Warming up my pony before jumping?

Question

Hi, I have a cob x, he's fairly fit, and a fantastic jumper. He's very lazy, and tends to cut corners and circles if he can!

I love jumping him, but I'm always worried that I've not warmed him up enough, seeing as I do 2"6 on him and hopefully higher sometimes!

What shall I do as warm up? Also, would asking him to bend around poles be an alternative to circles? He seems to enjoy them more.

How soon shall I canter him?

Really, I'm just asking for you to put a warm up routine for me?!

Thank you! =]

Answer 1

At a walk, go clockwise around the arena once and then counter clockwise once. My horse likes doing circles to warm up.  But using poles too is a good idea.  This will help him on changing leads too!  Like pole bending at a walk.  Do serpentine figures in the arena or flat area.  This really gets the horse focused and calm.  Mix up the serpentine at a walk and a trot.  After that you can then start cantering at a relaxed speed.  Go over smaller jumps to get his confidence up and then you can move on to the higher jumps.  After the jump work; do all the warm ups again but this time it will be his cool down.

Hope this helps.  Good Luck! And Have Fun!!

Answer 2

What about a flame thrower? However, if you don't want to break your horse you could try a few towels or duvets?

Answer 3

Walk and stretch for a few min. Then start trotting on a loose rein for a few more min to let him stretch and warm up then take the reins and start trotting patterns and circles are very important. Dont let him cut corners, letting him get away with it is going to cause issues while doing a course. There is no alternitive to circles. ride him through them and if he is truly bitter about doing them then get him checked by a vet something might be wrong, or he knows he can get away with not having to work. warm up in the trot for 15 min then start to canter. if you have a coach she should be telling you this, she should also be helping warm you up before you jump. If you dont have a coach i suggest getting one.  

Answer 4

It sounds like your pony is just a little green rather than lazy and this is ok :)  When a horse cuts corners its usually a sign of greeness to inside leg.  I would continue to school on the flat - WTC and working on alot of cerpentines and figure eights.  You should also begin to work on some leg yeilding. All of this is going to play a gigantic role in your jumping performance.  If your horse cuts corners (bc he cant move off of leg) on the flat, I cant imagine what he will be like come the time to perform over a course.  Your flat work is your ultimate foundation to fences.  If you dont master the little stuff, the big stuff is going to "kill" ya.  Keep working on your leg yeiliding and getting your horse to move off the inside leg, roudning his shoulder and then start throwing in some grid work to help him sustain these little cues over fences.  It will all come in time.  Personally, Id put the jumps away for now and school on the really important stuff :)

Happy Riding! :)  

Answer 5

i usually trot and canter for a little while before jumping.  i just make sure my horse is moving well and is relaxed before we jump.

Answer 6

With my horse, I walk for 3-4 rounds, then trot for 3 rounds and then canter for 1-2 1/2 rounds, I do alot because hes a TB and needs lots of warm up. I do the rounds in both directions. Then I trot over a small jump before I actully start the higher jumps.

Answer 7

We usually walk on a loose rein to start off with, then go into trot after about five minutes. We do simple lateral stuff like turn on the forehand/quarters and leg yield as well as lots of circles and serpentines. Then, if we are going to jump a small course, we'll do cantering on both reins and canter a figure of eight, a good exercise that will help the horse (and you) with changing the leading leg whilst doing a course of jumps. :) A thorough warm up like this should take you between 15-25 minutes.

yes, bending poles would be a suitable alternative to circles, but it would be good if you could do circles once in a while too :)

Hope that helped x

  

Answer 8

there are so many options obviously but i'll just do a couple of suggestions so as not to bore you with things you already know.  Spend the first few minutes in walk obviously then move up to trot.  don't feel you need to spend too long in this gait as most jumping is done out of canter so move up to this pace within ten/15 mins.  Circles and serpentines are good for bend, also try lots of transitions to make sure he is listening and ready to ping off your leg!  try using some poles (trot or canter) to go over, or try raised trotting poles.  practise pushing out and bringing in the length of his paces to get him prepared.  remember to throw a few giggles in there - practise your jump position in motion, see how long you can hold it, try risingto the canter or some direct transitions to get him woken up.  By moving swiftly through simple exercises and the paces you can be ready to start popping some warm up fences within 15 mins so he always has loads of energy for the jumping itself!!  

Answer 9

well it depends on the heat. if its warmer out, you dont have to warm your horse up as much, because their muscles arent tight from cold.

my friend and i warmed up about 5 minutes before jumping. i walked, trotted, and cantered a lil bit.

if its cold out, it takes awhile to warm them up because they have to lossen their chilly muscles.. mainly in winter you should warm up for at the least 10 minutes (5 walk then trot)

jumping wise, if you jump him a lot, then i would warm up for 10 minutes, we warmed up for five because we only had an hour to ride and both of us were riding.

but i would say 10 minutes maybe a little less for a warm up

and cutting corners, you can set up cones and make her go around the cones and not cut in between them

and like Amy S said. go over ground poles when you warm up also

Answer 10

Do about 5 minutes of walking. Extend and shorten his pace at the walk, bend him left and right, circles, leg yielding, serpentines, go over groundpoles. Mostly lots of bending and getting him to listen to your leg and stretch out. Then do 5 minutes of trotting, same ideas as the walk. If he still seems stiff and not engaged, do a few more minutes of trotting. If he seems loose, canter (again, the same basic ideas). A few times around at the canter, both directions, and he should be ready to go. You can adjust this routine as needed depending on your horse's fitness level (and if it's hot, do less!). I actually do about 10w-20t-5c with my mare, but she's on a high-fitness program. And if it's hot, be sure to take a few walking breaks. Have fun!!

Oh yeah, as for pole bending, I wouldn't use them as an alternative, but you can use them in addition to circles :)

Answer 11

You should have at least 20 minutes of warm up, in my experience, and you can do it in any manner that loosens up your horse's muscles and stretches him before the workout. You're horse does NOT have to be hot and sweaty to be warmed up. If I'm going to do alot of jumping, I will usually walk, trot, then canter him 2-3 laps in each direction to loosen him up, do some lateral work (sidepasses, shoulder-in, haunches out, etc.) some serpentines or circles until he is bending for me. When the horse is loose, on the bit, and bending, he is usally ready to work. Remember to cool down, it's just as important!