# How to Fix Rushing AFTER a Jump?



## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

My horse is still green, so he tends to get excited and rush to jumps, but I can control that most of the time.
However, I've been having issues with him rushing after the jumps. I've read that this could be due to him not liking the jump so he "runs away from it". Though I don't think that's the problem. He's been doing fine with trotting; he just rushes when I canter. I think I might put 4 poles after the jump to see if it slows him down, but I don't want him to hurt himself so I'm not sure.

Any tips on what could help? Gymnastics? Poles? Etc...
Thanks!


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

How old is the horse, for how long and how high have you been jumping with him, what is your experience and do you have a trainer?
A common cause for rushing after jumps is discomfort and loss of balance. Regarding discomfort - how is your release and jumping position? Have his back, hooves and teeth been checked?
Regarding balance - the first thing to do would be lots and lots of canter transitions, downward transitions after a pole, cantering over poles, gridwork and putting those miles on him.


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## BreanneAlter (Jul 2, 2014)

Following. My previous horse had the same issue. We leaned more toward dressage and didn't jump often. When we did, he was perfect before and during a jump, but a maniac after he landed.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Since you've had two horses that do this I'm wondering if you're clamping your legs into the horse upon landing.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Rushing after a jump could be the result of a number of different factors. These include a shift of more weight to the forehand caused by either horse or rider imbalance or both. Another possibility is tension in either the horse, the rider, or both.

For ideal riding, it is important that both the horse and rider be free from negative tension. The rider is mainly responsible for achieving this. Tension in the rider can cause tension in the horse. In the same way, when a rider relaxes, he influences the horse to relax.

If a rider can remain relaxed and balanced on the approach and over the jump, he should be able to have the horse walking within a couple of strides. This is best achieved at a trot over small jumps before attempting the same at a canter.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

There are many many reasons why horses rush on the backside of a jump.

Of course rule out any pain or discomfort and poor saddle fit (aka pain).

Make sure your horse has a very solid foundation of good flatwork (aka, dressage). You should be able to easily adjust a horse's canter and move them laterally so you can balance and adjust before and after the fence.

Make sure YOU are solid. Rider errors that cause a horse to rush:
1) rider is "quick" in the air. Ride up to the fence is still, but rider throws their body quickly over the fence which scares the horse and makes them run. (very common)
2) rider causes pain in the air by hitting the horse in the mouth/back
3) rider does something with their leg/body like squeezes or turns toe out to gun a horse forward in the air. 
4) rider is nervous and the tension carries to the horse
5) RIDER IS TOO SLOW TO THE JUMP. This is so so so common with horses that rush on the backside. Often, it starts off by any of factors 1-4 that I mentioned so the rider thinks that if they approach really slow the horse will be slow after. The thing is every horse as an "optimum" speed which they're most comfortable jumping out of. If they're too slow it makes it hard to jump and they either get nervous and run or know they need to speed up, they just do it after the fence.
6) any combo of the above.

Know also too that horses anticipate. Let's say it started because you were too quick in the air and you finally slow yourself down and are able to jump perfectly. Your horse remembers and even if you do it correctly, your horse may still do it wrong because of previous rides. 

So have someone watch you jump and make sure you are correct and still, get your horse very broke on the flat, keep the jumps small (forgot to mention this, if your horse is ever anxious about the jump keep it very small and simple), and lots of gymnastics. I love several bounces in a row for a horse that rushes. One, it teaches the horse what to do with their body (which can be a source of anxiety) but also teaches them to slow down. Also, try to avoid the "this is when we flat, and now that we're done this is when we jump" aspect of riding. Everything in between the jumps is flatwork. So when I have a horse that is anxious about jumping I work it on the flat, go over a fence, work it on the flat, go over a fence, etc. that way they see the jump as just another part of the exercise and not an entire separate part of the ride to get anxious about.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

