What is cat jumping?
It is when a horse jumps awkwardly over a fence.
He approaches the fence with a ‘backward canter’, stops going forward then jumps in an awkward way, hollowing its back with his head in the air.
For a horse or Pony to be a good jumper, he needs to lift his back, tuck up his legs and then stretch out with his neck slightly.
The horse and rider need to be in perfect harmony to be able to negotiate a course of fences.
When a horse or Pony cat jumps over a fence there is very little flow in between fences, as the horse will often break the rhythm to gather himself before the next leap.
Why does my horse jump like this?
· Rider error
The horse is poorly presented at the fence, lacking in rhythm on approach.
Not enough impulsion in the canter to take off.
· The horse may jump like this if he expects the rider to get left behind and hang onto the reins.
This action will catch the horse in the mouth as he goes over the fence.
The horse that approaches this way is more likely to catch a pole with his hind legs.
· How to cope with a horse that jumps big!
· Make sure the horse has freedom to stretch its neck over the fence.
If you do get left behind, grab hold of the neck strap and slip the reins to help the horse.
He needs to be able to stretch his neck out in order to clear the fence correctly.
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