Looking for new exercises to spice up our riding! My horse gets pretty confident and cocky. He figures out patterns easily and seems to know what I’m thinking before I do. What are some good jumping exercises/courses/figures that will keep him on his toes? I want him to sit back, slow down and say “oh, I better listen to her”. I thought maybe jumps going down the center line so I jump them on a serpentine. Any other ideas? Thanks!
I love doing what I call high/low bounces. Set up a line of bounces where the height is alternating. First one low, second one higher, third one low, and so on. It usually surprises the mess out of the gung ho horses the first time through :winkgrin:. I love that it really makes them drop their head and neck, look at the fence, and focus on where their feet are.
1 Like
my favorite gymnastic is bounce-bounce-one stride-bounce-bounce with the bounces set at 10’ and the one stride at 20’. They had better be waiting and using their back end!
Check out Jimmy Wofford’s jump exercises. He had one at a clinic where you jumped into a one stride and then had the option to go straight, to the left, or to the right to a fence. It kept the horses on their toes.
I do the clover leaf too, but keep the turns tighter to the jumps (more eq like turns). Here is a graphic that makes it a bit easier to see than the video. You can do the clover pattern or make up your own. In the middle instead of standards you could use an upright barrel and jump the middle of that so it is a skinny.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:9921769}[/ATTACH]
I’ve attached a second photo of multiple exercises you can set with only 4 jumps.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:9921770}[/ATTACH]
And another one I’ve seen but can find the photo right now, set 6 to 8 jumps (or more if you want) on a circle. Not all touching, but kind of like this… I tried to recreate in paint so ignore the lack of finesse here:
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:9921771}[/ATTACH]
I did a sample course with the dashed lines. You can make a bunch of different patterns there. Go in on the side and make a bending line. Slice them if you have a smaller circle. Do a roll back. Halt in the middle, turn on the haunches, trot out on a jump set smaller. That will keep you and your horse engaged in thinking. If you have a second person available have them shout out jumps by color right before you go over the first jump so it keeps you on your toes.
1 Like
I set up lots of gymnastics but this one in particular is permanent. Wait, what I have is bounce over verticals then one stride to an oxer, then one stride to a a bounce over verticals. Five jumps total.
Pinterest has a ton of diagrams and links.
I like the simplicity yet difficulty of Tim Bourke’s gymnastic. This one stands the test of time.
http://useventing.com/news/grid-pro-quo-tim-bourke
Lots of good suggestions in here! I’m not sure how complicated of an exercise you’re looking for, but if you want to go for something that will keep him on his toes and responsive, some of the courses in this book are totally worth checking out:
https://www.amazon.com/Dover-Saddlery-Course-Design-Manual/dp/B00K21FN9A/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1510249720&sr=8-6&keywords=horse+building+courses
LOVE that book. I forget which section it is that has courses where the course includes jumping from many different paces, transitions at specific places, trot poles, etc. It definitely keeps you both on your toes!! I’m not sure your level… this may be something to do with help 
Have fun!!
