JUMPING TRAINING

In General

THE majority of horses do have the ability to jump to some degree. However it is important to be realistic about your own ambitions and capability as well as the ability of your horse so as not to put undue stress or pressure on either of you; it is no good wanting to tackle even a Discovery course if your horse is not confident and happy when faced with a course of fences standing at just 2ft 6".

Apart from starting young horses jumping, we also provide further, more advanced training for older, more experienced horses as well as corrective and refresher training for those that have lost their confidence, developed bad habits or just need some guidance.

Loose Jumping

THIS is tremendous fun for horses and all of them really do seem to enjoy it whatever their capability but at the same time they can learn so much from this form of training exercise. This way of working a horse is ideal for introducing new types of fences and fillers as well as being wonderful way of building or restoring confidence. And of course it is an exercise that is benefitial to the experienced jumping horse as well as the young horse.

JUMPING exercises are excellent for dressage horses too as not only do they have to use different muscles, but the stretching required for jumping is so good for them helping eliminate tightness and stiffness.

THE horse working loose enables him to work things out for himself whilst being subtly guided by his trainer. With the correct and combined use voice commands and body language it is easy to get horses to change the rein or adjust their speed so that fences of all sizes and widths can readily be tackled.

AS with any training exercise the horse must be allowed time to learn and absorb what is being asked of him.

WORKING over single fences is an invaluable training exercise and the appropriate and strategic placing of ground rails teaches the horse all manner of things depending upon their placement. The sort of fence that is built is also very important depending upon what the desired achievement of the training session is.

COMPARE these two photographs (it is the same horse and so illustrates what correct schooling can achieve).

IN the first it can clearly be seen that "Jazz" has a very poor technique - he is not using his body athletically; this was for several reasons - his body physically could not shape due to musco-skeletal and internal problems which actually caused pain, he lacked the confidence to jump and he had not been taught properly. This caused adverse behavioural displays which resulted in a very stressed horse.

HAVING corrected the physical, a few weeks of suppling exercises followed, after which gymnastic jumping exercises could begin.

THE gymnastic exercises having clearly worked - there is no doubtingt the difference; now the horse is really using himself - he looks and is athletic.

COMPARE the pictures again; the second one says "this is a jumping horse" but the same cannot be said of the first.

OF COURSE a jumping horse has to be able to tackle width as well as height.

ALTHOUGH the horse still needs to be "round" for a spread fence he must not get up in the air quite so much; he needs to flatten out a bit in order to make the distance over the back rail.

SOME breeds of horses, by their very confirmation, cannot tackle the wider fences so this must be borne in mind. However this warmblood clearly is not having any problems judging by his take-off point so there is scope to gradually widen the fence.

JUMPING loose is the best way of introducing the young horse to jumping as he can find his own way and work out what to do with his legs without the hindrance of a rider (and the additional weight) trying to organise him when the horse does not know exactly what the rider is asking. Of course each young horse must be evaluated to ensure that it is ready for such exercise - and also must not be over jumped or over faced just because he shows ability and enthusiasm.

Roo - loose jumping

AT HIS first jumping attempt this 3 year old "Roo", although clearly confident about tackling a fence, has taken it on as if he was in the Champion Hurdle!! If the fence had been larger he could well have been in trouble. By adjusting the fence and controlling Roo's rate of approach he has not only jumped with a much better style but he is looking at what he is jumping. Ok, so he is still standing off a little bit too much but as Roo gains more loose jumping experience over different fences he will learn to judge his take off point better - all without the interference of a rider.

THIS gelding also shows a wonderful, natural ability and aptitude for jumping; he is very confident in himself.

CAPPI is every inch the event horse; he moves easily he across the ground, jumps with ease and is extremely bold.

HE naturally lifts from the shoulder rather than just bending his knees and his neck position; and just look at the height he is giving this small fence.

Gridwork

ALTHOUGH an superb way to teach, improve or correct jumping ability and technique, it is surprising just how many horses have never been introduced to gridwork. Tthey can learn and develop so much mentally and physically from this training exercise - and it is great fun for them too. As with the jumping of single fences, gridwork is a great confidence giver to a horse whether he works on his own or with a rider. However it is the type of grid that is built and the nature of the fences within it that are the secret of success.

SIMPLE grids are basically bounces, doubles and trembles, but as training progresses they can become much more complex as they can be built to achieve different aims.

GRIDS built in different ways teach horses to improve their technique and overcome problems as well as aiding suppleness, gymnastic ability and mental agility.

HORSES can be easily be frightened by bounces so it is important to introduce them quietly when the horse is fully confident over a single fence and is obedient to ground cues from his trainer.

A FENCE does not have to be high to achieve the desired result. The technique is the important factor.

JAZZ, the horse in this sequence, greatly lacked in confidence and had a very poor technique indeed (see his photograph below the grey horse ); his own lack of confidence meant that a bounce fence was a definate "no-no".

