How do you count your horses strides when riding a Jumper course?

Question

I need to know when you walk a Jumper course, and you are walking between fences, how many foot steps are equivalent to 1 horse stride. and how exactly do you walk the course???

Help please!

Thanks

Answer 1

You really should start with the basics.  

Start with ground poles, walk over them, and count your strides (which should be large).  Then ride your horse over and see if your horse has any trouble with it.  

Evaluating a horse's stride can't really be compared when horses (and sometimes ponies) and humans are of different sizes.  It's something that's learned through feel.  

However, here's a site that might lead you towards the right direction:

http://horse.lifetips.com/cat/6786/jumpi...

http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~rose/equine/jum...

Just so you know, you may want to start with counting your strides while also riding cross rails.  Then move up to hunters (2'+ jumps) and then on to the jumper's course.

Answer 2

When you walk the course, you want to be thinking about your approach to the jumps...  you want to walk through your turns and look at where you want your horse to be to best approach the jumps...  like look at how they line up...  expecially if you have a line, look at where you need to turn to have a straight line between the two jumps.

When you walk the line, start in the center of the first jump (with your back against it), then walk to the next jump...  don't take giant steps, but don't casually walk there...  you want to take pretty good sized steps...  and when you do, 2 of your steps will be equal to 1 canter stride for your horse.  Think about as you walk the line whether you need to push your horse along or hold him back a little...  if your horse has a big stride, you'll get there sooner than if your horse has a shorter stride.  and think about which lead you'll be on and whether your horse moves faster or slower on that lead.  and are you going toward or away from the gate?...going away is slower than coming home.

So to answer your question about steps to strides, 2 of your walking steps = one of your horse's canter stride.

How to walk the course: plan your ride...  think about what you're horse is going to do and what you need to help him do the course better.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

my trainer told me to take one big step and thats about equivalent to one stride.

Answer 4

When walking a jumper course, 4 steps= 1 stride.

you really only need to count strides on turns and inbetween fences like combinations one strides and bounces.

Say you have a vertical to an acsending oxer combination to count the striding go to the landing side of the vertical. Then take one step. This is where your horse should land. From that step you cont out 1,2,3,4 and theres one stride. Then to help remind myself of what stride im on i replace the number one with the number stride im on, so the second stride would be 2,2,3,4 then 3,2,3,4 and so on. When you get up to the oxer you want to give yourself once again one step from the base of the jump, this is where your horse should take off.