# First Jumps! Please Critique Me!



## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Well, since I don't take lessons, and I like to have fun with my good little pony, why not just have some of you critique me while I jump him! Neither of us technically know 'how', but he's a good pony, and I'm a pretty sticky rider (not good, but I know how to stay on ;P), so why not give it a shot, eh? 
Critique me PLEASE, and if you want to, give constructive criticism about Specs. Remember, he's a great horse, and I'm not an amazing rider, so everything is my fault!!
We have a slight problem with knocking our jumps over.
Might need some help with that.  Any suggestions?
I didn't even cut one jump out of this video. This is our whole 2-hour ride  Except I cut out the dead space between jumps.. and maybe added a little music... But I kept in the bloopers to keep the mood light 
I just mainly want to know if I'm doing the 2-point right? Or am I even doing it at all? I try my best :-|
Please be nice. I know jumping's dangerous and all, but he's a good horse, and I've got my rusty trusty helmet 
Well, here goes nothin'! 
*dont laugh*
Thanks so much.

Jumping; (with bloopers!) - YouTube

Edit: Please don't mind the jumps. they're 2 flimsy pieces of plastic, a swim noodle strung over one, and 2 stools.
*******? Yes. But I'm working on it. :/


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## Catdog88 (Oct 3, 2011)

I'm a beginner too so I really can't critique you, but this video is so cute. I really like you guys together. You're a great team. You guys definitely got better by the end.

So that's my green two cents


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

You don't have enough impulsion to get over the jumps. The reason you knock poles is because you come in with your horse behind your leg, and 'pops' over the jump, punching the rails out with his back legs. You should NOT be stopping after a jump, and the fact that your horse cannot continue on after such a small jump says you need moooore impulsion. Aside from that I really don't think you need to be jumping, especially without the help of a trainer. Your position is a little frightening, the fact that you fly up out of the saddle, slam back down on your horses back and then crank him in the face. Yes you are wearing a helmet, but that wont safe you from broken limbs and what about your horse? Catching him in the face and coming down on his back like you are can do some serious damage. You also seem to be losing your balance, which is a clear indication that your position isn't strong enough to be able to handle jumping.

I'd also start practising some safer dismounting / mounting techniques, dropping your reins like that is asking for distaster should your horse get a leg through.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Oh my...

Please stop attempting to jump until you find a trainer and have lessons. Your horse is going to quickly go from refusing to go over your "jump" to intentionally dumping you. Your horse is a saint. 

And 2 HOURS of forcing him over that same jump over and over, is not good.


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## Dressage10135 (Feb 11, 2009)

Agree completely with Delfina. While its good you are having a fun time with your horse, you need to realize that neither of you are ready for jumping safely. I know you said you aren't taking lessons but I highly recommend finding a trainer you can work with for awhile until you can get yourself a solid foundation on the FLAT before even attempting jumping.


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

I just saw another thread of yours asking how to keep him from rushing after the fences, and since it wasn't answered there I'll bring it over here. Essentially, because you're coming down so hard on his back there's a good chance you're causing pain and his rushing after the jump is really him running from the pain. Again, another good reason to hold off on the jumping.


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## BooBear (Mar 23, 2012)

I agree with the people who posted before me, but I'd like to throw in a few things:

1) I'm pretty sure your girth was a little loose in the beginning with some of the movement I saw from your saddle / saddle pad. Yikes!

2) Try shortening your stirrups a notch or two. Your legs looked like they were too far forward. Admittedly, there wasn't much of an angle to accurately judge.

Oddly enough, your bareback jumps at the end looked like they had better form than the ones with you in the saddle.


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## Oxer (Jul 9, 2010)

the part where he steps half way over, then reaches down and scratches his leg with his face is HILARIOUS!!


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## LostDragonflyWings (Feb 1, 2012)

I agree with the fact you should go back to working on the flat until you can find a trainer... or at least have a stronger seat.

