# How does her jumping form look?



## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I think she has potential.

2' is NOTHING, and many horses (mine included) will be lazy about such a low height. That being said, lots and lots of grids will help get her forelegs snappier, and if she's scopey, they don't have to be perfect (this coming from a jumpers perspective) - some horses with untidy front legs will just jump higher so they don't knock poles. Plus, she's just started jumping, so once she figures out where to put her feet, her form will improve.

She does appear to be taking off with her hind legs even, which is a VERY important thing, because it indicates she is balanced.


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

blue eyed pony said:


> I think she has potential.
> 
> 2' is NOTHING, and many horses (mine included) will be lazy about such a low height. That being said, lots and lots of grids will help get her forelegs snappier, and if she's scopey, they don't have to be perfect (this coming from a jumpers perspective) - some horses with untidy front legs will just jump higher so they don't knock poles. Plus, she's just started jumping, so once she figures out where to put her feet, her form will improve.
> 
> She does appear to be taking off with her hind legs even, which is a VERY important thing, because it indicates she is balanced.


I'm glad you think she has potential! I've been doing lots of grids with her, almost ever since we started jumping. I'm hoping that the grids made her more balanced. Her hind legs used to be lazy too. She was tuck her front legs and just "walk" over the jump with her back legs. xD She had the most awky jump then.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I really like her jump, I think once she's had some more time to figure it all out she'll be awesome.

As a point of comparison, my boy (who likes to take off from MILES away) is quite scopey and has jumped 4' competitively - he is 15.1 so that's pretty huge for him! These fences are everywhere from 18 inches to 3'6" and please excuse my position, I never look good in photos. The smallest, 18 inches, was at an eventing show - I'm a wimp XC so we entered the smallest grade - and jacketless because it was like 100*F. I've attached an XC photo from the same event as proof he actually CAN jump small jumps with nice form.

edit; and the photos where I'm jumping in my dressage saddle are REALLY old, I'd only had him for like 2 weeks and that's nearly 2 years ago now.










The 3'6" (excuse the tiny, the friend who was photographing didn't know my phone's camera has zoom)


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

blue eyed pony said:


> I really like her jump, I think once she's had some more time to figure it all out she'll be awesome.
> 
> As a point of comparison, my boy (who likes to take off from MILES away) is quite scopey and has jumped 4' competitively - he is 15.1 so that's pretty huge for him! These fences are everywhere from 18 inches to 3'6" and please excuse my position, I never look good in photos. The smallest, 18 inches, was at an eventing show - I'm a wimp XC so we entered the smallest grade - and jacketless because it was like 100*F. I've attached an XC photo from the same event as proof he actually CAN jump small jumps with nice form.
> 
> ...


Wow! He sure does take off far away, but he still looks so good doing it!  He's a very gorgeous horse with awesome jumping ability. You guys look great together. I love how scopey he is.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

hahaha yes only way to get him remotely close to the base of a fence is to half-halt every other stride and squeeze with my legs when I'm not half-halting. Some of his Hail Mary efforts have shocked my coach, he's taken off a whole stride early before now! He's amazing, very rarely takes rails.

My old coach used to say this tendency to take off from so far away is really common in the scopey event horses, especially those with long backs like Monty... he flies! Your girl will really fly too with time and training.


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## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

blue eyed pony said:


> My old coach used to say this tendency to take off from so far away is really common in the scopey event horses, especially those with long backs like Monty... he flies! Your girl will really fly too with time and training.


My event horse often turns 2 strides into 1 strides or 1 stride into a bounce , but we never have knocked a rail in a show before so....

I can't get my horse to have nice form untill we are jumping at least 2'6. He gets lazy and sloppy and bored and then he starts to take down rails. It's hard to tell you what dicipline would be best because for eventing, you also have to do dressage. For jumpers you have to go fast and make tight turns, and I'm not really sure what the point of HJ is XD. 

I'd say as long as your horse can do dressage, eventing is so fun! Cross country is the best. Your horse is very cute and is jumping the barrels with oom to spare. Good Luck and have fun 

EDIT: Oxers help a lot with bascule. Make the back bar 2-3 holes higher than the frot bar and it makes for a better jump. If you can work these oxers in with a line of several bounces, then you have a good exersize


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Ashsunnyeventer said:


> My event horse often turns 2 strides into 1 strides or 1 stride into a bounce , but we never have knocked a rail in a show before so....
> 
> I can't get my horse to have nice form untill we are jumping at least 2'6. He gets lazy and sloppy and bored and then he starts to take down rails.


