Curious: how many times a week do you jump your horse?

[Sunflower]

What is the optimum number of times per week horse should be jumped (whether at home or at shows)? Or is there such a thing? I currently putter around on a lovely project horse, and we go over trotting poles and small cross rails a few times a month. Some long time ago I did a bit of show jumping at rated shows at 3’ and 3’6. The rule of thumb then with my trainer was jumping no more than once a week at home, with the horses in work 5-6 days a week, with a lot of flat work and trail riding as part of their non jumping work. I rarely did more than one show a month, some local, some a fair haul away. Showing came to an end from October or November until spring time.

Now it seems like so much has changed, with a lot more shows every where year round, people seem to go to shows every weekend as a matter of course. So I am just wondering what the current thinking is on how much to jump a horse each week, realizing of course the height jumped may change answers as well.

[222orchids]

My horse “works” 6 days a week; not all of it is so hard:

Off Monday
Tuesday brisk walk around the neighborhood 45 minutes; then15 minutes of light flatwork in the ring.
Wednesday jumping lesson; usually gymnastics
Thursday-Saturday serious flatwork
Sunday jumping lesson; courses

He’s 18 and loving his job.

[findeight]

Depends on the horse but poles and 2’ers don’t really require much effort.

Think it was GM who came up with a horse can do well over 100 teeny tiny jumps a week, maybe just under 100 at 2’6" and on down as the fences go up from there. Number is very dependent on rider talent, footing, individual horse age and so on.

But it’s about how many total jumping efforts not so much how many days you jump. You can hurt one jumping 35 3’ fences twice a week. Jump 8 or 10 a day worked into flatwork and it’s much easier on the horse.

As they get more finished, they get fewer practice jumps and many don’t jump much at all except for 3 practice fences before each class. It’s all about the numbers, not the days.

[billiebob]

Agree it depends on the horse. Ideally I’d jump my gelding 1-2x/week out of 4-5 rides. My jump schools aren’t intensive at all, perhaps 20 jumps max ranging from 18"-3’. However, since I no longer have a proper ring or indoor and am dependant on Mother Nature, I’ve jumped 2x in the last…6 weeks? My horse has rediscovered his love of the long spot and overjumping everything by about a foot (I secretly kind of love this btw). I don’t have a great eye for a distance and do best when jumping 2x/week.

Horse is an 11 y.o. TB, sound and happy. When he was a youngster I used to pop over a few little jumps almost every ride to curb the excitement.

[Training_Cupid]

None currently, but I think once a week is a good general rule.

[FlyHigh]

In general we jump once a week in their normal schedule, sometimes twice if we do gridwork one day and coursework another day. The rest of the time is serious flatwork and riding outside over terrain.

At a show they usually do one or two classes 3-4 days a week and flat/hack the rest of the days. Their “day off” they usually get a light lunge to get them out of the stall and moving around, plus their daily grazing/hand walking if we don’t have rented paddocks.

It really depends on the horse and the long term plan for each one.

[hj0519]

There is no all inclusive “optimum” - every horse is different. The optimum number of days jumping is the number of days that works best for your horse.

Mine generally jumps 3 times a week (twice in lessons with me and once with my trainer). This is our usual schedule:

Monday - off or 20 minute light hack
Tuesday - training ride
Wednesday - flat
Thursday - lesson
Friday - flat or lunge in the Pessoa
Saturday - lesson
Sunday - flat

[Credosporthorses]

I don’t believe there is an optimum number of jumps. I have one horse I jump 1-2 3’ or smaller jumps every ride. I use the jump to test the flat work I just did and as a reward to him. Another horse I don’t jump more then 2x a month. I do a lot of dressage work and ground pole or cavilitti.

Each horse gets 30-45 min of work 5-6 days a week. I don’t have a set weekly schedule aseach horse is at a different level in there training

[Mukluk]

Rarely. She is 16.2 hands and at age 51 the only way I can clear her is with a springboard and a crash mat. However, if she is lying down I can jump over her without to much trouble.

[findeight]

[QUOTE=Mukluk;7789793]
Rarely. She is 16.2 hands and at age 51 the only way I can clear her is with a springboard and a crash mat. However, if she is lying down I can jump over her without to much trouble.[/QUOTE]

:lol:
You owe me the glass of Chardonnay I just spewed on my iPad.

[adcurtiss]

Mine jumps twice a week in lessons. One day is usually courses/height, the other is small jumps working on position or gymnastics with a loooong flat warm up. For my boy this works very well. I flat him or trail ride him the other 4 days.

[TaterTotTB]

Typically once or twice a week. I only jump in lessons or at shows, so it depends on if I’m doing one or two lessons that week or if I’m at a show. The other days I do flat work.

[HunterJumper90210]

I jump typically 3 times a week. The weekend is the bigger lessons (3ft-3ft6) and the weekdays are normally smaller exercises. When I flat by myself I will normally “jump” a ground pole or small cavaletti working it into my flatwork. (If jumping over a ground pole counts as jumping…lol)

The schedule we follow at my barn:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Hacking (Flat work)
Wednesday: Flat Lesson
Thursday: Smaller Jumping Lesson
Friday: Jumping Lesson
Sat or Sun: Jumping Lesson one day, hack (flat) the other day

[carasmom]

Typically 2x per week at height. She is green and moving up to 3" this year. May pop over some small jumps while I hack on other days. Trainer rides 1x per week and usually jumps at height.

[Jumper_girl221]

I have a mare that gets pretty excited if she hasn’t been jumped in a while. During the off season, rarely. During show season I’ll do a line or two set at 2’-2’6" every ride (so 5 to 6 times a week) with a full course school 2 days before the show.