Jumping outside of lessons

[camira91]

Interested to get some opinions on this! Thoughts on jumping outside of lessons?
Some backstory! I am a new horse owner(since August), and I struggle with jumping anxiety. I am an aspiring eventer, and I have been taking riding lessons for a long time on very reliable school horses. I would say I was able to reasonably comfortably pack around an entry level xc course, jump 2’6-2’9 stadium. I’ve never had the opportunity to jump higher, so I don’t know how that would go. I have only been able to afford a horse of my own recently.
My new horse is a 6 yrs old, but doesn’t have any eventing experience. My understanding is that she was ridden a bit, but casually, and spent most of her time hanging out in a field. Our flatwork is coming along lovely, but everything goes downhill when we jump. I get anxious about 3 strides out, that has an impact on my position, and often leads to a refusal, because I think I give her mixed signals about whether or not I actually want to jump the fence. She’s a very sweet horse, this is definitely a me problem and not a her problem. So our jumping is basically pathetic. I can generally get her around a course of xrails okay, but as soon as it’s moved to a vertical, the mental anxiety game starts for me.
The barn I board at only allows boarders to jump their horse in a lesson with your trainer. I usually(when there isn’t a pandemic) take 2 lessons a week. I think that in order to become more comfortable with jumping my horse and learning to trust her, I need to do it more often, which makes me worried that the fact that I am not able to jump my horse outside of lessons is inhibiting my progress. I am not saying I want to jump her around a 4ft course of jumps every day of the week. I am just talking about popping her over a few tiny verticals or xrails on my off lesson days.
Is it common to not be able to jump outside of lessons? Do you think it would help me feel more comfortable if I were able to consistently pop her around some tiny fences? Not sure if the rules at my barn are consistent across the board, as I have only ever ridden at that one barn.

Please no ‘if you are scared to jump, then don’t’ advice.

[trubandloki]

It is not uncommon at all for a barn to have a rule about not jumping outside of lessons.

With the problems you are having I would say that this rule is what is best for you at this time. Until you are confident in what you are doing and your horse is confident you really should have the trainer there to help you fix problems before they become even worse problems. It is hard to become confident when your horse is stopping on you.

[nu5ha]

Not sure about how common or uncommon that rule is, as every barn I have been there was no such rule.

It is very easy to get a green horse not to want to jump once the horse starts to refuse it gets trickier to fix that, its also takes a whole lot more to fix the issue as it does to create it. With the issues you have mentioned its best to stick to jumping with a trainer, a green horse and green/ nervous rider makes problems come easier. The more you try to jump your mare and the more mix signals you give her, more refusals more problems you are creating more difficult to fix.
If I was you I would actually get a trainer on her to jump her and help fix the issues that you have, and you take a lesson or two on a more of a schoolmaster who will give you some confidence and you can concentrate on your position cues etc. Otherwise if you keep going this way you will end up with a horse who will not want to jump at all.

On another note I have a jumping pony, I do not jump him everyday, that is the quickest way to get your horse sour, especially if you not 100% knowing what you are doing. I jump mine once a week, I do pole work and do pop him over a cross pole maybe once after a flat schooling session if there is one standing but not everyday and not every time.

[anon38350891]

Agree with trubandloki - barns have this rule because there have been terrible accidents, and bad training setbacks, from unsupervised jumping.

You can work with your horse on ground poles. You can work on your 2-point, for horse’s benefit if not needed for yourself. You can work on building the horse’s confidence with you in all kinds of ways.

But stacking up refusals and run-outs is going to be counter-productive for you both.

[Redlei44]

That’s a very common rule. Liability insurance often requires this, among other reasons.

Can you work over poles? This can be plenty beneficial for working on your eye, practicing related distances, etc.

I agree 100% with Trubandloki - you have some major issues to work through with your new horse (happens to the best of us!) and it is highly unlikely that jumping on your own would fix them. It’s much more likely to exacerbate them, unfortunately.

[camira91]

Fair enough!
I do a lot of work over poles on the ground currently, and it goes pretty well. This is why I was thinking I might benefit from trying to add in things like raised cavaletti and xrails, as she doesn’t refuse those generally, and I thought it might help my brain feel more casual about jumping. I guess I’m stuck for thinking of things to do on my own to help with it. Definitely open to suggestions for exercises!
It’s strange because if I get on an experienced horse, I don’t suffer from the same issues.

