Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! Each week we ask trainers a question and gather their answers for you. These trainers have a range of experience, backgrounds, and focus points of their programs, so the answers have as much variation as you would expect and also probably much more similarity.
This week’s question posed is: For a horse that tends to land shallow, can you train them to open up their step after a jump to help cover ground in combinations and lines?
Here are their answers:
“Getting the number done early is always important for accomplishing related distances successfully, be it lengthening or shortening. For a horse who lands shallowly, I teach my riders and horses to step away from the in, rather than riding to the out! If you can encourage the horse to land in the good canter, rather than landing and then cantering away, your rider and horse will have an opportunity to take a breath before the out, imparting relaxation, a softer (rounder) bascule, and a better quality jump.” -Claire Gordon-Neff
Read more from Claire here.
“Studies show that the horse’s elastic energy and locomotion are adaptive, evolved for a foraging animal traveling at speed (Janis & Bernor, 2019). Physics and biomechanics between rider and horse promote specific rider techniques to foster synchronized movement (Clayton et al., 2023). However, riders of all skill levels and sensitivity can impair movement through poor posture or biomechanically incorrect aid application (Strunk, 2017; Clayton & Hobbss, 2017). How can riders best position their horse for success across different skill levels?
- Strengthen the thoracic sling with cavaletti, backing, and hill or lateral work to build strength and control. Change of direction, transitions, and abiding by the rule of thumb that walk and trot/jog exercises build muscle, whereas lope/canter builds air, all assist in this process.
- Enhance rider mobility through exercises like actuating hips by alternating palms on croup at walk, hip and hand separation movements like one arm elevated vertical by ear during a 5 stride post/rising, 5 stride sitting trot, 5 stride two-point, and cross-hemisphere drills such as left hand to right ear, hip, knee, or toe and vice versa to improve coordination and flexibility.
- Prioritize rest and varied activity schedules to prevent strain and support mental resilience for horse and rider. As horse and rider both come into work, flexibility, stability, mobility, and balance support form to function, leading to symmetry, agility, and ultimately performance.” -C.J. Holthaus
“When horses land shallow or in a pile, I place a landing rail about 9 feet on the back side of the jump. After jumping it a few times, I make it longer and longer and push the horse into the rail. I find this helps the horse have follow-through over the jump.
Another strategy I use is landing and cantering away from the jump. In my opinion, top horses are always looking for the next jump.” –Johanna Hyyppa
“When a horse continues to land shallow over a jump, the rider needs to react accordingly. They should keep their leg on across the jump and support all the way over, so that when they land, they have enough momentum to carry them down the line.” -Nicole Roach
Read more from Nicole here.
“A good exercise to practice getting a horse to open up their landing stride is placing a ground pole one stride (18-21 ft, depending on the horse’s size and general stride length) from the landing side of the jump. The rider should provide lots of leg so the horse can follow over the jump and across the pole. Once executed well at the starting length, slowly roll out the pole little by little within reason to keep the horse thinking forward and help them maintain length of stride on the backside of a fence.” -Jaden Perry
