How do you fix a horse that rushes to fences?

Fixing a horse that rushes to fences — accelerating in the final strides before the fence, pulling toward the fence, or running through the rider's aids in the approach — requires addressing the specific cause of the rushing rather than simply applying more rein to slow the horse, because a horse that rushes because of anxiety will rush harder when more rein restriction is applied, while one that rushes from excitement may respond to pace management but will not develop the genuine self-regulation that quality jumping requires. Anxiety-based rushing typically develops when horses have had experiences that associated fences with pain, difficult distances, or rider interference — the horse rushes to get the fence over with as quickly as possible because the jumping experience is aversive. For these horses, reducing height to well below where rushing appears and building many successful, relaxed repetitions at comfortable heights reduces the anxiety that drives the rushing behavior before the height is gradually increased. Excitement-based rushing in naturally forward, bold horses responds more to systematic canter work that develops pace control and the half-halt's effectiveness — a horse that genuinely responds to the half-halt in the approach can be steadied before fences without the argument that resistance and more rein pressure creates. Gridwork is particularly valuable for rushing horses because the predetermined distances of a gymnastic line prevent the horse from determining its own pace to each fence — the bounce or one-stride distances require the horse to maintain an appropriate pace simply because the distance allows no other option, and many repetitions in the gymnastic context develop the habit of appropriate pace that eventually transfers to single fence work. Approaching fences on a circle — cantering a circle before the fence and peeling off the circle onto the approach — maintains the horse's balance and pace through the turn and prevents the acceleration that often occurs on straight approaches.