[fordtraktor]

@camira91

Fair enough!
I do a lot of work over poles on the ground currently, and it goes pretty well. This is why I was thinking I might benefit from trying to add in things like raised cavaletti and xrails, as she doesn’t refuse those generally, and I thought it might help my brain feel more casual about jumping. I guess I’m stuck for thinking of things to do on my own to help with it. Definitely open to suggestions for exercises!
It’s strange because if I get on an experienced horse, I don’t suffer from the same issues.

There are some really good FB groups that can give you ideas for challenging Poles. I think Equestrian Pole Club is one, it is great!

[GucciJumper]

I honestly think having a trainer there to help you work through this would be the best thing. I wouldn’t jump on my own if I had a situation like yours.

for what it’s worth, the majority of the barns I have been at have that rule.

[clanter]

I could post the photo of my youngest daughter’s foot if you have questions. She was working a horse here at home when the horse slid down falling with her, Horse gets up but daughter’s foot was hung in the stirrup. Horse was trained to ground tie so stood in place rather than dragging her off into the pasture

Older daughter who was in the house doing homework when she noticed that her sister had not made the rounds recently so went to find her, (She had been circling the barn to give her a longer run to the jump course she had set up.)

First surgeon thought the foot was a goner, amputation …transferred her to another hospital where the surgeon took about a five second look and sent her directly to surgery … he repaired her foot but really though she would never walk correctly again.

So, a reason for not riding without oversight is the unpredictable events

[Where_sMyWhite]

@camira91

This is why I was thinking I might benefit from trying to add in things like raised cavaletti and xrails, as she doesn’t refuse those generally, and I thought it might help my brain feel more casual about jumping.

This, to me, is the one word that makes me agree you should, for the time being, work on jumping your mare with a trainer and not solo.

Remember that every, single interaction with your horse trains your horse. It’s up to you if that training is positive or negative. If there is a chance it might be negative… drive-bys, refusals, whatever, not the best idea to be re-enforcing that negative training.

Positive training will help both your confidence and that of your mare’s confidence in her own jumping ability as well as in her rider, you

[camira91]

Absolutely it makes sense why you should not ride alone! I board my horse at a fairly busy barn, and I would say there is generally always someone else riding in the arena, or close by. I probably should have specified this!

[camira91]

It makes me feel better to know I am doing the right thing for now, and probably just need to trust in the process. I guess I am always worried I am not doing enough. Hopefully this did not come across as me being someone who just wants to jump their horse sour, because that is not at all the case!

[Anna.m]

I’ve seen this rule many times before. This is very common in boarding and lesson barns. IF you really feel you are capable, you need to speak with your barn owner/coach. But be prepared for them to say no.

So you said you get nervous doing a course, how are you when working over a single fence, x-rail or vertical? How about when you do a gymnastic? Do you feel better when the first jump in a line is a cross rail and the second is a vertical?

[Jenerationx]

Even if the barn didn’t have the rule, if you’re anxious, not solid in your position, giving mixed signals and causing this horse to refuse jumps, you should not jump without a trainer. All that would do is reinforce your current behavior and hers. Yes, it will help to jump more consistently, .but it really sounds like you need for that to be with a trainer’s eye and input until you and your horse are confidently jumping together.

[camira91]

Single fences normally go really well for me! Gymnastics with an xrail as the first fence normally also go really well. Going into a gymnastic with a vertical to start gets a bit iffy.
I have done a lot of work with my trainer on doing raised cavalettis on a circle, and I feel really comfortable doing this type of exercise.
It’s honestly new and strange to me. I thought that getting my own horse would mean that I’d be able to move forward, as I was confidently riding the school horses. But now I’ve been hit with this anxiety and I don’t know what has caused it or how to help it!

[GoodTimes]

It’s a pretty common rule. Most barns I’ve boarded at have had this rule.
My current trainer allows a select few who are experienced to jump small jumps or cavaletti in order to do some specific homework between lessons. We avoid doing this when beginners or kids are around, so as not to give them the idea that they should be jumping outside of lessons. And always when someone is around.
However, many issues or exercises can easily be worked on by using poles.

