In the saddle
Our experts
Victoria Bax is a professional eventer and coach who competes up to Advanced.
Clare Gangadeen is a qualified personal trainer and the founder of Ridercise.
Amy Blount is a dressage rider and coach who competes up to Inter I.
Quick as a flash
My horse speeds up towards fences and feels like he’s going to jump, then runs out at the last minute. How can I combat this?
Claire Manson
A Victoria Bax answers: As your first port of call, focus on making sure your horse accepts your leg and that your position and aids are consistent. If he rushes, do you keep your legs on or do you take them off?
You need to use your legs to maintain a secure but unrestrictive contact to support him on the approach to a fence. If you’re tipping forward on the approach, your horse could misinterpret your weight movement and think you want him to speed up. If you’re out of the saddle just before he goes to take off, you could be affecting his balance, causing him to run out. Ensure that you’re sitting back in the driving seat, rather than folding too early and just expecting him to jump.