I cringed when the horse stopped over the fence and then you pet him (reinforcing his bad behavior)... and then you let him eat grass. If you do not follow through with what you want (approaching the fence, jumping, and going away from the fence), your horse will stop paying attention to you and continue with these bad habits.

I would recommend going back to the flat, working on your seat, your low legs, and your two point. Get impulsion from your horse and work on trotting poles for a little while. Once you have established impulsion, once you have a strong seat/legs, and once you have a nice two point, then work on small jumps.

Over the fences, remember to stay out of the saddle when he lands, as you kept falling back on the saddle too soon, causing him to loose his balance and causing him to knock the rails.

Do not do the same thing over and over, especially with a horse just learning to jump. If you want him to enjoy jumping, do not burn him out while he is just learning, as he will not consider it fun in the long run.

A main point is to not let him eat while you are on his back in "work mode". That is a very bad habit (as you can see from the video), and now he is more interested in eating grass, then paying attention to what you are trying to focus on. Once you work more on your flat and then go back to the fences, work on keeping him moving to, over, and away from the jump. Even if he knocks it over, go trot/canter another circle on the flat before you get off to fix the jump.... don't let him stop right after the fence. If you ever want to show over fences, this bad habit will not be good for when you are trying to tackle a course.

Jumping is a ton of fun, but you need to be careful how you start jumping your horse and you need to keep it fun for both of you. Working on your basics prior to starting over fences assists in making it more fun for your horse, as then you have a better seat and are not interfering with him (pulling on his face, slamming on his back, etc.) while over fences.


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## Jumper12 (Feb 2, 2012)

i agree, if you want to be jumping work on flat work to get a better base and take some lessons. as someone who doesnt know how to jump you arent doing your horse or yourself a service by trying to learn to jump on your own. he's not learning properly and neither are you.
as a side note a couple times there was a little clip of your horse grazing and the reins dangled around his neck, nearing the ground! if you dont want him to step through them, freak out and then snap them I would suggest holding him while he grazes!
im sure with some lessons you guys could be a better team. good luck


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks everyone! The reason I posted this is because I wanted some criticism, so thank you!  again, we were just messing around. I'm not asking to become a serious jumper, and honestly, I really don't plan on ever going higher than we did. I just think we needed something to spice thing up a bit  thanks so much. I'll work on not coming down so hard, just remember that it's my first time!  
I never said it wasn't my fault for all of his misbehaving, because I know it is. I'm working on it 
I really only cranked his mouth once on accident, and that was the second jump. I tried to give him as much rein as possible, because I read that with a green horse you should give them lots of rein.
As for lessons, no. I live in the middle of nowhere. I've been looking and looking for a barn to even take western lessons for two years. no luck. :/ the closest lesson barn is literally 4 hours away, and obviously that's impossible. 
I'm just hoping that popping over jumps like this will desensitize him to other stuff we might come across on the trail!  plus it's fun, and he doesn't hate it. (trust me, he's not a pushover of a horse, if he hated jumping OR me, he wouldn't have anything to do with it.) 
I usually wouldn't let him get away with half of the naughtiness he did (like scratching his face over the jump, eating grass, etc) but since we wer just messing around, I let it fly just this once, even though I know good and well it's gonna come back and bite me someday  
Overall, we're not going to be great jumpers, neither of us, but when it comes down to it, we just want something to entertain us every once in a while.
Maybe we won't do it again if I'm that bad :/
Thanks!


