Question about collection!?

Question

So i'm going to be leasing a horse that has only been used for trails and im into showing. I do english and junk like that lol so i need to know how to teach him collection. any tips?? and also how would i go about introducing him to jumps?
Much Thanks!! :)

Answer 1

Collection is not gained over night. It takes a long time to build the correct muscles and get the horse in shape for that. You can start by walking over ground poles/trotting them to get the horse to relax his neck and bend at the poll. Start at the walk by taking up an elastic connection with the reins. Your main goal is to have him pushing from his hindquarters rather than dragging on the forehand. Ride him into the bit. Do a lot of walk/trot/canter transitions. Circles are good for bending. Make sure you start with large circles and not too many as that can be stressful to the horses joints. You can do spirals(make big circles and spiral in to smaller circles and then back out to bigger circles). To start jumps, you need to start with ground poles--first with you on the ground leading him over them and you can also longe him over at the trot and canter once he is more comfortable with that. Then, you can ride him over them. Next, set up a really small cross rail. Just walk over it. You want him to know that it's not going to kill him and to get him in the center of the jump. Once he does this with no hesitation, try it at the trot. Be prepared for a few things--he may refuse it(in that case you need to get him over it no matter how many tries it takes or else he's gonna try to pull the same refusal trick any time). He may speed up before/after it. You want to let him find his own place for the jump but don't abandon him--just go with the flow and rhythm of it. He may not JUMP over it, he may trot it like it's a cavaletti and that is just fine! You only need to be walking/trotting for a while when you are first teaching him to jump. Once you have him trotting them great, you can move on to the canter. Take it slow and it will go fast.



If this horse is not previously trained to your standards, you may want to lease a horse that is more suitable for you. I also suggest you have a trainer to work with you. Hope it works out.

Answer 2

Collection can be complicated or simple, depending on the horse. Start out in an arena just cantering. Support with a STRONG leg, and apply consistent pressure on the mouth, until the horse gives. You want to imagine packaging the horse so that his hind legs are coming up underneath him and his body is compacted. It may also help to lay out two poles and increase the number of strides between them each time you come through.



To introduce a horse to jumps, begin with poles on the ground. Once the horse is comfortable with that, start with very small trot jumps. You should remain confident and calm, and do not severely punish the horse if he stops or runs out. Just support with your leg and stay back with your body. Good luck!

Answer 3

1. I suggest riding him in circles at the walk, trot, and canter. Once you both get better at it, you can make your circles tighter. This exercise teaches him that when he collects under himself, rather than being strung out, its easier to go into tighter circles.



2. This one may sound crazy...

Canter him up hills. He needs to collect and use his back legs a lot more to get over the hill.



3. If you learn to sit back and give him a looser rein, he begins to learn that he doesn't always need to go so fast. (this helped a lot with my horse) This may not be a problem for you. But its just a suggestion :)



Jumps: Set up small jumps that your horse can go over while on the lounge line. Gradually, you will be able to get on his back and try it.

Answer 4

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