Help your horse sharpen up his technique with the advice from European young rider gold medallist Will Fletcher and grand prix rider and accredited coach, Joao Charlesworth, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
Not all horses are born with the ability to tuck their knees right up, dropping their head into a perfect bascule. And while many showjumpers get along just fine in their own style, knowing how to improve a horse’s jumping technique will ultimately make you safer and more competitive in the ring.
“There are plenty of good horses who don’t tuck their front legs right up, but who are very, very successful,” says four-star grand prix winner Will Fletcher, who reels off several household names – past and present – whose forelimb techniques were less than copybook.
“Growing up I can remember watching a brilliant German stallion called Embassy, ridden by Hans-Dieter Dreher, who jumped with a very ‘open’ technique rather than folding quickly at the knee,” says Will. “He was so powerful and careful that it didn’t matter that he didn’t bring his front legs right up underneath him. He made it look easy.”
Even more famous was Milton, who had a habit of dangling his front legs and over-jumping, especially at the beginning of his career. His rider, John Whitaker, once said that his legs were “all over the place”.
Milton had his own inimitable jumping style.
(Image credit: Trevor Meeks)
There is no question that being snappy in front is a desirable trait in a top-notch jumper, but the good news is that there is plenty you can do in training to encourage a horse to bend his knees and sharpen his reflexes.
“If a horse can leave the fences up I don’t worry too much if he is a bit untidy, so long as he has the power and conscience to make up for it,” says Will.
Grand prix rider and top coach Joao Charlesworth agrees.
“Horses that don’t have a classic fold are mechanically slower to bring their forearms up and over the jump, but if they’re brave enough and you’ve built their heart up, they can still jump clear rounds,” he points out.
The role of conformation in jumping technique
There are many factors that influence a horse’s foreleg technique, with conformation being one of the most important.
“A horse who is straight through the shoulder will find it harder to bring his knees up than a horse with long, sloping shoulder,” points out Will, who explains that there is a big difference between a horse that hangs its forearm and one that dangles its legs below the knee.
“A dangly forearm is much more of a worry,” he says. “No amount of gridwork is going to fix that, but a young or inexperienced horse may jump with an open technique because he doesn’t yet have the strength to be neat in front. This often improves over time,” he adds.
Knees up! This horse is showing a tidy jumping technique, tucking his forearms up to clear the fence.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Exercises to improve a horse’s jumping technique
Both Will and Joao agree that the focus on how to improve a horse’s jumping technique should revolve around building core strength, confidence and self-awareness. Here are some jumping exercises to try.
1. Add a groundline
“A horse that doesn’t snap up quickly needs to be given more time in front of the fence,” says Joao. “Using a good groundline can help with this as it will give him more time to fold his legs and bascule.
“If you get in too deep to a fence too often, you’re not giving the horse the opportunity to organise his legs and that’s when he might lose a bit of self-belief.”
Joao explains that at home he uses shorter distances in tandem with groundlines to encourage the horse to work harder and be quicker with his reactions.
“The groundlines will be pulled out a foot or so from the base of the fence to give him room to get his forearm up and over,” he says.
Joao uses this simple gymnastic exercise to help a horse use his shoulders and sharpen up his technique.
2. Introduce “V” rails
This groundline exercise can be built on by adding V-shaped guide rails.
“Set up a placing pole three yards away from a small upright (starting at no more than about 70cm) with a ground rail, followed three yards later by a slightly taller vertical with “V” guide rails to encourage the horse to stay in the middle of the fence and use his shoulders.
“Keep the fences small to start with and the “V” rails pulled apart so you don’t surprise the horse. Approach in a short, bouncy canter. Be prepared for a green horse to have a look, so keep your leg on and don’t get in front of the movement.
V poles encourage the horse to stay in the middle of the fence and use his shoulders. Be prepared for a green horse to take a look.
(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)
“When the horse is jumping through this set-up confidently you can add another upright seven yards after.
“For a more experienced horse you can play around with shortening the distance between the final two uprights. I find this exercise is great for building the horse’s confidence in his jump.”
3. Speed up reactions with bounces
Will Fletcher’s go-to exercise to help improve core strength and encourage quicker reactions is a very simple row of bounces.
“I do a lot of bounces with my horses at every stage of their career as it teaches them to be quick-thinking, athletic and to use their shoulders,” he says.
“I start with two bounces on a 12-foot distance and add in one more bounce at a time until there are four in a row.
A row of bounces is William Fletcher’s go-to exercise for improving core strength and reactions.
(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)
“Approach in a quiet canter and ‘pop’ in over the first part, making sure you stay soft through your arms and follow the horse’s movement.
“It’s important not to overdo this sort of work. Bounces are hard work physically and mentally and doing them four or five times is enough.”
Tactics in the ring
Once you’re in the arena, you won’t have the benefit of a judiciously placed ground rail or a row of bounces to help you warm up.
“You need to think about giving your horse a little bit more room in front of the fences,” says Joao. “This isn’t an easy thing for an amateur to do, but you can start by making sure your canter has plenty of power so you’re not creeping into deep spots.
“You also need to consider how you ride related distances. For example, if you have a five-stride distance, you don’t want to be pushing down the distance and ending up with your fifth stride too close to the base of the second fence or you run the risk of your horse not getting his front end out of the way quickly enough. Instead, sit up as soon as you land and rebalance early, so you can then ride forward to the second fence without ending up too close and deep to it.
“Similarly, if you have a regular three- or four-stride distance it can be a good idea to treat it as if it were on the short side, so you’re giving the horse more room in front of the second fence. Sit up on landing and support the horse between your leg and hand, so you’re not too open and floating between the fences.”
Will adds: “You can help the horse by keeping your upper body up, especially in the last few strides before a fence, so you’re giving him time and space to bring his shoulders up without restricting him.”