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Continuing...
I'm not a trainer. I've never had a trainer. All I've got is my horse, who I bought when he was 6 years old and just just started under saddle. I'd say we've come a long way, and I think jumping is something we could legitly do. Please don't think I'm the over privileged brat who gets whatever I want. I know nobody ever said that, but it kind of comes accross that people here dont particularly like me. Trust me, I work hard to keep my 2 ponies. I think I deserve respect just like everyone else on this forum, even the people who have been riding for 899 years or whatever, so please treat me with respect.  I respect all of you, so thats why I take advice to heart, so please be straight up. Which I'm sure many of you were. I just don't like being accused of yanking my horses mouth off, that's all. Even if I did accidentally tug on his mouth, it's not the end of the world. I'll try and make things better. 
With that said,
I hope to become better myself, and I strongly believe that if I clean up my skills and do things correctly that Specs will be better too. I guess that can be my new goal for the summer, to practice enough on the flat and over poles until I can jump solidly.
I guess I was just pushing things a lot too fast. Thanks for noticing. Jumping takes a while to perfect, right? Not 2 hours! (which we probably ended up only actually *doing* things for about an hour, because I took many breaks in between) he'd never even seen a jump before this.
Next time I'll take things more seriously. I was pretty much just messing/joking around the whole time in that video, for no good reason other than that I'm 14 and I love my horse.  I'm usually the one to yell at someone for being reckless around my horses, and for leaving them unsupervised like I did with the reins. I guess I just was trying to be goofy. Im camera shy. 
Please remeber I'm a western rider at heart, and so is Specs, but one can do both disciplines! (that could explain why I hate riding in short stirrups... Or any stirrups at all ;P) maybe I should just stick to western :-|
Sorry for the rant. I really appreciate all your opinions. You're much help!


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Oops wrong thread,


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

I'm not trying to be rude, but I re-watched the video to be sure and I did see you cranking your pony in the mouth over a couple of the jumps, and I did _not_ see very much release over any of them. If you're going to continue jumping that is certainly something you need to work on, especially because your pony has not done it before. Over small jumps on a horse that is experienced you can give a slight release, but not when neither horse nor rider know what they're doing. You need to keep in mind that even if you were just messing around you can still get hurt, your pony can still get hurt, or you can develop bad habits in your pony.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I agree that you really shouldn't jump without an instructor. If you want to practice with jumping basics, put poles on the ground at correct intervals to learn how to ride them by lengthening or shortening your horse's stride. This is greatly beneficial and is also something interesting and different for the horse. Please don't get off and let your horse go down for grass right after a jump, as he'll learn to stop after every jump to dive down for grass, which is very unsafe.


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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

I'm not a jumper, but I'm pretty experienced with horses. When I wanted to pop over a few crossrails, I lunged the horse over it a few times, and then set up a pole about one step in front, so the cross rail was like a cavaletti, which is something the horse is familiar with, just a bit higher. 

Flat, level ground would probably help a bit, along with someone to help you out a bit, as suggested, because there are sooo many things in that video that I KNOW will be turned into bad habits.

Here's the video of my first jumps, I don't think I did too bad, and I was mostly concerned with making it a good experience for my horse.


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

For QH rider-I hope you also took the jump from the other direction? Horses need to learn to jump from each direction-just something to keep in mind.


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## Crimsons Clover (Mar 30, 2012)

I'll just list what a see and when I see it and you can go back thorugh your video and look and hopefully notice some things. I know how it is to not have a trainer but you can learn on your own if you have a patient horse. It seems you do, and I wish you luck.

at :13, watch as you land. You start out very well going over the jump but when the horse lands you pull your arms back and your hands up. Try to keep them forward so you don't catch your horse in the mouth as this can quickly sour it.

Notice how in that first jump he hesitated because he wasn't sure he could make it, the second jump he ran forward and you grabbed the reins and caught him in the mouth. The third time he jumped it but was sluggish and expected to get caught in the mouth. Keep those hands forward and encourage forwardness for now. and after a few strides have gone by just gently ask him to slow down, stop and back a few steps then stand still. This way he will learn that after a jump he should slow back down and come to a halt unless you say otherwise.


:40, Do not punish him when he does the wrong thing such as a refuse a jump, but only reward him for doing the right thing. Horses know what good boy means, they can learn that, and so if you say good when he wasn't perfect he'll take it to mean he can do whatever he wants and still be a "good boy"

Give him a little kiss or a nudge with your leg as he gets ready to leave the ground to encourage forwardness of the jump.

If he starts racing towards the jump get in the habit of suddenly and randomly asking for a halt a few strides before the jump so that he cannot successfully anticipate the jump.

