Western Jumping?

Question

I have a 24-year-old Quarter Horse that i've had for 6 years. I've recently discovered that he can jump western. I love jumping on him. I was wondering if there are any western games that have jumping. I also have a partly blind 15 year old Quarter horse that can also jump. I really want to jump them in show.

Answer 1

It is not safe to jump in a western saddle because you can't do 2 point because of the horn. You can do small jumps but why not get an english saddle? No there are not any western sports that allow jumping.

Answer 2

um honestly i wouldnt jump ur 24 year old horse. Doesnt matter if ur jumping logs or anything at that age he can easliy hurt himself. Jumping western is a really bad idea. They made English saddles for a reason. If u dont like english try jumping bareback, its great for ur balance and its fun. Id jump the 15 year old carefully, but thats my opion.

Answer 3

Western saddles, again, are not meant for jumping. It is also easy to impale yourself. But, there is one class, trail, which has a jump (sometimes) in it. It can usually only be up to 2 feet tall. Also, jumping blind horses is not a great idea, in case they don't see part of the jump, or somehting. And, when they get more blind, they won't be able to see it.

Answer 4

Yep - there's a reason there's not a western jumping class - but it shouldnt' be hard for you to switch to english - it would be much better for the horse.

If you're trail riding and there's a small log or something that's one thing - but attempting something like show jumping shouldn't be done in a western saddle.

Answer 5

Please don't jump in a western saddle.  It is dangerous and bad for the horse's back.  Because the saddle wasn't designed for jumping, you could easily lose your balance and fall off.  The horn and long stirrups will cause you to fall back which will punish your horse.  The saddle can also hit your horse's loins which hurts a lot.  The only time I would ever jump in a western saddle is if you come across a long on the trail which is under 2'.  Buy an english saddle or jump bareback.

Answer 6

Wow, that's great.  I sometimes jump my horse western.  I have not really heard of any western games that have jumping.  Although, I would imagine that gymkhana has a little bit of that.  I think if you were to do something like trail trials, that it might have a little bit of jumping.  I hope this helps!

Edit:  I also think that you might be able to find stuff to jump out on trails.  And small logs are okay to do, also jumping in a western saddle isn't bad for the rider or the horse.  You just have to be careful not to hit the horn, and a flank cinch will keep the saddle from popping up.  If you do hit the horn, then you are probably ahead or behind the horse.  I have found that the western saddle actually adds more support.

Answer 7

its bad for horses backs to jump western so only jump riding english. and u should only jump ur 24 year old for about 3 or 4 more years.

Answer 8

I really hope your kidding about jumping.

Your horse maybe able to jump but that doesn't mean you should. Your horse is to old. And your other horse that is partly blind. Come one thats awful. I can't stop you but that is unheard of.

If you do want to jump in western only jump up to a 12in.

They don't have any jumping items in gaming. Unless you knock over a pole and your horses jumps it after you come home.

Answer 9

I agree that jumping more than two feet in a western saddle isin't the best idea because you can't go into your two point, but i've never heard of the saddle hurting the horses back. Also, im afraid that it isin't safe to jump a blind horse, not even a partially blind one, and your other horse is simply getting a little too old to be jumping too much anymore. However there are many other western games that are just as fun as jumping. If you haven't already, try pole bending. I just wanted to point out that I ride both english and western and have fallen off the same number of times in both. The type of saddle you have dosen't mean that you are more or less likley to fall off. The reason there are so many english injuries is because people fall off while going over jumps, which could mean that they are falling up to 8 or 9 feet when you calculate the height of the jump, horse, rider and how far they go flying, or, they fall into an obsticle, such as a jump, and break something important.

Answer 10

Many of these people are englishly jumpers and are very WRONG! I know i will get thumbs down for this but i jump my horse western and he is gaited! I have heard the myths, western jumping is bad for your horse's health, WRONG!!!! It is the same as english but safer for the horse and rider, there is a lower chance of the rider falling and spooking or hurting the horse, do some research there are ALOT of english jumpers who have died or injured their horses to the point they are put down. There aren't any shows that i know of but you can use chairs and logs or pieces of wood to make home-made jumps and invite a friend over or get a family member to jump with you and get someone to be a judge, but be careful don't jump too high. Good luck and GO WESTERN PEOPLE!!!!

Ok a western saddle actually keeps you ON alot better that an english saddle my friend english jumped and fell of 7 times over round 4 years! I have jumped 2 feet in a western saddle and it was fun and my horse loves it. It is fine for your horse's back, you guys are overreacting!

Answer 11

Yes the dash Figure 8 is a game that you can play with a western horse and they get to jump over a small pole. It is oky to jump over very small jumps with your horses in a western saddle, as long as it's not to high because the saddle isn't made the same as an english saddle and can hurt their back. But if your lucky to find a gymkahna day that has the Dash Figure 8 game I bet your horses would do great in it.

Good Luck

Answer 12

thats great that you figured out that he loves to jump. I agree, you shouldn't jump in a western saddle. A few jumps would be okay, but if you do 12 or 10 jumps a day, everyday, his back will get hurt, or YOU could get hurt. I would recommend getting a endurance saddle. It looks and feels like a western saddle, but it doesn't have a horn, just a larger palm than an english saddle. :) have fun!

Answer 13

I highly recommend you to not jump in a western saddle. It does indeed hurt the horse's back (I figure you've heard this about a million times by now hehe)

I also agree with the fact that you shouldnt jump anything higher than a fallen log.

If you really want to jump in shows, try riding english.

English is very fun, it offers a whole new style of riding (Jumping high heights)

Im not really a western-expert (I ride english) so I dont know if there's a western jumping option in shows. I kind of doubt it though, since the saddle hurts the horse's back and the saddlehorn may hurt you.

I highly recommend that you DONT jump a partly blind horse. In order to jump successfully and safely, a horse must be able to see whats coming in front of it and be able to see how high they must put their feet up to clear the jump. A partly blind horse may not see the jump, which will be a problem for you and the horse.

Anyways, again, if you want to jump, try english. But other than that, I wish you luck with your choices!

Answer 14

DO NOT jump in a western saddle anymore then a fallen log on a trail ride. The saddle is not made for jumping and when the horse jumps it pops off its back and then slams back down hurting the horses back in time. Also it is not good for you. If you fall foward you could hit the horn this happend to someone I know and she hit it so hard she passed out falling off the horse and got hurt. Like the person above me said there is a reason there are no jumping classes for western.

PS sorry about my spelling