I just saw your "feeling defeated" post! Ahhh... makes A LOT of sense. If his canter is not good, then he will be anxious about cantering a fence. So you have to start from the ground up, solidify his foundation, and then build from there. I'm not one of those "better quit jumping altogether to make your jumping better" unless he is really struggling and has absolutely no foundation at all. But maybe just keep to trotting the fences as you work on your canter so you aren't ingraining any bad habits. Just because he canters on a lunge does NOT mean he is balanced at the canter. In fact, a lot of horses I know do not canter well on a lunge. How much dressage do you know? My advice would be lots and lots of lateral work at the trot, and then the canter. Leg yield and shoulder-in particularly are great for strengthening, straightening, and balancing. Shoulder-fore at the canter is great for that as well. If you can get him in a nice balanced and straight canter he will be much much more comfortable jumping out of the canter. Unfortunately if you don't know how to do these things it is really hard to figure out without a trainer. I'm not saying it can't be done, but IME I needed eyes on the ground for someone to teach me how to do it correctly. Can you lunge your horse over jumps? That might be an exercise to teach him how to put his legs without the extra added stress of a rider.


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

Saddlebag said:


> Since you've had two horses that do this I'm wondering if you're clamping your legs into the horse upon landing.


This comment rather shocks me actually. 
1. I don't think I ever addressed my old horse Cash in any of my post, and I definitely never had a problem with rushing jumps. I had a problem with him refusing them. I saw him 3 months out the years so any training I did give him went to crap when I left for the rest of the 9 months. I was young, naïve; I should have never kept a horse in another state, hence why he was sold. He also had arthritis and I didn't have the experience I have now so anything regarding his training is not relevant.

I don't think I am clamping my legs upon landing; I think it is more of what everyone else was suggesting; lack of balance and stability of the canter on the flat.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

TXhorseman said what I would have said!

What do I do? Well, I work on the flat to get the horse relaxed and nonresistant. I will set up a small and boring fence in the middle of the ring. Then I will trot figure eights jumping from trot. If the horse tries to lock on the jump and rush, I calmly circle around and approach again. If it rushes, I do it again. This gives the horse (and rider) a chance to "detune". Only when the horse approaches calmly will I allow it to jump. 

Once it can jump the figure eight at trot calmly, then I will approach at a slow and engaged canter. Again, if the horse bolts to the jump, I will circle until it approaches calmly, then I allow it to jump. I will trot one figure eight, then attempt a canter until it jumps calmly then trot it again.

I have heard people say this teaches a horse to refuse to circle it, but it will NOT. I have retrained so many sour horses who did this and it has always worked. It will take incredible patience, though. You will be jumping a small boring jump for a GOOD WHILE. If you start cranking up the jump too soon, you will lose everything again (the relaxation of both horse AND rider).

You will be doing one figure eight after another after another until your head spins.....and the horse can totally relax. Then the jump goes up only 3 inches!! And then it all starts again.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I seldom disagree with Allison but I will on this one -- only because I read your other post and tried to put them together. 

This horse is not ready to go over fences. He is not comfortable on the flat and cannot canter well enough to throw fences into the problem he already has. He MUST learn to canter comfortably first!

On the other hand; I would bet he can canter just fine when he is turned out. If he can't, SELL HIM! He will never be more athletic than he is when he is unencumbered by a rider. 

Now, to go into a little of my background, I have always ridden both Hunt Seat and Western with a little low level Dressage years ago -- like 50 years ago. I also trained for the public for over 30 years. So, for background, I rode everything that was drug to my doorstep with every problem any horse could have. I started them all under a stock saddle because staying alive depended on it. [When you train for the public, more than half of what you get are badly spoiled horses.] 

In doing this, I put the first stock saddle on many spoiled or 'blown up' Dressage or H/J horses. I found so many of these horses that had been worked totally in a ring, never been ridden out, had been ridden with constant contact (if not a very tight rein) and absolutely did not have enough confidence to canter correctly much less gallop on out. They were basket cases or they lugged so badly a rider felt like they were carrying them. They could not work on uneven ground. They had absolutely NO ability to carry themselves. A tight rein had held them together every step they ever took faster than a walk.

Once I decided I was not going to get killed, I headed out to big pastures or long trails and made them ride like a 'broke' horse. I rode circles and squares without a contact. I rode a lot of 'speed control' circles like a reining or barrel prospect needs to learn. That is one circle at a fast gallop and then three or four circles at a collected lope. This way a horse learns to extend and come back without anxiety. 

