Q: My horse seems heavy on her forehand while cantering and jumping. This causes me to lose my balance, resulting in an awkward landing. What can I do to lighten up her forehand?
A: Some horses are physically predisposed to being heavy on the forehand. The top of their hip is higher than their withers. Yet even these “downhill” horses can improve their self-carriage and balance with specific schooling tactics.
First, you must teach your mare to carry herself on the flat. She has learned to lean on your hands for support, and you need to interrupt and correct that habit. Whenever she feels like she’s moving downhill, half-halt to rebalance her weight back onto her hindquarters where it belongs. Stretch up through your torso and lift both of your hands up—not back—so they’re about 6 inches above the withers. Keep your leg pressure active, though, so your mare maintains her forward momentum. She may temporarily raise her head, but that’s OK. Reward her lightness by softening your contact with her mouth. Circle around cones or jump standards at various gaits too. As you work through transitions and bends, continually ask your mare to get off your hands and carry herself by using consistent half-halts.
Once you’ve made your mare lighter in your hands, she’ll be more balanced for jumping. Focus on schooling over gymnastic exercises or grids rather than jumping single fences. The most basic example is to lay a ground pole on both the takeoff and landing side of a low jump. Roll each pole out so it’s 9 to 10 feet from the jump. As you trot this exercise, the ground poles will encourage your mare to rock back on her hocks and stay light on her front end. Just be sure that you do your part by keeping your reins soft and using a generous crest release. Rather than enabling her tendency to be heavy on the front end, you must show her a better way to be balanced.
Liked this article? Here’s more jumping advice: 9 Tips for Better Jumping Stop Your Horse from Bucking after the Jump
During her lengthy show career on the hunter/jumper circuit, CINDY HALE won more than 20 medals for hunt seat equitation. She currently serves as a judge at local and regional open horse shows.
This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
Cindy Hale’s life with horses has been filled with variety. As a child she rode western and learned to barrel race. Then she worked as a groom for a show barn, and was taught to harness and drive Welsh ponies. But once she’d taken her first lessons aboard American Saddlebreds she was hooked on English riding. Hunters and hunt seat equitation came next, and she spent decades competing in those divisions on the West Coast. Always seeking to improve her horsemanship, she rode in clinics conducted by world-class riders like George Morris, Kathy Kusner and Anne Kursinski. During that time, her family began raising Thoroughbred and warmblood sport horses, and Cindy experienced the thrills and challenges of training and showing the homebred greenies. Now retired from active competition, she’s a popular judge at local and county-rated open and hunter/jumper shows. She rides recreationally both English and western. Her Paint gelding, Wally, lives at home with her and her non-horsey husband, Ron.
What does it mean, She has learned to lean on your hands for support??
PLK, When she is collected up, sometimes they lean on the bit. good info.
Sounds great.
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