I totally feel you. I had a pretty bad jumping accident two summers ago while jumping just over 3' in a lesson. We're still not back in full swing jumping-wise; mainly my own confidence. My horse lost his for a while, but when I ride him over fences he is *super* careful with me now--I think he thinks he let me down and is trying to "square up."
To be honest, the thing that has helped me the MOST with my jumping confidence has been free-jumping him. It probably sounds a little odd, since I'm obviously not actually jumping myself. But, for getting his confidence up at that height, I would start free lunging him, starting at 2'3" and *slowly* working up. If possible, make the transitioning height as small as possible. In my opinion, 4" is a big height difference for a sudden change (that's how it sounded in your post, at least)--fine if it's to a comfortable height, but if it's new or nearly new, there should really be more graduation. I'd go 2'3" to 2'6", and then I'd make the transition to 2'8" via an ascending oxer with the first rail at 2'6" and the oxer pole at 2'8". Non-spread ascending oxers are EXCELLENT for building a horse's confidence on newer heights. It encourages more roundness, makes them think about scope, and gives them a clear idea just how much taller it is.
The ascending oxer would be a good way to build your own confidence, too, but definitely don't start with it or it'll seem more imposing. Do a comfortable vertical-verticale combination at 2'6" a few times, maybe three strides, and then add in the oxer for the second element.
From left to right: ground pole, landing stride (four steps), vertical fence, landing stride, ground pole, stride (three steps), ground pole, landing stride, vertical fence, landing stride, ground pole. The line can be ridden in either direction, and essentially means he has to be absolutely consistent with *every stride,* especially with take-off points. I love doing grid-work like this while free-lunging, because it teaches them to really understand their own striding, confidence, take-off, rhythm, and balance throughout a whole line. The first one or two times through can be a little confusing for them, so I start out with a single ground pole, landing, small fence (2'3"), landing, ground pole configuration just so they realize what's being asked of them. Then work up to the line. It works with raising heights really well, too. It's excellent to ride under saddle as well, but make sure you have someone on the ground who can fix poles if needed. I'd suggest doing free jumping with grid-work first, to let him get comfortable with it, and so you know how he jumps it. Otherwise it can seem a little overwhelming/intimidating the first ride-through.
To be honest, the thing that has helped me the MOST with my jumping confidence has been free-jumping him. It probably sounds a little odd, since I'm obviously not actually jumping myself. But, for getting his confidence up at that height, I would start free lunging him, starting at 2'3" and *slowly* working up. If possible, make the transitioning height as small as possible. In my opinion, 4" is a big height difference for a sudden change (that's how it sounded in your post, at least)--fine if it's to a comfortable height, but if it's new or nearly new, there should really be more graduation. I'd go 2'3" to 2'6", and then I'd make the transition to 2'8" via an ascending oxer with the first rail at 2'6" and the oxer pole at 2'8". Non-spread ascending oxers are EXCELLENT for building a horse's confidence on newer heights. It encourages more roundness, makes them think about scope, and gives them a clear idea just how much taller it is.
The ascending oxer would be a good way to build your own confidence, too, but definitely don't start with it or it'll seem more imposing. Do a comfortable vertical-verticale combination at 2'6" a few times, maybe three strides, and then add in the oxer for the second element.
Another thing that has helped me immensely is grid-jumping. For instance, if you set up a vertical-vertical line with three strides, it looks something like this: ( http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c102/ThoraoftheNord/RandomShite/CGridwork02.jpg )
From left to right: ground pole, landing stride (four steps), vertical fence, landing stride, ground pole, stride (three steps), ground pole, landing stride, vertical fence, landing stride, ground pole. The line can be ridden in either direction, and essentially means he has to be absolutely consistent with *every stride,* especially with take-off points. I love doing grid-work like this while free-lunging, because it teaches them to really understand their own striding, confidence, take-off, rhythm, and balance throughout a whole line. The first one or two times through can be a little confusing for them, so I start out with a single ground pole, landing, small fence (2'3"), landing, ground pole configuration just so they realize what's being asked of them. Then work up to the line. It works with raising heights really well, too. It's excellent to ride under saddle as well, but make sure you have someone on the ground who can fix poles if needed. I'd suggest doing free jumping with grid-work first, to let him get comfortable with it, and so you know how he jumps it. Otherwise it can seem a little overwhelming/intimidating the first ride-through.
Good luck! Hope that helps!
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