You’re on a new, young horse. Your horse is still learning. Go slowly. Do tons of pole work. Set up courses, related distances and singles. Work on adjustability on the flat.
Refusals, running out, anxiety, etc usually mean that you should take a step back. Make sure the foundation is good.
Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

[Eclisped]

Absolutely agree with GoodTimes. Everyone’s given good advice, the only thing I can maybe add is maybe do some work on just building trust. My gelding, now 10, I got as a green 5 yr old OTTB with only 2 months undersaddle that wasn’t for racing. I had the same problem as you, except I just got really tense for every. single. fence. While practice and experience did help, just spending some time to get to know him and his habits helped. Just doing fun things with him and groundwork. Obviously I can’t see you ride, but maybe because from what I’ve read you have mainly ridden reliable school horses, you feel no longer in complete control? School horses (at least from my experience) tend to give people confidence and subconscious ‘I can do this’ feelings. We know that they know their job. Now you’ve transitioned to a 6 y/o. Maybe, even if you’re not thinking about it directly, because you know she’s much greener than a school horse, you start to get anxiety because some part of you doesn’t have that confidence you get from a school horse? I don’t know, I sort of went off on a tangent. But yeah. My gelding actually bucked me off (twice!) when we had him on trial. After we bought him my trainer had me take 2 months for just groundwork and lunging him, getting him exposed to things everywhere around and on him. Obv. that’s not what you need to do, but the difference in my confidence on him was remarkable after I learned his habits and how to feel and deal with him. Don’t know how long you’ve had her for, so maybe you already know her habits, idk.

As for the “No jumping w/o a trainer” rule, the barn I ride at lets people jump without supervision as long as you’re over 18, however anyone who rides, even if it’s just for one day, has to sign a form that says “I take all responsibility for my horse and I’s actions in the event that property is damaged or injury occurs”. I think all the other barns in my area have the same rule, not sure.

[Anna.m]

Everyone has given some great advice!

Speaking from experience, here are my suggestions for your riding.

Do not jump outside of a lesson. While jumping more will increase your exposure to jumps, without an experienced professional there to guide you, you also increase your risk for an accident therefore growing your fear. More ‘failed’ attempts at jumping will solidify that you are teaching the horse to stop, she doesn’t do it to be bad, she does it because she thinks that is what you want.

Being a new team, you have to grow that trust between you. Do some ground work, lunge, teach her tricks, brush brush and brush. Simply spending time together will help you guys become more of a team.

When riding not in a lesson, I would suggest strengthening your position, a couple laps around the ring in 2-point. You should make sure you don’t drill ring work/poles/jumping with your horse. Its not her fault she’s stopping. Change it up a bit to make sure she doesn’t get sour. Go for trail rides, or walks in the pasture.

Something that helped me, was what I called scienceing it. By doing this, I found that I was fine with a height if I didn’t watch the jumps get moved up. But if I watched them get moved, I was an absolute wreck and couldn’t make it through the course. So go height by height and see where you get nervous. Also, how high of an cross rail can you do before that frightens you? Go jump by jump, you can jump a course but stop in between each line and think about it. Analyze how it felt, and what made it good.

[BayBondGirl]

I used to suffer from a similar anxiety issue - x-rails were no problem, verticals gave me major anxiety. This was little hunter fences too… Nowadays I comfortably event at Pretraining height and was mentally ready for a Training move up last year. So it can be overcome! I disclaim that it took years and a couple of really experienced/steady horses.

My experience differed from yours in that my horse was an experienced H/J so I didn’t have to also manage someone else’s greenness on top of my own. I do think that you’re going to have a really tough time overcoming your anxiety on your green mare, and you are inhibiting her training, to the point where I would suggest jumping lessons on a packer-type for you while your trainer works on your mare’s jumping. Feel free to PM if you need to commiserate, I remember all too well how that all felt.

I needed/wanted a barn where I could jump whenever, because I needed to work regularly on those x-rails until they became common place. I didn’t jump the legs off my horse, but adding in one or two x-rails during our flat work helped it become way less of a big deal to me, until I was “bored” with that height and actively looking for a challenge. I personally am unable to be in a regular lesson program though, so I need the option to at least practice my homework on my own ride time.

[anon40672407]

Another thing to consider, since you believe the problem is YOU and not her, is rather than go over a bunch of poles on the ground, is take down the poles, and instead go thru the standards. Ride whatever course is set up already, but without poles. You get a better sense of distances, you can ‘feel’ the height from the standards, your horse gets the sense of thruline, you can arrange pace and pacing, and find your distances, make sure both approach and departure is correct. This might help you reduce some of your anxiety, as you concentrate a little more on the standards rather than what’s between them.

See if that helps your anxiety after a couple weeks.

All the places I’ve ridden, there’s a ‘no jumping without trainer’ rule because of insurance. I don’t have to agree with that, but if it’s not my ground, not my rules.