Improve your jumping rhythm with Piggy March

We’ve all been there. You pick up a nice, steady canter as you make your turn towards a fence. Then, suddenly, your horse takes off at lightning speed, throwing all sense of rhythm out the window, which quickly limits your options for a good stride. This isn’t an enjoyable feeling for any rider, nor will it help you make it over a fence successfully.

Don’t run before you can walk

With any horse that rushes, I like to strip things right back and start with just a single pole on the ground. It’s so incredibly simple in theory, but if your horse can’t canter, trot or even walk over a pole without rushing, how can you expect him to do anything different over a fence?

So, go back to basics. If you can’t canter him over the pole straightaway, trot. If he struggles in trot, walk. You can incorporate this into your flatwork sessions to take away that novelty element, taking him over it time and time again until he doesn’t change his way of going. It’s just a pole, after all, and that’s how you want your horse to feel, too, so be patient and treat it like any other exercise. It’s all about developing that trust between you and your horse because, more often than not, rushing stems from a place of anxiety rather than excitement.

Exercise: Single minded

This exercise as part of your warm-up routine will help you assess whether you have control over your horse’s speed and rhythm, while testing your eye for a good approach.

Set it up

Place one pole vertically over X.

How to ride it

1. Pick up a forward, active canter. If you feel your horse start to speed up, ride a half-halt or small circle to rebalance and sit him back onto his hindquarters.
2. Ride a 20m circle from the top of the arena, taking your horse over the pole at X. Ensure he’s feeling supple and relaxed by opening your inside hand and closing your outside rein, while pressing on the girth with your inside leg and keeping your outside leg slightly behind it. This will encourage him to work in a correct frame and encourage him to stay in a consistent rhythm.
3. Then, ride another half 20m circle, this time asking for either a flying change or a canter-trot-canter transition over the pole, then turn the other way to form an S-shape or a half figure-of-eight.
4. Ride two more half-circles in canter to make a complete figure-of-eight.
5. Do this a few more times, but switch up which direction you ask for after the pole so you don’t always complete your figure-of-eight.

Up the challenge

Why not take things one step further and place a few poles around the arena? That way, you can ride as if it’s a course of jumps. This is an excellent way to practise your approach.

Want more exercises from Piggy to help you perfect your rhythm? Pick up a copy of July Horse&Rider magazine, on sale 16 June 2022