In order for your horse to jump correctly, you must give him a "release." Defined, a release is when the position of your hands allow your horse to stretch out his head and neck so he can jump. What happens if you don't release your horse? Well, he'll get a hard tug on his mouth when he goes to jump. And this can make him jump badly, or sometimes even stop jumping.
We are going to explain four different releases, in order of difficulty. In other words, the basic release is the easiest, while the automatic release is the most difficult. When learning these releases please go in order, and never move on to the next release until you have the prior release down pat!
• Basic Release. Sometimes called the "mane release," this is the perfect release for riders who are just learning how to jump. It's also a great release to know when things go wrong, as it prevents the rider from pulling on the horse's mouth.
So how do you do a basic release? For starters, keep the reins in your hands but open your thumb and first fingers. Place your hands about 12 inches up your horse's neck. Grab some mane, and close your hands. Keep on holding the mane until your horse has finished jumping. When your horse is done with the jump, move your hands back to their normal position in order to maintain control.
When you've mastered the basic release, try the crest release.
• Crest Release. This is the release you'll want to advance to after the basic release. And it's very similar. Just like in basic release, you are going to move your hands 12 inches up your horse's neck. But instead of grabbing and holding on to the roots of the mane, you are going to place your hands, together, on the top of the neck and press down firmly against the horse's crest. It's very important to press down hard enough, otherwise your hands might come off his neck and tug at the horse's mouth. When your horse is finished jumping, gently remove your hands from the crest and put them back into the normal position.
When you've mastered the crest release, you can move on to the short release.
• Short Release. The short release is very similar to the crest release. The main difference is that your hands are not as far up your horse's neck, and therefore you have more control. Instead of going 12 inches up your horse's neck, reach forward, toward the bit, about four or five inches. Your knuckles should press against your horse's neck much closer to the saddle. Obviously, this release doesn't allow your horse to stretch his neck as much as the basic release and crest release. To that end, it is mostly used for vertical jumps or for jumps where you need quick control afterward. This type of release should never be used over spread jumps. Again, once your horse is finished with the jump, move your hands gently back to their normal position in order to gain control.
When you have mastered the above three releases, you can move on to the automatic release.
• Automatic Release. This is a very advanced release, so it is worth repeating that you should be able to do all other releases with no problems before you move on to this one. Any mistakes you make with the automatic release result in you pulling on your horse's mouth.
The automatic release is also called "following through the air" or "jumping on contact." For this release, you hands keep contact with your horse's mouth and also stay off his neck. Basically, as your horse stretches his neck forward, your arms will stretch with his head and neck. You have light contact with his mouth during the jump and also upon landing, so this release gives you the most control.