Mine is exactly the same! I have a 1 stride set up at the moment because he's been getting sloppy and also because it's the best way to get me to commit to a jump that scares me (say a large oxer), and I can't say he ever bounces it, but he does really like his crazy long spots.

For Monty, it's not 2'6"... more like 2', but he certainly doesn't really respect the small stuff. He never knocks rails, but he gets really strong because he's bored and it's more fun to gallop... at least I think that's why  he jumps nicer the bigger they get.


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

I find my horse to be such a goof. She's not superman-ing it over the jumps as bad as your guys' two seem to, but she jumped four foot from a WALK. /headdesk

I was like... "don't jump it... don't.... no.... DON'T JUMP IT!"
and she was all like... "lalala.... what? oh yeah, JUMP!"

But that's why we must all love our adorable, goofy jumpers. They find ways to make us laugh. c;


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

hahahaha the 3'6" photo with my lad, I trotted into that  we were having issues with control before fences so I trotted him into it and then let him canter one stride out. Crazy athletic horse he is. Also had a pony, all of 12.1, that could jump 3' from a standstill.

Jumpers are such characters  personality is a must in a jumping horse, they can't be bland and robotic.


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

blue eyed pony said:


> hahahaha the 3'6" photo with my lad, I trotted into that  we were having issues with control before fences so I trotted him into it and then let him canter one stride out. Crazy athletic horse he is. Also had a pony, all of 12.1, that could jump 3' from a standstill.
> 
> Jumpers are such characters  personality is a must in a jumping horse, they can't be bland and robotic.


LOL! That reminds me of a grand prix horse trotting one of the jumps! XD I think your horse saw that course and felt inspired. ;D

My horse is only 14.3, but she thinks she's 17 hands. I bet she'd try jumping six foot, thinking it's not that tall, and fail miserably.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Have you seen Theodore O'Connor? He was awesome! Made 4**** eventing look easy, took some HUGE fences at really awkward striding and still didn't appear to be putting any effort in. It was so unfair what happened there, he should have been an Olympic mount and was short-listed for Beijing... but died in 2007. Good on Karen for getting to London!

Anyway. The point is, sometimes little horses can REALLY jump. There are accounts of 14hh Connemaras and Welshes jumping 7 feet!


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## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

I LOVED TEDDY!!! InsaneDino, don't underestimate your horse  But I agree that your horse has to love it- jumping is one of the things that you can't force your horse to do.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

The passion is why my boy is any good at all! His conformation is nothing less than shocking  long back, long cannons, posty hind (actually his hind end confo is pretty dreadful allround), upright shoulder, upright pasterns, crap feet... his point of shoulder is in a nice place and his neck ties in perfectly to his chest and shoulder, but other than that...


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

Theodore is so adorable! He was such an amazing pony. I need his abilities to inspire my horse. Who knows, she could become the next best pony eventer.



Ashsunnyeventer said:


> I LOVED TEDDY!!! InsaneDino, don't underestimate your horse  But I agree that your horse has to love it- jumping is one of the things that you can't force your horse to do.


Oh, I don't mean to underestimate her. I bet she could jump six foot if she really tried. Her problem is she gets too excited and bumps into everything. If she focuses, she can do amazing things. Again, IF she focuses. But heck, the lady I got her from pretty much only said bad stuff about her. She said she'd never be able to jump three foot... psh. Check this. She could jump three foot with two legs. c; LOL.


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## Ashsunnyeventer (Aug 17, 2012)

lol. Focus is my biggest problem with my mare. When we jump she "locks on" to every jump and I really have to make her focus on the one that I want to jump. 

I love proving people wrong- My old trainer said that there was no way I could be successful at novice- my first novice show I got second out of 12 AND my old trainer was there to watch. It was great. Make sure you keep proving that lady wrong


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## InsaneDino (Aug 3, 2012)

Ashsunnyeventer said:


> lol. Focus is my biggest problem with my mare. When we jump she "locks on" to every jump and I really have to make her focus on the one that I want to jump.
> 
> I love proving people wrong- My old trainer said that there was no way I could be successful at novice- my first novice show I got second out of 12 AND my old trainer was there to watch. It was great. Make sure you keep proving that lady wrong


Hahaha, that must have been such an awesome moment! Just imagining her face being all... O:

Thanks! And you keep proving anybody who steps into your dreams wrong. Horses really make fools out of some, and stars out of others.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

hahahahaha yep my boy locks on to everything too! It's actually one of the things I love about him because it helps me get really great lines (tricky ones too sometimes!!) - he locks on but he knows he has to listen to what I say and if I take him past x jump he'll refocus onto y jump which may be at a really dodgy angle but if I say jump it he does.


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