Back in the Tack

Loving the videos… many thanks. I’m coming back to jumping after a 20-year break and have a good horse and we’re doing well as a team. I feel as if I’m spending too much time worrying about my distances and have begun to pick. I tried you’re advice about jumping with reins in one hand which was helpful. Other advice please?

What works well is holding the reins between your thumb and index finger. I recommend you watch the video “Developing Good Hands” on our website.  This will lighten up your contact to some degree, which may help with this issue. Also try making the fences a bit smaller where you are quite comfortable and not concentrating so hard on the distance and let your horse do some of the work. Relax, loosen up, and let your horse pick the distance. This is much easier for you and the horse over smaller jumps (horse specific). Then gradually raise the jumps and when you find you start to “pick,” drop the height down again a bit. Watch all the topics on the site that reference eye exercises as well. Good luck!