1:02, Look up and look where you are going AT ALL TIMES. Never look down at the jump.

1:33, he looks like he's getting the hang of the jumping now, and is having fun. At these early stages concentrate on clearing the jump and calmly coming to a halt afterwards. And as I stated above don't allow him to anticipate 

1:38, here you have anticipated the jump. Don't do that or you could go flying over his head should he stop suddenly. You also put all your weight on his front end and make it hard for him to get off the ground. Your job as a rider is to follow and mimic his movements and stay in line with his center of gravity. Let him push you out of the saddle. I would rather you be left behind on a jump than be too far ahead.

Again, only reward him for doing the right thing. and if he's putting that head down when you don't want him to get those feet moving. Kick the snot out of him once and then he'll learn to move as you're preparing to kick the snot out of him. I added a sound that warned my horse he was about to be kick forward. a "tch" sound. now I just make the sound and his head flies up.

1:56, Keep your hands forward and about 2" from his neck at all times. Don't move them when you jump unless it's to put your hands even more forwards.

2:43, looks good other than your using your hands on the reins for balance. see how little you moved when he jumped. That how it should be in the saddle. Only move enough to stay balanced.

2:50, look how forward you are and how not forward your horse is. You need to stop anticipating or it could end in a bad wreck.

Hope this helps,
-Clover


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Cacowgirl said:


> For QH rider-I hope you also took the jump from the other direction? Horses need to learn to jump from each direction-just something to keep in mind.


 I didn't watch the video, but keep in mind that when you jump from the other direction you need to make sure to adjust the jump for that side if need be.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

alexischristina said:


> I'm not trying to be rude, but I re-watched the video to be sure and I did see you cranking your pony in the mouth over a couple of the jumps, and I did _not_ see very much release over any of them. If you're going to continue jumping that is certainly something you need to work on, especially because your pony has not done it before. Over small jumps on a horse that is experienced you can give a slight release, but not when neither horse nor rider know what they're doing. You need to keep in mind that even if you were just messing around you can still get hurt, your pony can still get hurt, or you can develop bad habits in your pony.


I don't doubt I was, but I surely wasnt doing it on purpose or to discipline him like a few people suggested that I may have done. 
Its always in the back of my mind, even when I'm just riding on flat, that either of us could get hurt, but again we can both get hurt doing anything other than jumping, too. Everything on horseback is a risk, IMO.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

QHriderKE said:


> I'm not a jumper, but I'm pretty experienced with horses. When I wanted to pop over a few crossrails, I lunged the horse over it a few times, and then set up a pole about one step in front, so the cross rail was like a cavaletti, which is something the horse is familiar with, just a bit higher.
> 
> Flat, level ground would probably help a bit, along with someone to help you out a bit, as suggested, because there are sooo many things in that video that I KNOW will be turned into bad habits.
> 
> ...


Awesome you guys did wayyyyyy better than us!  
Love your horse... She's so pretty. 
I kind of wanted him to have a good experience with jumping, so I kinda laid off the disciplining. Kinda a dumb excuse, but it's true at least.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Crimsons Clover said:


> I'll just list what a see and when I see it and you can go back thorugh your video and look and hopefully notice some things. I know how it is to not have a trainer but you can learn on your own if you have a patient horse. It seems you do, and I wish you luck.
> 
> at :13, watch as you land. You start out very well going over the jump but when the horse lands you pull your arms back and your hands up. Try to keep them forward so you don't catch your horse in the mouth as this can quickly sour it.
> 
> ...


Oh my thank you so much! 
I do notice now, especially in the first few, what I was doing wrong.
Then in the middle I think I got it better than any other times
Then at the end I got excited and more confident and rushed things.
Am I getting warmer? I sure hope so.
Man I'm learning a lot!  thank you guys!


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I have nothing to critique but your pony needs his feet done!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I have to say I was totally entertained by your video. I was laughing out loud with that naughty horse. I especiially liked it when she stopped half way over the jump to scratch her nose...BWAHAHA!! When she ran you under the tree....LOL!

