Horse Jumping Training

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 12:33

If the main views on dressage have changed little since Xenophon's time, then everything related to jumping has been developed and substantiated relatively recently. Even at the end of the last century, before the beginning of the First World War, jumping horses in the form they are performed today were not included in the program of sports competitions. Already many centuries ago, they organized horse hunting in France and England, but overcoming obstacles was not studied, and the views on jumping developed in ancient times did not stand up to serious criticism.

Modern show jumping - a competition to overcome obstacles - began to develop in Italy, therefore the current style of jumping is called "Italian". Overcoming obstacles, the rider is even more dependent on the will of the horse and its skill than in dressage. The most important condition of show jumping, which every rider must remember, is that the horse overcomes the obstacle well only if he wants to.

The record high jump of a person is 2 m 30 cm. The

horse under the rider is 2 m 47 cm. The

average athlete jumps - 1 m 30 cm.

A logical question: why can't horses easily jump 1 m 40 cm in height? And if she does not, then we can come to the conclusion that the rider did not teach her this.

Jumping and dressage, as many people think, are not mutually exclusive concepts. The better the horse obeys the prompts, the more willingly he goes to the obstacle.

Horse jumping training

Training covers: the

impact on a horse to make it jump;

training, that is, muscle development;

jump score.

To properly evaluate these elements, you must first of all pay special attention to the character of the horse, as is done in dressage. It can often seem to the viewer that a good show jumping trainer works the same with all horses. But among jumping horses there are diligent, lazy, hot and phlegmatic, fearful and bold; one horse reacts better to affection, the other more strongly to punishment; one by nature has a greater jumping ability and jumps willingly, the other does not like jumping; one more spoiled, the other less. The horse's memory plays a decisive role in this. The horse does not forget about accidents and obstacles that hurt him; she remembers the accident and will be more or less prudent on the next jump, bend her legs more or jump without pleasure.

When jumping, you need to pay attention to the smallest details. Training is the most important factor in raising a show jumping horse and cannot be overstated.

The horse should jump calmly and unhurriedly. The demands placed on it should be increased gradually, and it should always be remembered that the horse should never be overloaded, it should be often encouraged and rewarded, and after a well-successful jump, give it a rest.

When jumping, as a rule, only solid obstacles are used, primarily poles, adjustable walls, etc., which do not cause harm to the horse. A simple log will always be a difficult obstacle.

Related article Young Horse Dressage

Horses can be jumped in different ways; the height of the obstacle does not matter. Whether the rider wants to train a horse to jump over a 2m obstacle, or to climb 60cm with good style, the training path is approximately the same, but mistakes in handling the horse will be more noticeable when jumping over higher obstacles.

The rider can make a lot of mistakes that will discourage the horse from jumping, and there are much fewer ways to instill this desire in him.

If the horse has been discouraged from jumping, then you need to start all over again from the beginning. Coercion and brute force cannot instill in a horse the desire to jump. Novice riders should allow the horse to jump close to the arena exit, towards the stable or towards other horses, but never in the opposite direction.

The skill of overcoming obstacles can only appear as a result of training. A horse can be required 10-20 jumps daily if the obstacles are low. But it should also take into account the work that the horse still has to do on the same day. The height of the obstacles must be changed so that the horse learns to evaluate it on its own.

The horse can be jumped on the lane and under the rider. On the line, the horse jumps without a rider; at the same time, they also distinguish: whether she jumps completely freely, whether she is led to an obstacle (farther or closer from the obstacle she pushes off before jumping), or she must jump in the arena.

When jumping on the line, you need to make sure that the reins are well tied, do not dangle and the horse does not step on them. When bringing a horse to an obstacle, the rider or trainer always goes to the wall, when moving to the right - to the left of the horse, when moving to the left - to the right of it, otherwise the horse may hit him.