I used a pelham bit so I could steady one if I had to, but could also 'bump' one back off of its front end, much like a reining horse is trained. I forced them to learn to canter or fall flat on their faces. I wanted 'self carriage' because they were expecting ME to carry them. I tried to do 90% of my riding on them on a loose rein. That way, you not only teach self carriage, but you let a horse make a mistake and then correct him. If you keep trying to keep a horse from making a mistake, he never learns to have the confidence to depend on himself. 

So, think about this and come back with your thoughts.


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

This is a question for your trainer. What is you trainer doing to fix the problem as it can be anything from poor riding to a horse that has not completed their basic flat training


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Thank you for these posts, Allison Finch and Cherie. Both posts provide useful information in their descriptions of your training methods and why you use these methods.


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

Allison Finch said:


> TXhorseman said what I would have said!
> 
> What do I do? Well, I work on the flat to get the horse relaxed and nonresistant. I will set up a small and boring fence in the middle of the ring. Then I will trot figure eights jumping from trot. If the horse tries to lock on the jump and rush, I calmly circle around and approach again. If it rushes, I do it again. This gives the horse (and rider) a chance to "detune". Only when the horse approaches calmly will I allow it to jump.
> 
> ...


 This is how I think! I have done an exercise similar to this numerous times and I agree that it helps. This post is exactly what I was going to try; thank you!


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

Cherie said:


> I seldom disagree with Allison but I will on this one -- only because I read your other post and tried to put them together.
> 
> This horse is not ready to go over fences. He is not comfortable on the flat and cannot canter well enough to throw fences into the problem he already has. He MUST learn to canter comfortably first!
> 
> ...


 He does indeed canter fine in the pasture.
I think I understand the point of your story. I ride on a pretty loose rein at the trot, but as you probably have suspected, not so much at the canter because he relies more on the bit at the canter. He either gets heavy on my hands, or he "chases" to the bit, which causes him to get rushy. I think by what you said I'll ask him for the canter on the loose rein, then bring him back to the trot when he "loses" himself. I assume that over time I will be able to canter him on a looser rein for longer periods of time, until he is completely balanced by himself. Good point!


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

BugZapper89 said:


> This is a question for your trainer. What is you trainer doing to fix the problem as it can be anything from poor riding to a horse that has not completed their basic flat training


I have a free lesson today, so I will get her opinion and instruction; however, as I stated, I am not able to afford regular lessons right now. I hope to be able to soon though.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

You have simply become complicit in his 'needing' constant contact and support. I do not think you will see a horse under saddle with the movement he shows without a rider as long you agree to 'hold' him together. He is going to stay lost without your holding him together. That is why he tries to find your contact when it is missing.

I think he needs exactly what I talked about before. He needs to learn 'self carriage' and will only become secure in a canter or gallop when you teach him to work without your contact.

It takes two (you and the horse) for a horse to lug or pull on the reins. The sooner you stay out of his face, the sooner he will become the horse he is able to become. When you teach him to carry himself, you will see a horse that becomes much 'lighter' on his front end, more athletic and a lot more secure and happy. The longer you agree to 'carry' him, the heavier he will get on his front end and the more 'strung out' he will get.

The horses I inherited like this had only gotten worse and worse with ordinary English riding on a contact, some with very experienced riders. They were given up on which is how I ended up with them. Some of them became really useful over fence horses.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Cherie said:


> I seldom disagree with Allison but I will on this one -- only because I read your other post and tried to put them together.
> 
> This horse is not ready to go over fences. He is not comfortable on the flat and cannot canter well enough to throw fences into the problem he already has. He MUST learn to canter comfortably first!


You missed the first sentence of my post. I said that the horse was first fixed on the flat. It must be able to work on the flat calmly and comfortably. I said;



> What do I do? Well, I work on the flat to get the horse relaxed and nonresistant.


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## budley95 (Aug 15, 2014)

Get the horse checked for any pain, get yourself a decent instructor and go back to flatwork so you can get him steady. Take away your stirrups on the flat and strengthen your core. A strong core with the help of a decent instructor will allow you to block your horse from rushing using your seat. Raised poles etc may be good to strengthen him through his back and then jump when your instructor thinks you're ready to do it in a calm and controlled manner. You need him focused and using his backend before worrying about the jumps!


