To achieve the lovely feeling of jumping "right out of your stride", you have to have the right canter for each situation. If you don't know what kind of canter you need for a particular jump… or are unable to create it exactly when you need it, you will be more likely to meet the jump awkwardly. This has less to do with the rider's "eye", and more to do with the awareness of the quality of the canter.
In the sport of Eventing, ensuring that our horses are truly fit for our level of competition is one of the best ways to prevent unnecessary injuries.
Horses become incapable of learning when they go past a certain level of fear, anxiety, or stress. This means that if you keep hammering away at the horse, trying to teach them something when they are currently overwhelmed with stress, it will not work.
For the horse, the learning happens on the release of the aid. That means if you don't release the aid, the horse will not learn.
"Don't take the tempo down without revving the engine." ~ Chris Bartle