In a few days I’m going to ride a horse that I might buy. He was originally ridden English, then did western for a few years, and now is getting back into English and jumping. (He is currently jumping 2-3′ courses, so he knows how to jump). I know how to ride, and have a good seat and aids, etc. But I have only ridden well trained horses (or at least haven’t had to make major training changes with greener horses) and don’t have much experience with actually TEACHING a horse. However, when I go to ride this horse, I want my instructor (who will be there) to see that I can work with the horse and get him back into the groove of jumping/English riding again. Does anybody have any suggestions for how to fix common jumping or training problems that I might encounter? The horse is very calm, so there won’t be behavioral issues, just training. I have no idea what to expect, but some suggestions in this area would be much appreciated.
(By the way, I know how to jump, but I’ve only ridden somewhat experienced jumpers, and just want to know how to quickly fix issues that might arise. Refusing and running out aren’t going to be a problem either; plus I know how to fix that. Problems with training a horse to go from Western to English would also be good)
Thank you!
Also, I am not an inexperienced rider who is about to take on a project horse. This is a calm horse who just needs a refresher course. I just need some good training tips, and I CAN ride a horse that isn’t perfect. I have enough confidence and skill to do that. I just wanted to get that out of the way! And I know this question includes asking for millions of little training tidbits, but just ones you think I might encounter would be fine.
Last thing,(seriously!) The horse is a 10 year old QH gelding.
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If you feel most comfortable, have the owner of the horse walk/trot/canter and pop over a few jumps so that you can see how the horse goes before you give it a try. This way, if you can consistantly see that the horse chips in or takes every long spot known to man, you can prepare yourself to either keep a LOT of leg on at the base of the jump to take care of that chip in or to grab mane and be ready to possibly be left behind a couple of times before you get the hang of things. You will also have an idea of how the horse will jump (aka flat "laid bad" jumper or bascules…aka rounds out and knocks you out of the tack).
Have the owner pop the horse over a crossrail a few times and maybe a brushbox/flower box, small vertical and oxer (or, just ask if you could see the horse over a small 2′-2’3 course).
When in doubt, ask the owner of the horse any questions about the horse’s way of going, temperments, etc. (because we all know at some point, a horse WILL throw a temper tantrum…some of them are really easy to ride through and others are definitley not so much fun).
I agree, have the owner or a rider that already knows the horse get on and ride first. If they do not want to, it’s a no-go.
Here is how I like to see a sales horse presented ;
I get to halter & lead the horse out of the stall
Horse is tied or cross-tied and groomed to see how they are on the ground.
Horse is lunged briefly in both directions to get a feel for their movement and behavior
Owner/rider gets on FIRST, demonstrates basic ability/manners under saddle.
Your trainer may or may not want to get on to see how the horse will ride. Many will want to ride themselves.
Lastly, you should get on.
If you feel the need to, and if it isn’t ridiculously far away, schedule another visit soon to ride again.
I would say simply start over low X’s, remember the basic shoulder back, legs on, heels down. You seem like you’ll be able to adjust yourself as you guage what this horse needs, so I wouldn’t worry.
My only suggestions is to take your time. You obviously seem to know horses and I am sure you have some sort of a game plan. I recently trained my western horse to go english and jump. I believe I pushed him to hard and fast in his training. I was overzealous and we had an accident where he flipped over a jump on top of me. It ended our career in jumping and threatened both of our lives. We are both alive and sound today, we are sticking to western together. I can’t caution you enough to take you time and take baby steps when introducing new heights and different jumps set up, and so on. Don’t rush and don’t become over confident because bad things do happen to good people