AS with any training, time is the secret of success, especially with horses such as" Jazz".

FURTHER training will see" Jazz" have the same technique over a double as he does over a single fence.

IN the photograph above the foreleg technique is somewhat exaggerated! This is typical of a horse negotiating a bounce for the first time - it is the "eek" factor of a second fence coming so quickly after the first.

HOWEVER after a few more jumps "Jazz" is jumping more confidently through the bounce and he is assuming a much more confident demeanour.

GRIDWORK is very demanding both mentally and physically. Obviously the amount each horse can undertake per session varies depending upon its age, ability, temperament and so on; consequently we carefully monitor each horse.

AN ex-NH horse undergoing reschoooling.

A Russian-bred horse, working down a simple grid.

BOTH these horses are clearly enjoying doing what is being asked of them and that is the essence of our training - to produce horses that are happy and enthusiastic in their work. If a horse is not working happily then something is wrong.

Show Jumping – 'the art of combining rhythm and balance with impulsion'

THE showjumping courses that are seen today are increasing technical and require a horse to be totally attentive and responsive to the directional cues (aids) given; it must 'listen' to its rider, who has the responsibility to place the horse correctly for take off, for combinations of both related and unrelated distances and manoeuvre his mount around a twisting course.

EVEN emphasis cannot to put on the importance of flatwork as well as gymnastic jumping exercises iin order to attain the suppleness and agility required for optimum results.

STUDY of this photgraph shows a horse that clearly has ability and confidence but all is not as it seems.

TAKE a look at all the other photograpsh on this page and you see that all the horses regardless of their age, breed type and ability are soft and relaxed through the neck. This horse is tight, his head is a little high and he is tending to launch at the fence. His foreleg action also needs correcting.

NOW look at the picture below.

THIS mare illustrates how a jumping horse should shape over a fence - a lovely bascule, a good fold in front and height.

BEING critical it could be send that she could be a little more open through the neck but she is soft; as with all aspects of equine training, breed characteristics and conformation must be taken into account. As a Welsh Section D the mare is short and compact

OUR schooling grounds are such that we can jump on grass rather than just be confined to the sand school, so we are able to quietly introduce young horses to that experience without all the added excitement of having to attend a show. A range of bright fillers and wings, a wall, gate and a water tray cover most of the types of show jump encountered in the ring.

COMPETING in show jumping classes can be done at various levels before the need to have a 'specialist” horse arises so it is a sport that is open to everyone of all capabilities and experience.

PLEASE read more about show jumping within the COMPETING section.

Cross Country – 'it is a truly exhilarating experience to ride over solid timber'

THE absolute confidence of the horse in its rider is a must as often obstacles have to be tackled which conflict with the natural instincts of horses.

THE Event courses seen these days have fences comprising more than one element with ditches, steps, banks, and so on. Whilst island fences can usually be taken at a greater speed with horses standing off at take-off and tending to flatten over them, the 'technical' sections require quick changes of direction and riding has to be adjusted from 'attack' to holding back and 'popping', all of which not only test a horse's suppleness, athleticism and agility but also his boldness, confidence and concentration.

TO achieve this in a horse takes several years but it is a gradual process of building up confidence and ability as the courses become more demanding at each level attained.

FRED with a young horse undergoing a cross country schooling session.

THE early stages of jumping work are all about building confidence by working over a variety of small, simple fences. Many young horses are overfaced way too soon because they show ability - this is exactly how not to train the jumping horse!

THIS horse is obviously quite happy with what is being asked of him which is how it should be!

JUMPING solid timber not only requires definate ability from the horse but also confidence from both horse and rider working together. Uncertainty from one will eventually lead to problems for both.

THE horse featured here has happily undergone the transition from NH racing to a real all-round fun horse; he is clearly enjoying himself as evidenced by his expression and is showing plenty of scope, ability and confidence.

We have a variety of solid timber so can quietly introduce horses to many of the obstacles they will see out on a cross country course - or of course restore the confidence of those that have gone a bit 'wobbly'. When horses are suitably confident, we will then have a schooling session at nearby courses.

YOU do not have to participate in Horse Trials events in order to enjoy cross country jumping as there are Hunter Trials and Jump Cross competitions which are great fun.

PLEASE read more about Cross Country and Eventing competitions in the COMPETING section.

In Conclusion

FOR jumping to be undertaken successfully both horse and rider need confidence in themselves and confidence in each other. If you have any doubts about your own ability or that of your horse, then this should be addressed without delay; a loss of confidence leads to knockdowns and refusals and as the downward spiral accentuates, more serious difficulties can set in which are then that much harder to correct.

JUMPING TRAINING

Apart from starting young horses jumping, we also provide further, more advanced training for older, more experienced horses as well as corrective and refresher training for those that have lost their confidence, developed bad habits or just need some guidance.

WHATEVER YOUR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION