title says it all. How do you, personally, start a horse over fences? Grids? Courses? Single fences? Very curious as to what the popular opinion is!
Start by walking, trotting, cantering single poles and grids of poles. Progress to single crossrails, with or without placing rail depending on horse; some like the security of telling them where to take off, others are too easily overwhelmed by pole plus ājump.ā Most overcome that quickly, and move on to use placing rails to help find a good distance. Once able to canter the crossrail, elevate to tiny vertical (could happen the same day, or not). When confident to single fence with placing rails, move on to simple grids one-stride to two-stride, eventually introducing the first low oxer on the way out. Again, could happen in a day, a week, or could be much longer depending on the horseās aptitude. Athletic, easily-bored horses may move on to an inviting bounce in their gymnastic within the next few schools.
Introducing horses to jumping isnāt set in stone. When possible, I like to free-jump them first so that they can make mistakes on their own without worrying about a rider. My free jump grid is placing rail, 9-10ft to cross-rail, 18-24ft to vertical, 21-26ft to oxer, built up VERY GRADUALLY according to horseās confidence. Start with nothing but rails on the ground, lead over it both directions until horse is bored. Add a small crossrail (or half a cross-rail) and progress rail by rail as long as the horse is comfortable. Stop for the day before horse is overwhelmed, donāt have a set goal to achieve in a given timeframe. Move the distances in or out to make it easy for the horse, you arenāt trying to teach them to adjust their stride or balance, just the concept of jumping and making it to the other side safely and quietly. Treat bucket at the end!
Iāve started some horses out without gymnastics, just lots of single fences, trotting in and cantering away. Eventually adding in long lines or bending lines. Some are out hopping over little logs in the open (with a leader) before they ever see a gymnastic, especially the apprehensive ones who need encouragement to go forward and jump out of stride. There are many roads to Rome, so long as the horse understands the concept and gains confidence each day. More important than the method is the riderās own confidence, balance, and tact to stay out of the way and give a positive experience (knowing not to push too far). I keep my leg on, shoulders/eyes up, but my hands soft, I donāt āplaceā them anywhere but straight at this stage. Always praise on landing, make them think they just won an Olympic gold medal for every effort.
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I start small, over cavaletti, first at the walk, then the trot, and so on. And I add width before I add height. Iāll keep the cavaletti the same height, but increase the spread between them.
Ground poles then cavelettiās then cross rails, etc.
The other thing I have done is built various jumps in the fence lines. For example, between two fields is a revetted ditch. Itās small about 2.5ā across. So when the older horses go from field to field, the young ones learn about ditches.
When that becomes do big deal, I close it off. Then right next to it is a section of fence that makes up a rail jump. I lower the rails down to about 12". That becomes the way to get from field to field.
So our approach is to let them naturally figure out an obstacle and to understand they can jump over things.
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Logs etc out in the open and on trails.
THEN work with rails in the ring.
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I had a really great time with a young horse (just turned 4 so really trying not to push) walking her over XC fences. We had to exercise horses around the XC jumps anyways, so Iād just walk her over tiny ditches, steps, into the water, over logs. It was a super easy transition to trotting. I almost think it was easier to start like that and then jump her over little Xs and verticals, because the logs gave her such a clear and obvious thing to step over that she really got the picture.
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I start really basic - and pretty early in on getting an OTTB (as in, within a week or two). The first thing I do with my OTTBs is groundwork, and that includes poles - so by week three with me they are trotting poles and small cavalettis (at the walk). Poles are a big deal to me so I really rain poles on my guysā heads - once a horse understands that a pole is to be stepped over, a log really does not elicit a big reaction. They are hacked too (usually with a buddy system), and my place has lots of ditches, water, small logs and rock walls that need to be stepped over. That is their earliest jump education. On trails I will occasionally ask them to trot it. NBD. This is all very early on and it is really more about getting them exposed than expecting them to jump perfectly.
Once I am happy with their flat work progression (which I admit can take a little longer, as there are certain things I am real nitpicky about) I will start asking them to actually jump things in the ring or field - theyāve seen logs on trails, poles, the occasional cross-rail , now itās time to ask them to put their education to the test and I take them out XC.
Their first XC school is on the lunge. I will walk them over a log a few times, then trot them in hand a few times over it, and then send them out on a circle over it. Once they āgetā that and start to get that āears perked to the jumpā look in their eyes, we graduate to the next jump. Rinse/repeat a few times. Since theyāre used to logs and rock walls and some ditches on the trail, the first XC school is usually just kind of a ārecapā while exposing something new at the same time. Iāll usually end by asking them to go up & down a small bank - I tend to do the bank last, and at that point they usually seem quite forward but comfortable and say āOK!ā - then we finish by going over the first log we jumped a few times.
I do XC over the lunge because it makes them make their own mistakes without the help or the interference of the rider. I prefer it to being on their back because theyāre usually still figuring out their body and not as balanced as a more seasoned, older horse would be. Itās also a good way to witness from the ground how they handle a new question.
2nd XC school we go with a buddy and āfollow the leaderā over everything we jumped on the lunge. I will usually have the 2nd XC school a day or two after the first - I think it keeps the lessons fresh in their mind but not overtiring. I have had REALLY good luck this method (or maybe I just have really sensible TBs!) and it seems to produce a very willing and honest horse. I do not get any of the bolting, bucking, or running after a fence with this method.
I will usually follow up by doing XC at least once a week during their āformativeā education ā I keep things basic and simple and I donāt push too much, which is something my trainer does give me flak for. I donāt mind though, as while itās not as fast as a pro would be, it does produce a horse I know I can 100% trust.
I donāt introduce gymnastics until much later on. I find gymnastics are better for refining technique once the horse is comfortable - not really super conducive if the horse is not still confirmed over fences.
One thing I do now I wish I did then was that I ride out in an open field a LOT - like during the beginning of their educationā¦ I didnāt use to do thatā¦ but a lot of people donāt have the same open space I have (I am lucky) and canāt take advantage of that, but being used to being out in the open and not in a ring can make a big difference on the horseās and riderās comfort level over fences.
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Hereās another vote for starting them o/f on a lunge line. Iāll introduce ground poles while riding, but typically send them over their first crossrails and natural obstacles on the lunge. The exception to this rule is if Iām on a horse who already has a lot of experience being ridden, but is new to jumping with a rider (ex-dressage horse, ex-hunter on the flat, experienced western horse, etc.). I probably should give them the benefit of the lunge first, but I guess I feel like they know the riding game well enough to deal with new things thrown their way with aplomb that a baby or a more generally green horse wouldnāt possess. Once a horse is comfortable trotting and cantering single crossrails and low verticals, I graduate them to courses; we treat them like speed bumps. Height and spread is a gradual process from there. Specific approach varies on a case-by-case basis, of course.
Another for starting over solid natural obstacles. ESPECIALLY if the horse itself is either large or has a large stride. They seem to benefit the most from hopping small logs/ post and rail fences, coops etc in the beginning. The solidity of a jump has always been a great thing to teach moreso if youāre handicapped by only having PVC rails or flimsy jumps to work with that could encourage a greenie to think that knock downs are a part of life. I really love starting over solid stone walls, but that was easier to do when I lived in Middleburg, not so much in Unionville.
~Emily
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Thatās a great point, and one I think goes overlooked with a lot of people.
This is so timely for me!!! I just rode my coming-4-year-old in my jumping saddle for the first time this morning. We went out and did hillwork, including some trotting and cantering in a half-seat so he could get used to that. It was a BLAST and I am now dying to jump and event him even more than I was before. Thanks for all the great ideas!
I am also in the camp of starting over logs, natural stuff. Let them walk around checking things out turn them around jog/trot up and pop over. They rarely refuse at first asking. Unless the rider give mixed signals.
IMO and experience it is very important not to let them āskipā over. I want them to ārock backā and use their hind end. Not āpullā or "walk over. If one does this repeatedly I take them over a bigger log. We have a schooling set of logs, each one gets a bigger. They are randomly spaced. I want the horses to figure out their own striding. No coaching from the rider.They donāt go into the ring until they can handle everything asked āoutsideā in the wide open spaces.
We also have a nice uphill schooling line. This makes them have to use their hind end.
Ones that tend to rush to the second jump and or before/after the first one we take our time with so this does not become a habit. Just take back to a walk as soon as they clear the jump, walk a bit pick it back up and circle the same log. Until the do what is asked in hand, comfortably for both the horse and rider.
