# Big Girl and Little Pony :o)



## shanoona (Oct 29, 2009)

I have 9yo pony mare, and even though I know it's not the best to ride on her, I believe we are all right together. I have never wanted to jump with her, she loves that, but I can't. But I was at this holiday with her, and a trainer showed up, and after a week of flat work, we had one jumping lesson  Does her spine look like having problems with my weight? It was my first jumping lesson, I jumped few times, but only me, no one taught me to. And never so tall obstacles, max. 30 cm 

I love her, she hadn't stopped in front of any jump, she went to everything, she had never run into the side, she didn't rush or go too slow.... perfect pony for some kid on small jumping shows.... Unfortunately we don't have any kid for her 








































































^^I like that one 









^^And that's how my mare rescues me when I fail totally <3


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## LetAGrlShowU (Mar 25, 2009)

How tall is she? I think it looks like you had fun, but you do look at little big for her. That doesnt mean you are, you just look it.


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## bubbleslove (Mar 9, 2010)

What breed is she? Generally it depends on their weight carrying capacity, as indicated by the amount of bone they have in their legs, and whether or not they have large enough feet. She's a little on the finer side (super cute!), I certainly have no issue with your size on her on the flat, but I'd make sure you weren't jumping her hard or very frequently. For now she's carrying you just fine, but that doesn't meant that it won't affect her negatively over time. 

I'm by no means a jumping expert, I'll leave any critiques for others with more knowledge - it looks like she's jumping a little early, but since it's your first lesson, I'm sure that will come with time. My only suggestion would be to work on your release going over the jumps


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

You don't look too big for her at all. And she seems like she has problem carrying you.

In the first two pictures you seem like you are putting too much weight on your horse's forehand, keep your shoulders back and help her use her back legs. She looks like she is toppling forward, it's not fair to make a horse jump with too much weight on their forehand.

Also put your stirrups up 2 holes to help sink some more weight into your heals. And try to fold your body over the fence instead of standing up, like you're doing now. The 6th picture from the top I think looks the best out of all of them. Try to mimic that next time you jump. All in all you look really good and so does your pony.


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## ezhuntin (Nov 14, 2009)

I think she jumps pretty cute. Is she just learning? Because, the more grid you do the better she will get with form. I think you have pretty good hands when it comes to release, but your leg needs to come forward. Your heel needs to come down, because this is throwing you clumsly forward. I would reccomend playing with your stirrup lengths by shortening. It will be uncomfortable at first, but it will really help you sink into that heel. Going through grid especially, because once your horse 'gets it', you can work on yourself a lot too!


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## xeventer17 (Jan 26, 2009)

1. In the first few pictures you are putting too much weight on her forehand, which, in turn makes it much more difficult for her to get it up and over the jump. Lift your shoulders up and back and make sure you're looking up. Your stirrups are also much too long for jumping. Try sticking those up two or three holes.

2. You're pinching with your knees. Your long stirrups are definitely not helping this, but once you put them up, really concentrate on sinking all your weight down into your heels.

3. Your body is too far forward, which is partially caused by your knee pinching, but I'm also noticing it over the trotting poles. When you two-point, you want to think about, yes, picking your butt up, but also closing your hip angles so that your butt is still over the center of the saddle.

4. Your release isn't bad for a beginner, but I would recommend using a crest release for now. Slide your hands up the neck and lay them on her crest, even hold some mane to help you. You also seem to be breaking at the wrist, which is something I've seen often, though moreso in dressage than jumping. Make sure you keep those wrists straight! If it really becomes a problem, you can start riding a bit in wrist braces until you develop enough muscle memory that you stop bending them.

Overall you look great for this being your first jumping lesson, though I would recommend sticking to crossrails until you really get the hang of it. You and your pony look great together, and I don't think you're too big. Just watch that you're not jumping her too often. Once a week is really sufficient... maybe twice. And most of all, have fun! :]


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## shanoona (Oct 29, 2009)

oh, once or twice a week??? no, i think it's more like once or twice a month, if I overcount  we really stick on loooong trail rides, I believe we both enjoy it. She loves to jump and I would really love to get her some child to jump with her. But that's problem with her, she is stubborn and doesn't want to do anything when you don't beat her (not like hitting, just not to let her do whatever she wants to do.) in first few minutes. And no child can beat her-she is strong. She just gallops with it home :-/ But she tried once with me, she didn't make it and now she doesn't do it anymore. ME personally, i am a lot more into dressage than jumping... This was just something extra for her.  But thank for you advices, anyway  Maybe in a future


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