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♘ مدیریت انجمن اسب ایران ♞
When a person first learns to jump, the thrust of the horse can feel very odd and make the rider feel unstable on his horse. It can even result in the rider losing his balance, falling backward in the saddle, and yanking the horse in the mouth. This is about as abusive to the horse as you can get, for the full weight on the rider's upper body lands abruptly on the horse's tender mouth.
To avoid "getting left" in the air, the beginner-level rider needs to develop a strong lower leg that will give him a good base of support, enabling him to keep his seat out of the saddle during take-off, in flight, and upon landing. He also should "grab the mane" about 1/2 the way up the horse's neck at take-off, so that he can't inadvertently yank the horse's mouth.
For a rider to advance to an intermediate stage, his lower leg must remain fixed in the proper position so that it can effectively support his upper body. Then, instead of having to grab the mane at take-off, the rider can simply slide his hands up the crest about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the animal's neck and press down to give his upper body some stability in the air. This is known as a "crest release."
An advanced rider--that is, one whose mechanics of jumping are both correct and automatic--will not need the support of the horse's neck, but can ride over fences while maintaining a direct line from his elbow to the horse's mouth at all times, rather than carrying his hands slightly higher up the neck and pressing down for the crest release. "Jumping out of hand" is useful for manipulating the animal in the air--for example, beginning to turn the horse while the animal is still airborne. However, most advanced riders still use a crest release over the majority of fences, for it gives them extra stability and makes it possible to grab the mane quickly if the horse is suddenly in trouble--for instance, if the horse trips during take-off, or leaves out a stride and makes an unusually big jumping effort.
To avoid "getting left" in the air, the beginner-level rider needs to develop a strong lower leg that will give him a good base of support, enabling him to keep his seat out of the saddle during take-off, in flight, and upon landing. He also should "grab the mane" about 1/2 the way up the horse's neck at take-off, so that he can't inadvertently yank the horse's mouth.
For a rider to advance to an intermediate stage, his lower leg must remain fixed in the proper position so that it can effectively support his upper body. Then, instead of having to grab the mane at take-off, the rider can simply slide his hands up the crest about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the animal's neck and press down to give his upper body some stability in the air. This is known as a "crest release."
An advanced rider--that is, one whose mechanics of jumping are both correct and automatic--will not need the support of the horse's neck, but can ride over fences while maintaining a direct line from his elbow to the horse's mouth at all times, rather than carrying his hands slightly higher up the neck and pressing down for the crest release. "Jumping out of hand" is useful for manipulating the animal in the air--for example, beginning to turn the horse while the animal is still airborne. However, most advanced riders still use a crest release over the majority of fences, for it gives them extra stability and makes it possible to grab the mane quickly if the horse is suddenly in trouble--for instance, if the horse trips during take-off, or leaves out a stride and makes an unusually big jumping effort.