At 17:41:39 on 22.09.11, mummyrocks wrote:
Hi all! Just started jumping a few weeks ago, only little jumps but all going well so far until today when I fell off. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind falling off and if I'm honest, the whole thing was absolutely hilarious, I went flying, much to the amusement of my friend and teacher, but got straight back up and jumped back on and re-did the jump and it went ok. What I wondered is, is it ok to hold the horses mane or not when you are doing little jumps? I find it helps me go with the horse a lot better. When I fell off, I wasn't holding the mane and I think I went too far forward and also lost a stirrup. Has anyone got any tips about jumping? Obviously I've just started but I'm completely hooked, absolutely love it so any advice would be great. :)

At 23:37:28 on 22.09.11, JaymeeLS wrote:
Well, first and foremost, I haven't properly started jumping myself, just a little taster, but most importantly, it's fine to grab a piece of mane when beginning! It's advised while getting used to the whole action so you don't jab the horse in the mouth on landing! I personally don't feel as secure grabbing mane or holding onto the saddle (not because I use reins for balance) but when my arms are in a fixed position I get tense through the arms then everything else goes to pot. For example, when I was starting posting, I'd grip the underneath of the saddle and my arms would lock on tight, with that I wasn't going with the movement and not feeling very secure. If it works for you then carry on! You won't hurt the horse if you feel you're tugging as there's no nerve endings in the mane. :) If you've seen the video I uploaded of my first taster of jumping, because I knew I'd feel less secure grabbing mane, I gave excessive rein so I didn't jab her, which on a mare that's nappy and skilled in her evasive manoeuvres gave her an opportunity to bow out which is why my hands are all up in my stomach/chest trying to keep her in on too much rein. :P Try to stay with the saddle keep the weight in your heels and try not to 'stand' in your stirrups, standing a lot of the time results in going too far forwards. I've only had a taster 4 times, but if my logic works (I've been acting it out at home haha) to stay back and not forwards I'm thinking on take-off push butt back and throw arms forward staying low, and hopefully that will also help me keep my own back straight and not hunched. :P I probably won't be jumping for another while anyway to try this out, mares not fit enough to push it onto her too much yet. So if anyone experienced can verify my idea as a good or bad one, I'd be really interested in hearing. :)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Niort2006_no3-1-.JPG/754px-Niort2006_no3-1-.JPG

At 02:44:06 on 23.09.11, kibby wrote:
Go on grab some mane! Never a problem with that hell I've still done it in a 1.20m class when I thought I was about to take the exit route... Over smaller jumps try not to throw yourself forward just lean your upperbody forward a little and try take a bit more weight through your stirrups. Your aim is always going to be to have your hands independent from your body. By that I mean the aim is to be able to give forward with your hands and not needing them for support. But trust me I understand it's hard at first.… a exercise to start practicing is the standing trot. So each second time where you wout sit in a posting trot don't sit. Stay up. Now you need to keep your knees bent and supple, your hands soft, your upper body only slightly tipped forward. Now heres the most important part when you sit back down you can not flop back and hit the saddle hard. Lower yourself softly and slowly into the saddle. Once you have that one going well let me know if you want more exercises. Good luck :) and yes use that mane or breastplate or what ever is going to help you not fall off and not jab the horse in the mouth.

At 08:12:35 on 23.09.11, mummyrocks wrote:
Yeah I find that if I grab the mane a bit, I kind of go with the flow of the body a bit more but I think I leaned forward too much and then lost my stirrup and that's why I slipped. Have a lot of aches and pains for my trouble this morning!! She also taught me how to cross country canter, which I actually didn't have a clue about, never cantered standing before, it's actually really comfy when you get it right! Thanks for all the advice, I'm definitely going to concentrate more on keeping my feet right and not going forward too far as I think it's just completely throwing me off. I'm going to also practice more standing trot a bit more. I'm not riding until next week now so will let you know how everything goes. Thankyou so much!!