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## equitate (Dec 14, 2012)

So, the issue is not really what the horse does after the fence, but the lack of basics for jumping. If the horse is 'pretty loose rein at the trot", there is no basis of connection and balance. One could say trot to a fence, canter after. But if the rider is floating the rein the horse doesnt know where the rider is. Horses are allowed to get heavy/onto the forehand (in any gait) because the rider has allowed it. So, it is the lack of connection/half halts by the rider which creates the on the forehand behavior, and it is simply more problematic after a fence because the bascule is not even.

Why do you want to canter on a loose rein? And how can he if he is onto the forehand? And why would one ride to a fence on a loose rein? For the horse that is like 'free falling'.


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## finn113 (Aug 21, 2012)

equitate said:


> So, the issue is not really what the horse does after the fence, but the lack of basics for jumping. If the horse is 'pretty loose rein at the trot", there is no basis of connection and balance. One could say trot to a fence, canter after. But if the rider is floating the rein the horse doesnt know where the rider is. Horses are allowed to get heavy/onto the forehand (in any gait) because the rider has allowed it. So, it is the lack of connection/half halts by the rider which creates the on the forehand behavior, and it is simply more problematic after a fence because the bascule is not even.
> 
> Why do you want to canter on a loose rein? And how can he if he is onto the forehand? And why would one ride to a fence on a loose rein? For the horse that is like 'free falling'.


Quoting something I wrote that left out a word, or was just an incorrect sentence is highly rude as you know what I was saying.

Moving on, you're correct that he does not have the right basics for jumping; however, I'm not sure you understand the point of a loose rein. Of course you do not ride constantly with a loose rein. "Loose rein" is more of an exercise, you give the horse their freedom to stretch down and teach him to balance himself. This is done at the walk, trot, and canter so they progressively learn to balance themselves; thus, 'why I want to canter on a loose rein."
If a horse has a strong forehand, why wouldn't I practice with a loose rein? That way, he won't be inclined to lean on the bit; the loose rein will allow him to stretch and balance himself so he wont lean on the beat and get heavy on the forehand. 

So my problem isn't that I don't have contact; I have plenty. Finn's problem is that he is unbalanced, so I'm going to exercises with a loose rein to "strengthen" his balance.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Most riders who only ride English do not understand how to teach a horse 'self carriage' like a western horse is taught. This is why I included the story of my switching horses back and forth, hunt seat and western, where I found out -- quite by accident -- that teaching a horse self carriage by teaching it to shift its weight back and become collected on a loose rein (thus without the rider's support) that it would stop lugging and get off of its forehand. 

Any horse can be taught this way to carry a rider just as balanced and gracefully as it canters and gallops out on the field. You watch a horse like this and it stops, turn, pivots, changes leads and moves beautifully out in the paddock. Put a rider on it and it dumps over on its forehand and expects the rider to 'carry' it. You simply remove the enabling of the rider and the horse learns to carry itself as beautifully as in the paddock.

You do not just let them stumble along on a loose rein like you ride a colt. You use a curb bit or a pelham and keep 'bumping' the horse back onto its hind end. It is much like a 'half halt'. You teach the horse to give its head (as in tuck its chin with contact), and shift its weight back. If it does not comply, you stop the horse, back it up, do a quick half pivot (roll-back if you will) and immediately canter off in the opposite direction. You do not 'hang ' on the horse's mouth long enough for it to push back. You get it to maneuver and be gone the opposite way. 

I have ridden over-fence horses this way on and off for 2 months or so and their owners could not believe they were the same horse when they came to ride. Teaching a horse self carriage always improves whetever you are doing with them on a contact -- as long as you do not fall into the trap of letting the horse go from a light contact to getting heavy and lugging on your hands again. 

It always takes two -- the rider AND the horse -- for the horse to become heavy and push on the rider's hands. This always results in a loss of form and quality of movement.


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## Best In Blue (Nov 3, 2014)

I would work on ground poles at first, cantering nicely over them. I have a horse who does this and he is 24 years old. You DO NOT want this to become a habit. Honestly, it is scary and anybody who rides this horse will have to deal with the problem.
Go back to the basics. Do ground poles. Lots of them. 
Then, try a little cross rail. Stop afterwards. Then walk away from the jump. If your horse really won't listen, have an experienced trainer get on him and do some gymnastics/ grids.


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