For those breeding and raising hunters/jumpers/eventers, at what age do you first introduce free jumping? I’ve started seeing ads with younger and younger horses going over small jumps. I had always thought this was something to introduce (lightly) around 2-3 years of age as the horse is nearly ready to start, but I am seeing younger prospects being advertised with free jumping photos. If you do introduce them younger do you introduce in single jumps or a formal jump chute?
Jumping comes very natural for most horses. A lot of foals exert themselves and put a lot more stress on their bodies just running around in the field than hopping over a tiny fence would cause them. However, when they are forced to carry out exercises that are incorrectly designed and carried out, it can definitely damage the young horse psychologically and physically. Properly designed exercises (carried out in moderation), including free-jumping can be set up for yearlings as well. However, in my experience you won’t get from point A to Point B any faster by starting things too early.
We have had several foals run and jump downed logs, piles of hay, feed bowls, etc while still on the dam’s side.
For ones we are selling, we will put yearlings through a small chute. We really are not looking for scope per-say, but how they handle the experience. This year was fun when the owner of one of our two year olds came for a visit and we put her through the chute for the first time. We have a pic of the filly jumping a pile of logs in her paddock at 5 days old in beautiful form (although my favorite part of the pic was that all of our 2-3 year olds were on the fence line watching with their ears up! To watch the filly repeat that beautiful form two years later was wonderful.
I don’t think a well placed jump chute, with good footing and handlers that know what they are doing are going to put any more strain then they do to themselves on a afternoon turn out with buddies. Now would I do it every day or once a week? No.
Agree with both posts above.
I set up a little chute for my yearling Balou filly to see how she approached this new challenge and what her natural instincts were. All things she will need to face in future years in the show ring. Natural poles, coloured poles, coloured barrels, bright standards in a pile by where I was going to set the chute up - all met with “0” hesitation. Setting up a “chute” with the barrels and poles and a single pole on the ground? Again - she went happily and willingly into the confined space and popped over the pole with “0” hesitation or concern. Once I added standards into the mix and still the single pole on the ground - again - she noticed the new brightly coloured objects but went willingly forward with no hesitation and again popped over the little pole on the ground. Next time through was over a little “X” - again - no hesitation and no problems and the next time through I set it as a small oxer with the little x in front. She showed me everything I needed to see - a willing attitude, a natural desire to come down over whatever I put in front of her, terrific instincts to bring her forearm up over the jump, lots of scope and power over this little jump. That will be the first and last time she is jumped as a yearling. If I still have her - yes - she may go through this little exercise again next year as a 2 year old but that’s it. She doesn’t have to prove a thing past this little “test”. She still has a few poles left in her paddock and she will often intentionally go towards them, jump over them and land bucking and playing.
She plays hard in turnout and leaves me in awe over her natural athletic abilities as she bucks, leaps and plays. Going over a few poles and this little oxer in the end was nothing as far as physical exertion and demands compared to what she puts herself through each and every day on her own
I would never in a million years keep putting the jump up to see how high she could go or do this with her every week or even every month. Once through as a yearling was just fine with me …
I still stick to waiting until 2 years old. I might be a little old-fashioned, though 
Just because they play rough in the pasture and manage to not (usually) get hurt, doesn’t mean that free-jumping youngsters can’t cause harm…or that I need to provide any more concussion or risks. I think it mostly comes down to personal preference, though.
If one discusses the use of free jumping in young horses with colt starters from some of the major breeding operations, the general observation shared is that it is over used (one major farm does weekly sessions!) and used pre-maturely resulting in preventable injuries. We do not free jump until 3 years old and then only to get a sense of how the youngster handles themselves down the chute. That is, just a few sessions and that is all. Free jumping, although a useful way to evaluate jumping ability, does not always predict jumping ability under saddle so it has limited utility there as well.