All of our 2 year olds (TBs) are popped over logs and such in our woods after several months under saddle.
All great advice and handy ideas! I love jumping horses uphill for their first outings. Iāve never had a horse refuse a straightforward uphill jump and it does force them to use their hind.
The first horse I ever taught to jump, I used PVC poles. I honestly have no idea how she grew up to be such a careful jumper!! I got lucky!
I start with grids, so the spacing is worked out in advance. The last thing I would use is a single fence. Itās far too hard for a green horse to even figure out what itās supposed to do with it, no less pick a safe distance. I use one stride grids with a pole at 9ā between the one stride to even that stride is given to the horse. We start with it all on the ground. After he understands what I want, we put up the very last fence first. I start with the last instead of the first, so his mind/eyes are concentrated on finishing the combination instead of checking out after the first element has been jumped. Once heās got the last thing down, we put up next to last, etc, until the entire grid is completed. If, at any point, he becomes frustrated, we back down to whatever was the last thing he did confidently. I take it very slow and make sure we finish on a good note when heās feeling like heās Superman.
I always lunge my horses over jumps in the beginning - of course - starting with walking over a pole, to trotting over a pole and then progress to cross rails and verticals then oxers ectā¦very orderly and slow so they gain confidence. Then I progress to under saddle.
Trotting Single fence or log. Often I will have lunged or free jumped them first but not always. I do not do grids or gymnastics until after we are comfortably jumping single fencesā¦typically just trotting. I donāt worry about cantering although for some horses with a naturally very good canter I will canter fences pretty early on (kept small and do not worry about adjusting for a distance). I will start them with flowers and fillers pretty much right awayā¦often jumping a flower box is their first jump. And often I will jump little oxers pretty much right away as well.
Not me riding but this is one of my homebreds. Very green broke and first jump. How she was started in this video is pretty much how I start all of mine. Her steering still wasnāt fully installed but she liked the jumping and became quite a good jumper. https://youtu.be/AlH4ln-6LE8
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I also like jumping over small natural obstacles like logs or ditches, preferably behind a quite and experienced lead horse. We do it a few times, then switch up the order and let the youngster lead the way!
If itās a horse I bred, I want it to grow up with the idea of going forward over whatever is in front of it. Logs, poles, steps up/down, ditches, whatever. This is just leading over stuff on walks for the first couple of years.
When they start under saddle, they usually are thinking āforwardā and enjoying it.
My favorite example: When my Zizi was two going on three, I sent her out to a western trainer who had cows and fun stuff for young horses. Zizi was a real handful at that age ā a tiny, tantrum-throwing creature with a towering ego ā and I needed to keep her busy. She loved working life a little too much (tantrums if she wasnāt the first to be worked in the morning, tantrums if she wasnāt out long enough, tantrums if she had to share her work time with other horses) so the trainer took her on long solo trail rides every day, usually having to figure out new places to go because she also got angry if there wasnāt enough novelty on the ride. One day, they were trotting down a fire road and a Mylar balloon floated out from behind a dumpster, right into Ziziās path. The trainer was prepared for a huge spook but little Zizi kept trotting forward and jumped the balloon, which was about 3ā6" off the ground. Then she kept on trotting. It was as if she never considered any other options. The trainer called me immediately after to say this tiny horse had a huge jump, which she very much does.
The general idea is that āgoing over stuffā is no big deal, even if we call it ājumpingā later on.
(Zizi is taking this year to try combined driving. So sheāll be learning to go around stuff rather than over it. :))
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We did a lot more xc schooling with my draft x early on than jumping in the ring. He had some (bad) jump training when I got him, but really didnāt know how to use himself correctly when jumping. We trotted a lot of small xc fences! It really helped when we went back to stadium.
Unless they are Irish.
All the Irish horses I have ever started over jumps I simply rode them to a crossrail and over they went. Then I would trot a few more cross rails and then canter over the next jump, whatever was in the way. And they jump. I think Irish horses are born knowing how to be ridden, and have jumping in their DNA. I broke a lovely mare one summer and was riding her five weeks and entered her in a little horse trial and she got 4th. I did cross country school her once before the horse trial, I think. I was only cantering like two weeks before the event. I just wanted to get a competition under her belt before her owner picked her up. She was cool. Wish I a hundred like that. I could retire.
