how to get a horse to 'jump' - clumsy cob!?

CrazyMare

CrazyMare

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Jul 28, 2005
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My little cob has never been the best of jumpers, I took him on a moor ride the over day and he was great, he cleared the x country jumps -following a horse in front -it was just over 2ft I think so not very big but I was very pleased with him all the same!:D any way, me and my friend tried jumping him at home on his own and he charges at the jumps (they are cross poles, uprights under 3ft) and then runs out if you let him at the last min! My friend was riding him so I had a go with him, after driving him forward and getting him to actually go over the jump he jumped a couple but most of the time he just crashes through them or knocks them flying! he just isn't careful enough and dosen't tuck his feet up or actually 'jump' it as such!! is there any thing i can do to make him respect the jumps a bit more and be a bit more careful!?:rolleyes: or are cobs too clumsy to jump!?:rolleyes:
 
Cobs can be great little jumper. They'll never get to the olymipics but they can jump well.

Firstly you need to make 100% he's confident over little jumps and poles before moving up. And that his saddle is a good fit as he won't want to jump if the points ram into his back on landing.

Then you need to work on schooling, impulsion and balance. Cobs tend to trunddle around on the forehand which makes getting their front end off the ground enough to jump difficult for them. You need to practise canter until it's easy and up-hill - if he can't canter well he shouldn't be jumping.

Once he's balance and pushing from behind you should approch in a forward going but not rushing canter or a powerful trot. Start with girb work (and anti-runout poles) and keep them little until he's confident and happy.

However there is the occasional cob who just can't be bothered:rolleyes:. Having thick, heavy poles tend to teach them to lift their feet.
 
Yeah - cobs may be large, cumbersome and clumsy but they are smart too.... Cherry would jump the heavy wooden poles in the bottom school at our yard brilliantly, but if I tried her in the top school with the poly-jump plastic poles she would always knock them as she knows they are flimsy and give with the slightest pressure!!!! :rolleyes: :p
 
Have you tried freeschooling him over jumps? It may teach him to choose his own takeoff better and enjoy jumping at the same time. If he still crashes through them, perhaps try putting a few poles before the jump to teach him to go up to them in a more balanced way. Good luck!
 
My little cob has never been the best of jumpers, I took him on a moor ride the over day and he was great, he cleared the x country jumps -following a horse in front -it was just over 2ft

A very brief (slightly overly obsessive :rolleyes: ) word first ;) . If you KNOW your horse isn't the best of jumpers, then attempting xc fences is not the best course of action. EVEN if it was just a one off, EVEN if he was wearing super protective boots, EVEN if the fence was barely 2ft - it's not a good idea.

most of the time he just crashes through them or knocks them flying! he just isn't careful enough and dosen't tuck his feet up or actually 'jump' it as such!!

This is kind of my point :) . If he did that with a solid fence, he could REALLY hurt himself (boots or no boots - he could still do significant damage). And injury aside - a nasty knock can ruin the most confident of jumpers.

I'm sorry, I know that probably sounds very patronising :cool: ! I don't mean it to be :eek: . Some horses jump far better over natural fences than they do over showjumps - but best to find that out with a rustic but easily breakable fence before trying the solid stuff.
I'm sure you already knew all that ;) , but I'd hate a novice owner to read this thread and get the wrong idea.

Schooling will almost always help with any problem! You can do it on a hack, in the school and on the ground. Anything which gets him listening and respecting your aids (lots of transitions, circles, rhythm changes etc) is good.

Free schooling (or lunging if he doesn't free school too well) over poles, then cavelletis, then jumps is great for jumping problems specifically. It allows the horse to "feel" his own stride, prevents the rider from interfering and reduces risk to his owner :p .

A good exercise (both with a rider on and whilst free schooling) is to put four poles in a row and have him trot over them (make sure you get the spaces between the poles right though, or he'll struggle). Then, when he's happy, replace the end pole with a tiny jump. Then start taking poles away. Then you can start putting 2 - 3 small jumps a stride or two apart.
If he goes better when following a horse, there's no reason you can't incorporate that into his training if things get a bit tough (just not all the time or it becomes a habit).
Gridwork helps teach a horse to balance himself, see a stride and lift his feet up when jumping. So anything like the above exercises are usually worthwhile.
As for the running out - resting one end of a pole on top of the jump wing and then putting the other end on the floor (at 90 degrees to the jump) will help guide him into the fence.

