|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
LATEST NEWS |
|
20/06/10
|
|
After so many years of efforts...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The following article is an excerpt of
'The Code' - HD Encyclopaedia |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
~ The Eye for Distances ~ |
|
(from *The Jumper Rider* - The Fine Art of the Jumper ) |
|
|
Remember this: whatever you do on a horse, always make him feel that you know EXACTLY what you are doing, even if it is not so. This gives the horse a sense of protection, of guidance and will make your effort effective. A correct aid given in a dubious manner will not have the influence expected.
Get rid of all the jumps. Forget the lunge line. Place one pole on the ground (halfway on the longside, just inside the track) and get on your horse. After you've warmed him up, deliberately STOP thinking you're going to be jumping - because you're not. You're going to establish an ordinary, regular, working canter on both reins with your horse.
Once you settle into a regular, easy and comfortable canter, look at the centre of your single pole on the ground from far, keep your eyes glued to the exact centre and canter in that precise direction. You want to have the longest possible run to it, and have your horse straight for the centre from as far away as possible. The most important thing a jumper rider must learn, and you can start right there, is NEVER to go to a jump - instead, ALWAYS let the jump come to YOU. Jump or pole may it be, it's the same principle. One day, when you're going to have to take a split second decision on a three and a half stride related distance you're going to thank yourself for this habit.
Once you are very close to the pole (and YES you are looking down at the centre of it) just before you pass over it try to remember where your horse's feet touched the ground before the pole on his very last stride. Was he 'close'? Was he far off? Was he 'ok'? - Canter over said pole a few times on both reins, always trying to see how you 'accidentally' get to it. Remember, you do NOT want to alter your horse's easy flowing, regular working canter for any reason - it is not a jump so it does not matter how you reach it.
Ok so far? Now. You should notice that 'seeing' how the last stride happens before the pole becomes quite easy. The next step is to see this from the second-last stride to your pole, and you will find this very easy also. Again, I'm stressing this, you are NOT changing your horse's stride at all at any time, no matter if you suddenly realise you're going to reach the pole 'close' or 'far' or 'ok'. What you are going to do instead, is this:
canter towards pole, see you are ok, sit still and wait for the pole to pass. Full stop. Canter towards pole, see you are 'close', sit up a little and hold your horse a little more between hand and leg - do NOT pull! Canter towards pole, see you are going to be 'far', OPEN your reins away from your horse's withers, keeping hands level and without changing your contact. This will automatically incline your upper body SLIGHTLY forward and going with the movement without actually moving yourself, which instead would cause the horse to lose his balance at the last minute.
Never drop your contact going towards a jump, no matter if it's a good or bad contact. Keep this as a rule: however you are, whatever 'weight' you have in your hands, never alter anything as from three strides away from the jump. The horse has to think also, and he won't if he's distracted by you. Dropping the contact before take-off assures a stop - horse gets left in 'deep water', meaning he loses balance altogether (this is one example).
All this should take place over a few days - otherwise you'd have been cantering for an hour by now, exhausting your horse! The next step is to place 2 poles 18 meters apart - that's about 55ft apart. Canter onto the poles as if they weren't there - same as before. Just check how you enter the first, keep a regular rhythm and same length of stride, and you should see that you end up exactly the same way onto the second. This depends a lot on the type of horse you have - if his working canter has a long stride, or short - height of horse has little to do with this.
Count the number of strides you fit between the poles, come back and open your reins way before reaching the first pole, keep them so, and try to fit in one stride LESS. Calm your horse, get back to 'normal' number of strides. Next you sit up and hold your horse together from far before the 1st pole, and try to fit in one extra stride in there, always without pulling. What you are establishing is THREE different lengths in his canter strides: a shortish stride (but regular), a 'normal' comfortable stride, and a slightly lengthened stride. (note: a 'cultured' jumper has at least five different length canter-strides, and can do the above exercise in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 strides!).
By now you can canter towards any SINGLE jump up to 3'9"/4ft with yourself capable of keeping a regular rhythm in your horse's canter, the ability to see whether you are about to get to the jump 'close', ok or 'far off', ride accordingly to help your horse the utmost - and he will have learned that when you sit up he'll shorten his stride, when you are 'normal' he'll have a normal stride, and when you widen your hands off his neck he'll 'open up' a little, ensuring a good take-off spot every time, and you will never again feel you don't quite know what in the world is happening under you or that horrid sensation of being a total passenger before/during/after the jump itself.
Always praise your horse much whenever he gives you even a tiny bit - it's all too easy to concentrate on technique and forget dialogue! Enter your line of exercise jumps, or poles, this way - you'll flow easily through with a very happy horse indeed :)
Having a video taken is ALWAYS a good idea - I do that myself, and often too. It helps enourmously for many aspects, not only the pole exercise. You can see what really happens and if you watch it straightaway after riding you have the feelings you had still fresh in your mind (and body). Sometimes we think we sit in a certain way and then reality is totally different, or the positioning of one's legs, or hands. It allows you also to see all those little things one does without realizing. Yes all down the line for the video :)
It is good custom to stop the horse after a jump - but often it is done without cognition. Therefore, let's keep in mind the following:
A horse is taught to stay straight before, during and AFTER the jump. 'After' is most important, because it is the beginning of your runway to the next jump, so how we land after a jump influences a lot how we'll approach the next fence. The best riders in the world learn their courses backwards exactly because of this! So straight is the issue, but the way it is straight is another. A horse is taught to collect after a jump because presumably he'll be a little extended, or with his weight a bit too much on the forehand - especially green jumpers, so you want the horse to know that after any jump he should collect promptly if asked. But if you stop a horse every time, he very soon shall stop jumping altogether, because it doesn't make any sense not to flow on afterwards. It is best to stop once, and continue three or four times, and maybe slow down in a totally different place in the arena. That keeps the interest up - think of jogging and having to stop every four steps! You'd give up quickly, also because it would be very tiring.
If a horse is not careful with his feet it's because you are doing too much and he is not learning to think. Once you have him lined up from far towards the centre of the jump or pole, once you have given him the impulsion he needs (always push during the bend and sit up and wait for the pole to come to you on the straight), once you are certain you're sitting correctly and not distracting him in any way, well then it's up to him to start thinking about his own feet - make a fuss of him when he is careful, ignore him when he is not.
And remember, it's the horses that jump, not us - so let them!
RR
|
|
|