddle and other tack to make sure it is all fitting well and not causing pain before every ride in case you have the saddle on wrong. if none of this helps you may need to take him away from jumping for a wile to get him over being wild and reintroduce him to it again when he is calmed down.
Take him over some cavaletti (ground poles) until he gets used to that. Then raise them off the ground a bit and walk, then trot, then try to canter him over some smaller ones. Once he gets the feel for going over the little stuff calmly, he'll be gold.:)
First of all, how often do you ride your horse? If its only a couple of days out of the week, then he will be a little bit frisky when you ride him.
Its actually pretty normal for a horse to get wild when you jump him, since it gives him a bit of a rush. The best thing you can do is to practice with him as often as you can. Also, taking him for a short warm-up ride before you go into the arena and start jumping will also help to settle him down a little.
you probably need to figure out why your horse is getting strong but in the meantime to help you stay on what you could do is shorten up your reins and push your heels forward -not too far- and grip your knees to the saddle as if there's a coin in between them and you cant drop it. an exercise you could to help him go a bit slower is whatever gait you would normally approach the jump in, ride past the jump on both sides and dont get too far away from the jump so he knows that there's nothing to get that excited about. Another exercise is circling towards the jump, dont turn the corner too close to the jump or the horse might not see it and is more likely to stop or run out, but make sure you dont give him to much space to gather speed because 1 your more likely to lose your grip and fall and 2 the horse could jump flatter and knock a pole down or hit the jump. hope this helps a bit :)
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