Teaching a horse to jump?

Question

Hello, I plan on teaching my horse to jump. So I have a few questions.

One, she is 17 would she be to old, how high do you think she should be able to jump?

Second, Do you have to have horse jump in sand? I live in MN and i really dont want to have to pay for sand each year.

Third, how big of a ring will she need?

and my biggest question. When i have her on just a lead rope, she doesnt really move well unless she is going towards her pasture. When i have her in the round pen and on the lounge line, if she doesnt move at all will i have to use a whip? And if i have to use one, which is a good one, and does it have to actully touch her?

THANKS!

Answer 1

its just like when babies start to walk. you have to just have her go over polls on the ground (PVC pipe or land scape timber will work) make them all different colors and have her walk/trot/canter over them. then raise them a little higher. have a vet look at her and see if she has any hoof probs. or anything like that. if you work her were she cant see the pasture she may do better.

Answer 2

I think you should know a few things.

1st off, no shes not too old

2nd, no you dont need sand

3rd you will need a pretty big pen for jumping.

4th you might need to use a whip but other solutions are:

          -have her on a lunge line and position her to where she

            can run in circles and make loud noises like clapping

            or stomping

          - try hitting her rear, be careful not to hit too hard and

           also dont let her kick you

5th when you start training her if you havent already just start her walking over ground poles and then have her trot over them, after that gradually start raising them a few inches at a time.

hope i helped

best of luck :)

carly b

Answer 3

First Answer: No she is not to old to learn. How high she can go depends on her confomation, skill and health. Most healthy older horses can get up to about 2'6".

Second Answer: No sand is not the only thing a horse can jump in. It is just one of the safest. You want ground that is not to hard and not to soft. To hard and you will get lame horses with joint issues. To soft and they can pull tendons/muscels/ligiments.

Third Answer: Most standard jumping arenas are around 100x200 meters. There are a lot of variations in that though. Sone is personal preference. Bigger is not always better in my opinion.

Forth Answer: I dont really get the question but if she is lazy on the ground then a crop is probably a good investment. You may or may not have to smack her with it. I have a OTTB that with zoom if you wave a crop at him but I know another appendix that has had crops broken over his butt and still refused to move (he was not hurt/sore/ect. just EXTREMELY lazy) I would use the crop at first to back up your leg/voice and step it up as you need too. The beaking crop was just an example, I would never suggest you do that. The girl that broke it got crop/spur privlidges taken away for a awhile and had to figure out how to move him with her leg only. If you are lunging that you do not touch the horse with the lunge whip. I sometimes use to tip to bump a horse in the shoulder/barrel when he is trying to cut in close to me but that is all. A jumping crop is short (les than 2 feet) and a lunge whip has a lash and care around 5-6 feet. As for which one to buy, it is mostly a personal preference. I would get a cheap one to start off and see what you like/dislike about it. If its cheap it wont last long anyway and your next one can be more like what you like. Good LUCK!

Answer 4

If you can get her to twirl the rope getting her to jump should be easy.

Answer 5

I definitely don't think she's too old. However, I wouldn't push her into jumping high just yet. Her knees may be weakening (arthritis and such), and she just might not be ready for too much strenuous jumping. No, I don't think you'll need sand. Grass footing will work just fine. I suggest having an area larger than 20 by 40. And yeah, I think a whip will be necessary. A lunge whip will work just fine. Have you lunged before? Just flick the long end of the whip towards your mare's fetlocks. Good luck!

Answer 6

1.Most horses can jump 2 feet easily if they are sound

2. No- I jump from grass just make sure you don't jump on very hard packed ground ( frozen)

3.The whip only has to touch the horse if they are not responding to your voice, the sight of the whip give them that first then use the whip. Some horses will go just at the sight of it while others need a good smack. Remember the whip is just an extension of your hand/arm.

About the jumping-start low- try cavalettis then move to a one foot jump and increase as she succeeds. You might need to get her splint and bell boots.

Answer 7

Don't take this the wrong way.... if you want your horse to learn to jump properly, you need to get a professional to help you. It sounds like you don't know enough to do it yourself. But I'll try and answer your questions -

17 is not too old, but there are other factors to consider, as far as how high she may be able to jump, such as her height, breed, soundness, and natural ability.

I don't know exactly what you mean here - why would you pay for sand every year? Would it go away somehow? Anyway, no, you can jump on any flat, level surface that is not slippery, but some sort of cushion (softer footing) would be nice.

How  big of a ring depends on what you want to put in it! If you want a full hunter course with 6 stride diagonal lines, well, its going to need to be pretty big. But as long as you can get in a few straight strides for approach and landing, you'll have room to jump. So it its 100 feet long, you'll be able to jump ok.

Yes, a longe whip is a good idea. Its a really long whip, you aren't supposed to hit the horse with it, but you can "pop" it to get their attention, otherwise you just kind of "follow" them with it.

Good luck!