How to Show a Horse to Jump

Not all horses are destined to be show jumpers, you can test your horse's ability by starding over poles and small jumps. Unless it has a physical impairment, any horse can jump; you have probably seen them do it running and playing in a pasture. Just like human athletes, however, other factors come into play, such as conformation suited for jumping, natural talent, mental toughness and a desire to jump. If your horse likes jumping but will never be a high-level jumping athlete, you can still have fun recreationally or even at local hunter and jumper shows.

• Teach your horse to free jump. Create a chute in your arena by using the rail, and then use jump standards and poles or a portable fence to create a rail on the other side. Start with at least two or three poles or cavalettis, and trot your horse in-hand through the chute so it gets the idea. Raise a cavaletti and when your horse is comfortable, raise the last two or three jumps so the final jump is the highest. You can do this periodically through its training with a bigger and wider fence set as the last jump.

• Ride your horse over ground poles. If it is not yet started under saddle, then lunge it over the ground poles. Start at the walk and then progress to the trot and canter until your horse is confident going over them. You can then set ground poles around the arena and ask it to trot and then canter over them. This also encourages your horse to pick up its feet, helps its balance and builds up its hindquarters -- all important for jumping

• Set up three to five ground poles on the long side of the arena about 5 feet apart so your horse can trot comfortably through them. Use a loose, relaxed rein. Then put up one side of the last pole on a block or jump standard. Ask your horse to trot or jump over this, and then halt immediately after. When your horse starts trotting over this relaxed and straight, you can ask it to canter out, and then halt.

• Set up a jumping grid. This is like your free-jumping chute except now your horse has a rider to balance. Young horses in particular do not have the balance necessary to canter through long jumping lines, so gridwork is beneficial for their strength and balance. Set a trot pole 9 feet before a 2-foot crossrail, and a slightly higher fence about 30 feet after that. When you and your horse comfortably ride this, make the last jump wider.

• Set up a course around the arena of ground poles, small crossrails and small fences. You can have lines plus one or two along the diagonal. Let your horse trot these jumps on a relaxed or loose rein. Post over the poles and stay in your two point over the jumps. You can halt over each jump and then trot on to the next one. If you canter out, bring your horse back to the trot and proceed to the next jump. Do this until your horse is comfortable. Then you can begin cantering a small course.

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Understanding Your Horse

Understanding the reasons why a horse behaves as it does goes a long way to becoming a better horseman and to improving your horse’s ability to perform the actions you ask of him. Behavior patterns convey messages to other horses and to the handlers.

BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

Protective Behavior--This includes all the ways horses react to predators and the environment. Horses naturally respond in flight or running away when threatened. To the horse something on its back is a predator trying to kill him. So he reacts by bucking. The horse also responds to the weather by seeking shelter, turning his tail toward the wind, standing in the sun to warm up, or seeking a breezy hilltop.

Ingestive Behavior

This is how a horse responds to food and water. Because of the horse’s digestive system, he must take in small amounts of food at a time and eat frequently. The horse is naturally a grazing animal, preferring open areas and young tender grasses.

Eliminative Behavior

The horse tends to deposit its urine and feces in certain areas and graze in other areas. He also prefers not to urinate or defecate while walking. Almost all horses will defecate when approaching a trailer or immediately on entering it.

Sexual Behavior

This involves courtship and mating and affects stallions, mares and geldings. The mare’s behavior and personality change during estrus (heat). Geldings may still be possessive of mares as a stallion would. Keep the sexes separate if possible.

Care-Giving/Seeking Behavior

This is usually the behavior between the mare and foal. An example is imprinting, where the foal at birth identifies with its mother. The mother wants to stay close to the foal and whinnies when separated. Another type of Care Behavior occurs among other horses, such as standing head to tail to fight off flies or scratch each other on neck or back.

Combat Behavior (Agonistic)

Associated with fighting, aggression, submission, and attempts to escape. This is also related to the “pecking order” in a group of horses, where one is dominant over others in the group. Some examples are kicking, biting, and striking.

Gregarious Behavior (Mimicry)

Tendency to copy or mimic another member of the herd. Examples are following the herd in the pasture, being hard to catch, learning cribbing or wood chewing from the horse in the next stall.

Investigative Behavior

This involves the way horses inspect their environment, especially new surroundings or objects. They look at, smell, touch, listen, and sometimes run away. These reactions must be considered when training or when riding in new areas.

MAJOR SENSES

Hearing. The eyes and ears almost always work together and therefore provide an excellent indicator of where a horse is looking. If the ears point straight ahead, the horse is looking straight ahead. A wildly active ear can indicate blindness.

Touch

 The areas in which the horse is most sensitive are the nose, eyes, ears, legs, flank, withers, and the frog. Touch is the most important sense in riding and training. The rider touches through the horse’s mouth, neck, and ribs as they cue the horse. He can communicate his directions or cues as well as his emotions-- tension or calmness, excitement, and doubt or loss of confidence.

Sight 

Be aware of where and how a horse sees. Many horses with shying, head tossing, and general confidence problems can be cured by education through vision. Try to see yourself as the horse sees you. This will help you avoid any training inconsistencies.

The amount of forward vision is related to the degree of trainability. A horse with “pig eyes” (small eyes set too far to side of horse) or a Roman-nosed horse (face is convex, rather than straight or dished) cannot see in front of him as well.

The horse has monocular vision, which means that he can see separate objects with each eye at the same time. This increases his side vision, but makes it harder for him to judge depth.

When the horse looks at one object, farther than four feet away, with both eyes he is using binocular vision.

The headset of the horse also determines what he is able to see in front of him. His conformation influences this headset.

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