Does anybody know if jumps like these are forgiving and safe if you hit them? I’ve only ever jumped with just plain standards and poles.
That one isn’t hugely dangerous looking, it would make a cute trot jump. However, you just have to keep in mind if you hit it, the whole thing is going to go down. It doesn’t look like you’d get a foot stuck if it’s stepped on after it tips over, but if it’s particularly soft wood and likely to crack to pieces you could theoretically get stuck. I’d rate it as low risk without feeling/seeing it in person. I’ve certainly seen worse. As an investment though it looks hard to repair.
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How tall is this jump in the middle? At only 8’ across, guessing it isn’t very tall, but hard to judge from the angle of the photo.
The photo doesn’t give a good impression of how sturdy / thick or fragile / thin is the plank wood. Will it crack or break if a horse hits it hard?
The braces to prop it up look very short – as the post above remarks, it’s going to tip over easily. Then a horse may put a foot down into the middle of it while it is lying on the ground. What happens then? Is it very sturdy and doesn’t break, or is it thin / fragile and breaks quickly?
Depending on how it is made, I can see the jump tip over on its side, a horse planting one or more feet in the middle, breaking through a plank, and then getting a leg stuck in it. Then – well, that is likely to not be pretty as things that feel wrapped, or impeding, a horse’s leg(s) is a natural horse phobia.
It would be good to see it in person and get an idea of how tall, and how sturdy, it is.
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Don’t like it. Looks fragile and unstable. Planks hanging in cups would be the same look but safer.
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to me who does not ride jumpers the posted jump looks like it belongs on a Dog Agility course that our dogs have run
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Forgiving? Unlikely.
Safe? Debatable.
It’s a cute jump, and since it looks pretty small it probably doesn’t post a huge risk. But I have a seen a rotational fall on a hunter pace where the horse’s front leg caught on a little 2’ log. So, I think any jump that doesn’t have poles/planks that fall down poses a higher risk. I don’t do cross country for a reason. But plenty of people do, and I’m sure plenty of people have no problem with that jump.
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If the horse hits such a jump, it can tip over and trap the horse. I’ve seen a very nasty fall. If it was a correctly designed cross country fence it would be firmly pinned to the ground. The wood looks to be thin, not strong enough to survive a hard thwack by a hoof. Planks can splinter. I’ve seen a nasty impalement.
Look either for specific xc fences or find sj ones with planks that can fall. The shape has little to do with safety.
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The 8’ width puzzles me, frankly, for a jump that seems to be rather low. In a show course of low jumps, it will be noticeably narrower than the other jumps likely to be on a low jump course. Low courses are for less experienced riders and/or horses, and those jumps will be wider.
It could be a narrow question in a course. But what course? There isn’t usually a skinny in the average low-jump course. It is so low, so lacking in stability, it might be part of something else, how would one use it …
If it is just filler, then it is narrower than most jumps it would be placed to fill.
It seems that it would be a rather expensive decorator item. But someone might enjoy using it for … something.
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No way I’d personally build something that flimsy and potentially harmful for use by real horses.
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It’s very attractive. I’d use it to hang my farm sign on. I’d not use it as a jump for all the reasons everyone stated above.
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As someone who has built and used many jumps/obstacles, the whole point of the pole or poles over the top of the filler or element is to allow a safe knock down and “protect” the more complicated/expensive/artistic filler or element between the two wing standards. In all the years we had jumping horses on the property (30 or years), we rarely, if ever, had an element knocked over --but poles were painted yearly . . .
The OP asked about using it as a jump, not a filler. Even as a filler I would have concerns about it’s fixed feet, should a crash happen.
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I’ve jumped a bunch of sketchy stuff in my day - but I wouldn’t buy this as a permanent fixture in my ring. Too easy to splinter and trap a horse, too easy to destroy should it get whacked. A plank or gate in regular cups would work better. That or a fully standard XC version.
Says someone who has jumped all kinds of logs and brush in the woods, a kiddie picnic table, piles of railroad ties, pretty much anything with a clear landing and takeoff. I’m much more risk-averse now, though. I’ve seen some horrendous accidents that would’ve been prevented if the jumps had been sturdy, properly collapsible, and safely installed.
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Would not be my first choice for a low schooling jump suited to lower level horses and riders for the reasons noted above. Not very substantial either, nothing to back the horse off and create a nicer jump compared to that white jump in the bavkground.
I’ve seen horses get tangled with ground poles so any jump carries some risk but this looks flimsy and will come down in one piece instead of fall out of the way. It also looks like it will be a PITA to move or reset should it come down.
You’ve never jumped a solid jump in a field before?
I think this is a super awesome filler. I don’t think it’s a 10/10 risk as a stand alone jump, but I wouldn’t want to ride it on one who is prone to knocking stuff, as (as others have said) the whole thing is going to come down.
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If it were underneath the pole jump shown behind it in the photo, as filler, I agree that it would be a nice-looking filler. With a rustic-style pole jump, an even better fit for a hunter course.
Maybe that was the intention of the design. It would be nice to show something like that in the photo background instead of the white jump.
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Sure, but that is not a solid fence. It does look like filler, put it between standards with a hedge/flower box or some kind of ground line, maybe a pole or two across the top.
As it stands, it looks like it could be knocked over and the top board looks thin and likely to crack or splinter if a hoof catches it. Yes, I would jump it but would not buy it for the home barn as a stand alone. But I ride Hunters and like a stouter fence that creates a nicer jump, an Eventer may have a different opinion
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Thank you for all the responses! They were very helpful 
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