I saw nothing horrible in that video. If you had set up a more solid jump with sturdier poles, you would not have had such a problem. Those jumps were so small and wimpy it gave your horse no reason to have any respect for them. It would have been really hard to have done anything dangerous for you or the horse with jumps that small, IMO.

I would suggest a trainer in a perfect world. It will help you both avoid a lot of dead ends in your approach to jumping. As far as any talent? Jumps that size will never get much respect from a horse and it is difficult to judge form, talent or anything else from them. 

If you really want to take up jumping, find someone with experience to help you out. Please? What I saw let me think you would both have a lot of fun going further.


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## jumanji321 (Dec 1, 2010)

Careful with your saddle, you could damage it by dropping it like that.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Cowgirls Boots said:


> I have nothing to critique but your pony needs his feet done!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Yes, I know. Horribly. Yikes. It's been over 3 months--far too long! Literally! We have an appt. for this week. Thats why I didn't really have a problem with drawing on them.


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

Allison Finch said:


> I have to say I was totally entertained by your video. I was laughing out loud with that naughty horse. I especiially liked it when she stopped half way over the jump to scratch her nose...BWAHAHA!! When she ran you under the tree....LOL!
> 
> I saw nothing horrible in that video. If you had set up a more solid jump with sturdier poles, you would not have had such a problem. Those jumps were so small and wimpy it gave your horse no reason to have any respect for them. It would have been really hard to have done anything dangerous for you or the horse with jumps that small, IMO.
> 
> ...


Well good! It's pretty frustrating sometimes, but usually when I try a little harder with discipline, he's much more.... Obedient. I was kinda letting things fly because I wanted him to have a good experience.  but he is a pretty hilarious horse to be around .. Never a dull moment. 
Thanks! I'll work on finding a trainer. It's really tough though, because of where I live, not many people ride and if they do, they all ride Western.
I'll keep looking though. 
Would it help even to haul him to an arena? I'd think it would be safer. And he'd be more behaved there. Plus they have pole bending poles that tip over and make perfect cavalettis ;P maybe I'll go there for some ground pole work here soon... So I can get the 2 point, maybe! *hopefuly* 
Thanks so much!


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## RoosHuman (Dec 27, 2011)

RunJumpRide said:


> Yes, I know. Horribly. Yikes. It's been over 3 months--far too long! Literally! We have an appt. for this week. Thats why I didn't really have a problem with drawing on them.


First things first, hoofs trimmed! Longs toes=tripping and cracks. Not to mention discomfort. Then go to Lowes, get some PVC pipe, and practice trotting through some poles on the ground. After that maybe some cross rails.


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## LoveHipHop (Mar 27, 2012)

Seeing as he's never seen a jump before, I think Specs did very well! You two seem to have a good bond, and he seemed to try hard most of the time, so that's a positive to think about. Don't get disheartened, just keep working on it! And you and Specs were getting much better by the end of the video, so well done for that, and you really seem to love him, so that's nice! You seem to have a lot of fun together, and that's what it's all about!


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## Jumper12 (Feb 2, 2012)

RoosHuman said:


> First things first, hoofs trimmed! Longs toes=tripping and cracks. Not to mention discomfort. Then go to Lowes, get some PVC pipe, and practice trotting through some poles on the ground. After that maybe some cross rails.


i would not suggest PVC pipe, but wood rails. PVC breaks and when it does it shatters, it is also very light. I know a lot of people love it to make cheap jump poles out of it but im not a huge supporter as ive seen horses destroy these poles!


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## RunJumpRide (Sep 29, 2011)

LoveHipHop said:


> Seeing as he's never seen a jump before, I think Specs did very well! You two seem to have a good bond, and he seemed to try hard most of the time, so that's a positive to think about. Don't get disheartened, just keep working on it! And you and Specs were getting much better by the end of the video, so well done for that, and you really seem to love him, so that's nice! You seem to have a lot of fun together, and that's what it's all about!


Thank you!  he's my boy  were pretty tight.


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