Maybe have his back, tack, teeth and general health looked at too - just in case (worth ruling out discomfort).
And you might find having a lesson with a good instructor helps pinpoint anything you may be doing wrong (it's good to have that distanced perspective sometimes).

But cobs can be super little jumpers! I'm sure he'll be fantastic once he gets going.
 
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My old cob once jumped me round a 3 ft 7 course at Hickstead! Didn't go clear, but boy was it fun...yes, cobs can definitely jump. Gridwork really helped him get balanced & athletic, but I think he was naturally quite a talented jumper anyway. I have been jumping a friend's cob recently, I started jumping him last year & he was exactly as you describe your horse to be - jumping clumsily & sending poles flying. I think one of the issues was that he was simply not physically strong & balanced enough to jump properly. This year he's really grown into himself, his canter is also a million times better than it was and he can actually get his bum under him & jump a jump properly. Can your horse collect in canter when you school him? If not, he may struggle jumping out of canter because he will tend to fling himself at jumps. How does he jump out of trot? You could try doing trotting poles, then raise them up on bricks so he has to pick his feet up a bit & progress on to some little crosspoles & grids once he's got the hang of the ground poles. Remember to give him loads of praise if he's good, also don't overdo it & risk him getting fed up.
 
I know a section d/welsh cob type mare that use to trash the jumps. We think she was previously used as a driving pony as her walk and trot were fab! but her canter was very rushed and unbalanced. As her owners worked of her cantering she got much more confident with her jumping and she can actually jump now!!

She still isnt a perfect jumper and will knock 2/3 poles down in most rounds but she is loving her jumping now.

Maybe she will improve as she gets older as she is still ony 6!!! I would leave jumping for now if i was you and make sure your horse is 100% confident happy and balanced doing all basic flatwork and start jumping after that.
Free schooling over jumps is a fab idea!! i dont know a horse that does enjoy a good buck and gallop around, they don't even know they are working and its quite funny to watch!!
 
Cobs are often good jumpers, but usually learn quicker than other horses that they can go through them too! Try making the jumping look more solid, even if they will still fall down, as this may bluff your cob into thinking they'll hurt to go through, so he should jump them better. This worked for our two cobs who used to bulldoze all the jumps and scatter poles everywhere, the less air gaps there were in the jump, the better they jumped in general.
 
I'm not really sure how to explain this. A picture would be good but I haven't got one. Darnnn. I used this with my new pony when she first came and shes fine with her feet now. Used to dangle them everywhere and knock virtually EVERYTHING, silly mare! :3

Right, put up your jump at your chosen height, then you need two poles to make a V shape on your jump. Aaaah how to explain...OH! I'll draw it on paint!

CLICK

If you can understand that - good luck! If not I'll try to explain better. Or get a pic tomorrow of my pony jumping it. But either way, Good Luck!

^_^
 
How about:

Bales of hay/straw - or failing that, I think three bales of haylage end to end would make quite a good jump. Wings on either side, run out poles as described above. Hitting bales will not hurt, so will not put your horse off jumping, but they look solid and so more likely to be jumped. If that works, put a pole on top, then remove one bale at a time ;)

The cob I ride jumps amazingly well, and regularly beats TBs etc at local unaff shows (she is fast and corners well too).

The freeschooling sounds good too, and getting another horse to lead over the jump in the school may work, since it worked for you doing XC.

Jumping isn't a very usual activity for a feral/wild horse, and although some breeds are selected to have good conformation for jumping, they still have to learn to do it. Provided you make sure your horse finds it fun (i.e. lots of praise for every attempt, no pain if jump is knocked down), you'll probably find they get the hang of it eventually. Good luck :)
 
domane said:
Yeah - cobs may be large, cumbersome and clumsy but they are smart too.... Cherry would jump the heavy wooden poles in the bottom school at our yard brilliantly, but if I tried her in the top school with the poly-jump plastic poles she would always knock them as she knows they are flimsy and give with the slightest pressure!!!! :rolleyes: :p
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at least im not the only one who has this problem with there cob and most shows having plastic poles makes it very hard to place when my horse cant be bothered and knows they are plastic.
 
grace3462 said:
at least im not the only one who has this problem with there cob and most shows having plastic poles makes it very hard to place when my horse cant be bothered and knows they are plastic.
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Very old thread, but feel free to browse and see if there's something relevant for you. I have cob too, they're wonderful, but shall we say, problematic? Lol
 
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