cantering jumps

[lulah]

my welsh D is rather green when it comes to jumping. we have never really done it before as hes more of a ridden show / driving pony but since moving to a new livery we have started getting into it . i would like to eventually do some M&M workers.

ive done lots of pole work and now moved up to basic cross poles and straights usually around 2ft - 2ft3 . hes very confident but he prefers to trot jump and trot away ! occasionaly if hes a little unsure or they go a little higher he will catleap but im not too worried because i thought atleast hes not rufusing ?


anway he can be quite hard work to canter to and from them . hes getting a little easier to canter up to them , but still prefers to trot away. should i now be really saying that i what canter? or let him get more experienced and let him trot? i just dont want it to turn into a habit !

hes not lazy but if i give him the canter que he just speeds up his trot. should i give him a tap ?! if so at what point after the jump should i tap him ?

are thier any jumping excerises i could try ?

on the flat he a has a nice balanced canter and transtions into it well. he canters logs very easily on hacks .

any advice very appreciated.

[nia2311]

I would work on canter poles, maybe he's getting his stride confused and he feels more balanced in trot? Work on his stride and slowly raise the poles as he improves. Also use a placing pole before the cross poles. I would hold off tapping him, you want him to be enthusiastic, not feeling like he's being forced, especially if he's new to it.

[lulah]

thank you ! i did some cantering over poles this evening as he was fab ! then ended with a couple of cross poles and his cantering was brill. i agree he did get a little confused with the striding but much more enthusiastic ! i will definetley work more on cantering poles .

[Smurffx]

sounds like he is a very honest pony and doesn't want to make mistakes! i wouldn't go too big to the point where he's cat leaping until you've mastered getting a nice canter rhythm to and from the fences.

I echo the above post giving him canter poles will help, or placing a single canter pole before and after a fence will help him get the correct stride also along with some gridwork