Looking for some grid or gymnastic ideas for some green horses who are not using their shoulders well, either jumping back at the knee instead of elevating the shoulder or loose knees. I have several up my sleeve, but am never too proud to ask around and see what’s worked for others. Ideas?
As a caveat, let’s assume the flat work is there, not trying to sound obnoxious, but I fully understand that you can’t expect good form if the horse isn’t using itself well on the flat.
My favorite is one stride, two stride, one stride. I know its more for rating the stride but fun nonetheless! I also like the one stride, two stride, two stride oxer too. Fun!
I’ve always liked an oxer oxer combination to get them using their front end, not too big but use the width to get more results or a rail in the middle of the combination.
Bernie Traurig has a bunch of great gymnastic exercises on his site EquestrianCoach.com. The one he calls the ‘Winkler Gymnastic’ is what he suggests works well to on a horses front end. It’s a bounce, one stride to an oxer, one stride to another bounce. If you watch the video of him demonstrating this grid it’s really cool because the slow mo shows the horse is really balanced on its haunches and using it’s shoulder really well. http://www.equestriancoach.com/content/winkler-gymnastic
Another one on the same site this time by Jenny and Kost Karazissis (renowned rider/coaches from CA) focuses on how to get a horse to back up and jump rounder over a jump instead of flat and at it. They set a one stride with a rail set in the middle (first both jumps are verticals and then oxers) this is exactly the exercise I’ve done with my coach many times. When I did it I felt the horse really seemed to pay more attention, he was looking for the rail in the middle which made him jump much rounder and the stride in the middle of the combination seemed slower and more focused instead of rushed and flat.
In the video Kost talks about adjusting the rail in the middle closer or further away from the second jump (when both are verticals) which encourages the horse to either get deeper to the second jump (and have to back up) or giving it more room to organize it’s front end. I thought it was quite interesting and sometimes surprising to see how just arranging the rail in the middle can affect the jump. They also demo a hunter (vertical-vertical) and a jumper (oxer-oxer) so you can choose which exercise fits your horse best. Personally I think the oxer oxer one stride with the rail in the middle gets them to use their front end better but that may be to much for a young horse.
http://www.equestriancoach.com/content/getting-horse-learn-how-back-and-jump-rounder
Is this a young horse as well as green? Are you schooling over low fences (3 feet and under)? Perhaps something as simple as using an automatic release / following release will help them jump a little rounder. Here is my 4 yo jumping 2’3" the other day.
Just the act of maintaining a connection with his mouth has helped him to be a little rounder over the fence. This picture is a little late in the bascule, but you can see he’s given it a very good effort. If I ride him with a crest release at this stage in the game he just falls apart, he really prefers the consistent contact.
I have a horse who likes to jump over his shoulder on low jumps and verticals of any heigh, the reason is that he likes to get very close to the jumps. If we place a ground line at the base of the jump and roll it out a ways, like 2 or 3 feet, it really encourages him to leave earlier so he can have a better bascule to his jump. The other problem is that he’s just freakishly talented and knows he doesn’t really have to try very hard. Case in point… Dodger jumping out of the Paddock
If you pause it at 17 seconds when he is at the apex of the jump, his front end is not very desirable and in general this is how he gets it done, except, when it’s an oxer…
at a show
I think he’s just got an unusual style, and that’s cool with me, because he is very careful, in general. I think you can teach a horse a lot of things using gymnastics but I don’t think you can fundamentally change how they jump naturally. They can either jerk their knees up to their eyeballs, or they can’t. But a big heart and great hind end can make up for poor front end, unless of course it’s the hunters… 
The V exercise. Start with guide poles on the rail a bit wide. They should just be sitting on the top rail
–/------
Then slowly close the gap until they are jumping in and over the point of the v.
–/--
It really helps back them off and I found get tider up front. Excuse my diagrams as they are not that accuate…but you rest the rails on the front top rail of your jump.
Tall cross rails are another one too.
gymnastics with large X-rails (ie, the cups set at 4’ so there is a very narrow ‘center’). It limits their ability to dangle legs.
Great ideas - thanks! And yes, young and green, jumping 3’ and under. One mare in particular I think just doesn’t have to try because its so easy, but I’m not ready to push her too much higher yet because of her age.
My green mare had lousy form over low jumps. She only start really using herself over 3’. My instructor and I really thought she was hopeless…until we started jumping bigger, and from a canter. now that she has finally stopped over-jumping everything with her knees down, she is so NICE to jump!
She has a lot more respect for, and better form over, solid xc fences.
I’ve had good results also with the inverted V jumps, and BIG Xs.
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