the major "don'ts"???

DONT Fall off hahah sorry couldnt resist

DONT - Over face too soon or rush into things take your time - and make sure both you and your horse are enjoying it... if something goes wrong just go back to the basics


Do - Get lots and lots of variety at a low heigh early so they learn not to be afraid..

Do pole work and lots - Pole work is so beneficial ---- You dont have to jump to teach jumping...

Dont over jump and watch ground condition

DO get a good instructor - they are worth their wait in gold...

I assume this is starting for the horse not the rider??

best bit of advice - look up where you want to go - Tracey told me - chin up - I find eyes up my heads still down

I was having lessons on Mac just prior to getting preggers and it was an eye opener to be told NOT to do everything we HAD been told to do as kids at pony club LOL, and yes the looking up I had drummed into me (forced myself to do that today) and sitting UP and not dumping my weight onto his shoulders as I came into the jump.

(and yes it's for starting the horse off) Will pick up lessons again with Helen Ensor soon, just wanted to put him at a few things first so I know what he's actually like before I head off to lessons

She would have a couple of poles set out miles apart and we'd just canter around and over them, working on counting strides (I have such a bad eye for distances I always struggled with it!) and shortening and lengthening the strides.

So I know a few things I CAN do OK, just don't really know any things I should avoid doing to start off...

OMG I so hear ya re the comment that everything you learnt back at pony club wasnt how you did it these days..

Apparently I chased my horse into jumps then threw myself over when I first started jumping again...

Your comment regarding that amde me laugh as I remember when I firststarting jumping again and my instructor laughed at me and said pretty much the same - everything they taught you at pc as a kid forget...



I would just do all the basics - lots of low gentle trotting in and low jumps... getting the pony used to keeping a rhythm and using placing poles.. baby grids with poles and crosses

things to avoid doing... well I wouldnt put him in too much pressure to start....so I would make sure you do easy flowing lines and approaches and just focus on rhythm... but at the same time keep interesting fillers etc that he can step over if he has too...

depends on what the horse is like too...

sounds like youve got your bases covered though...

at the moment (was his 2nd time jumping today) we're really just doing single things. Had 2 jumps his height there, but would just do one, come back to a walk, turn around, get on whichever direction was needed for the next, or back down the straight line the way I'd come. So not really much to string together LOL.

However I've just heard Kim and I are heading out to her x-country laneway on Sunday as she has cavaletti height stuff hiding in there and we'll just follow her boy so Smokey sees a good example