It is essential for horse riders to keep on practicing their skills so as to remain competitive in the horse jumping competitions. The following are the horse jumping tips that one needs to consider when they want to engage in the activity.
When you want to be a great horse jumper; you first need to look for a coach or instructor who will be guiding you through the whole process. The coach will assist you in getting the right seat for different gaits ranging from walk to hand gallop. During the training, you need to ensure that your stirrups are shortened at least two holes before jumping, this will enable you to bring your body weight forward so you can stay over your horse’s center of balance throughout the jump. Moreover, riders need to look straight ahead over the fence when riding the horse if they want to jump over the fence, failure to do so will affect the horse’s balance hence making it not to jump as planned.
During jumping, it is vital for riders to position their hands slightly forward when they are about to approach a fence, this will enable them to avoid hitting the horse during impact. If you find it hard to balance on the back of the horse, you can use a neck strap that will hold you firm hence preventing you from falling when riding the horse. In addition, if your horse seems to be moving on one side of the track, you can consider using a whip that will assist you in keeping him on track, use the which on the side and tap him on the neck with little force, since when you use excess force, you can harm the horse thereby making him retaliate by being rude.
When you are about to reach a fence, you need to be confident enough that the horse will jump over it, failure to do so will make the horse know that you are scared hence he will fail to jump. Moreover, riders need to ensure that their horse do not control them, you need to be the one to control the horse , since failure to do so will make the horse guide you in most of the training, for instance, it may want to jump over a fence even when you are not ready hence causing you to fall over.
Besides, riders need to ensure that they have maintained the style of riding, when you are consistent with the style, the horse will adapt to the style hence making him to respond better to the instructions. Riders need to avoid jumping with the horse on the same fence over hundred times as this will make the horse to be bored with the place and refuse to jump.