My. Daughter has taken jumping lessons for awhile last year, but aren’t anywhere local for her to continue… I’m in a area where barrel racing is everything…, so I could use some help. My daughter is an intermediate rider. When trotting her horse over jumps, well , he trotts. Why doesn’t he jump?. He was used for jumping before we bought him and did very well at shows… She’s taking him over about 1 foot. Should we just raise the jump higher? Thanks for any help
I would look to travelling further away for an experienced trainer. Your horse is trotting them because they are very low but just raising them isn’t always the solution especially withan inexperienced pair.
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This is something a coach should be helping you with, BUT I understand your situation, because this is where I live too, in barrel race and general cow harassment land. But I moved here by choice, and have 50 years of previous experience in hunter/jumper land. And I don’t give riding lessons in this area, because there is not enough interest or participation to cover my coaching insurance LOL! So I bring a coach from hunter/jumper land INTO this region, to coach ME, AND those that are in your situation. If you are local to me, you are welcome to join us.
Otherwise, without seeing your situation, I would recommend that your daughter use her leg more effectively, and ASK for the canter away from the small jump. Be decisive. If the horse does not canter away when you want him to, ask for the canter after landing. If this is a problem, practice the canter transitions in your flatwork, until they are easier for your daughter. An effective leg and a secure, independent seat are crucial to jumping. Some of this must be present BEFORE attempting to jump, the rest of it develops by necessity with experience (and coaching).
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A little kick before the jump should get him to jump, otherwise raise the jump.
The above response is a very good one. There is a lot more involved in jumping than managing to get to the other side.
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He is trotting over them because they are so low. That is not a bad thing for an inexperienced rider. Most horses will just trot over something that is only 12 inches high. He doesn’t need to jump is, so he isn’t.
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I would have to travel 1 hour and 2 hour round trip for lessons., I might add my daughter is very capable. She has barrel raced for 4 years at high speeds. She just needs some instruction. Thanks for the input.
Being an expert barrel racer is not the same as being an expert or even intermediate jumper. Your daughter is a novice rider over fences.
Since you don’t have a trainer, my presumption is your daughter is just playing around with jumping. That’s ok! That’s how many of us started back in the day. I suggest you keep letting her play around and not worry too much.
I suggest both of you look up some good beginner gymnastic exercises, you can build them together. She can practice trotting in and hopefully canter out, practice cantering a single fence on a circle, then add, raise fences and increase difficulty of gymnastics as she becomes more comfortable and capable.
just take it slow and safe.
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I travel 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours for my lessons so it isn’t unusual. Barrel racing and jumping have very different skill sets, ability to ride at high speed has very little to do with jumping which requires a much slower and rhythmical pace.
Even if you only went to lessons twice a month with a qualified professional your daughter will be much more competent and safer than figuring it out on her own.
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What happens if she canters the fence? Does he just stride over at the canter, or actually jump?
1ft is very low, but agree that raising the fence is not necessarily the best thing to do for someone learning. Low is good. What kinds of fences are they - X -rails? Verticals? If one, try the other. Try making a slightly “skinnier” x-rail so that the centre of the X is still very low, but the sides are a bit steeper - can help encourage a slightly bigger effort as they need to be a bit neater.
And yes - in your shoes, as others have said, I’d do my very best to try and find someone competent who can come coach. Even if it’s not terribly frequently. Regular coaching is very important, particularly learning a new skill like jumping.
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Like others have said, he’s just being lazy over such a small jump. He doesn’t feel he NEEDS to jump that. Also, in addition to raising it if your daughter is able to jump higher, be sure she’s taking him in with a good trot. Lazy trots will produce lazy efforts. So start with a good working trot. If he still is lazy, then yes, you may just have to raise the jump. Or set up the gymnastics as other suggest. Try checking out Jim Wofford’s book on gymnastics. Very helpful. https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Gymnastics-Systematic-Training-Jumping/dp/B00DIL1UJS/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DIL1UJS&pd_rd_r=2A0Z5AWAH6ZFBTRXZ6JN&pd_rd_w=a96g8&pd_rd_wg=UaOJm&psc=1&refRID=2A0Z5AWAH6ZFBTRXZ6JN
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I’m in the same situation. I’m an adult rider in a predominantly barrel racing area (which I do love to do). There is one trainer locally who has shown at high levels of jumping and is a great trainer, but she’s hard to get lessons with because she is so busy.
I would recommend getting this book, 101 Jumping Exercises. It is very helpful if you are attempted to do some “teach yourself” jumping!
I would not go higher, I would go wider. At first, just 1’ wider and then going 6" at a time until the 2 rails are 2’6’ apart. At first, I would not raise the 2nd rail — you are not trying to increase the difficulty, just the “hang time”. But, once the pony gets back into the routine of jumping, then raising the back rail slowly is ok.
I would be weary of widening jumps without an instructor and with a novice rider over fences. If she is just trotting the jumps at this stage, then you wouldn’t really want to make the jump too wide or it would be unsafe.I agree that the horse probably doesn’t feel the need to make an extra effort because the fences are low but would definitely consult a trainer before raising the jumps too high or wide.
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Same as above 1 hour to lessons, about a 2 hour lesson. As someone who did a good amount of riding before they started jumping, I can understand where you are coming from. It’s hard to be good at something, and just starting in something else, I would maybe focus on keeping a rhythmic canter and then the horse might jump up. I can also empathize with living in the middle of nowhere 
Can the horse handle a crop? If so, try doing a “stick off the ground”, basically when your horse is just about to jump your daughter gives him a little slap with the crop near his flank. Only do this if your daughter is comfortable leaving the ground with one hand on the reins and if the horse is well behaved with the use of a crop.
Maybe even try tiny spurs if the horse isn’t the super speedy type.
That is what I would try, but always make sure it is safe for the rider to use a crop on your horse.
I would also try and contact the closest trainer, because often it is handy to get a professional’s help. I always get my trainer to help with my horse if she is being lazier than I can manage and if I need a stronger rider to get her moving.
I am a hunter rider with wins at some top shows. If I went to a barrel show or even started riding a barrel horse- I would NEVER propose myself to be a capable at barrels just because I can jump around a hunter course.
So- OP- you need a little reality check.
I have quite a few horses and even a pony that will just trot over a cross-rail or low vertical if they are trotting and literally don’t jump it at a canter- just canter over it (which is fine, a jump is really just a canter stride).
But- you need some pro help in this situation.
Also- I’d advise making certain that she is riding in a helmet, some people don’t. But if she is under 18, I’d insist on it.
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Just out of curiosity, why did you purchase this horse? If you want your daughter to jump something of any size eventually, you will need a trainer. Ditto for tackling more complicated courses and showing.
In other words, if she has any jumping-related goals beyond trotting or cantering over something very tiny for fun, you will need a trainer and it’s better to get one sooner than to pick up bad habits and have to unlearn them.
I understand that your daughter is brave and has had jumping lessons in the past but unless she’s just experimenting with trotting and cantering over the odd cavaletti- sized jump, you have to ask yourself what is the long-term goal for this horse-rider combination and how to achieve it. Of course, if there is no real goal and no time pressure, that’s fine as well but still err on the side and size of safety.
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The horse is doing the right thing. Let him keep doing it.
The next step after trotting jumps is NOT horse trots in and jumps out.
The next step after trotting jumps is cantering jumps, still small. Your daughter should be comfortable doing that before doing anything else.
I’ll +1 or +8 the get thee to a trainer suggestion. It’s a dangerous sport that can get you killed. No need to skimp on drive time.
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