What age to start jumping a horse

Question

Hello and thank you to all of you who answered my previous question. But when is an ok age to start a young horse over fences? I thought it was:

3 1/2 to start riding (backing ect.)

4 for more serious riding (Walk, trot, canter, more work with those)

And 5 for starting jumping. But my trainer said at age 3 they can start competively jumping and showing. I am about to buy a 4 year old gelding who is a TB and I want to make sure that I have a trainer to help me with some of his training and I don’t want my horse to be started to early. She said that his knees should be closed up, and that he can be jumping on the 3ft and up circuit by November with the right amount of discipline and training. Is this right? It sounds like a recipe for disaster. What is the correct age that I should start my horse over fences, so he would be damaged and have problems later on down the road? Here is a link to what the horse is like:

http://www.archershorses.com/ty.html

And his video: Click on “Tiger Jewel”

http://www.archershorses.com/videos.html

Answer 1

I wouldn't start backing or anything until they are 3. Once they have been backed and are comfortable with a rider on their back, it's fine to start walking for short periods and slowly working your way up to trotting and cantering. Once you have really good control and can walk trot and canter really well, I would say age doesn't really matter. I wouldn't do any serious jumping until about 4 though. You don't want to damage their legs

Answer 2

usually you shouldnt jump a horse until it is 5-6 years old, because its bones are still developing and you can seriously hurt them.

Answer 3

I'm with you. I'd wait until 5 for any serious jumping. It may be that horses can compete at younger ages, but its my experience that they don't last as long if they do. Some horses that are started too early are done in the show ring by age 10. Some started more slowly last into their 20's. Your new guy has plenty of time. I say let him grow up first.  

Answer 4

I think your horse should be fine, so long as ya'all make sure his legs are locked out or closed up, as you said. If you work him up to jumps gradually, I'm pretty sure there shouldn't be a problem. I rode horses who started jumping as soon as their legs locked out, but it's a matter of preference - some people don't ride horses until they are of five to seven years of age, so that all growing is complete.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then don't. I say take your time at your own pace. You'll know if and when he's ready.

I'm sorry if this doesn't help, but I hope it does!  

Answer 5

i'm not a professonal trainer, and all i have is what i've learned from my teachers and researching for myself.  i'd settle on for starting to train at least end of 2 year old (for general riding, i wont go into how they train race hores, cause thats' a whole different beast). or at least until i felt the horse was done growing/developing, until then i'd work on getting the horse used to everything on the ground, like cross ties, trailering (getting on the trailer and knowing what one was), picking up feet,bags, ect.

i'd start basic riding for a long while, just cause i'd like to make sure to cover all the basics of flat work. and jumping at least after 1-2 years of ground work.  

now i know i say it like i do it, but if i ever did get the chance to train a horse, i'd just take my time and do it really slow, there is no rush to break and train a horse. it's my understanding that i'd rather take my time and train a horse slower and have the horse last longer in life then train it fast and soundness issues come up alot faster.

again, i may be wrong, but it's my opinion. sry if it's not right. simple answer: at the end of it's 5th year begining of it's 6th year is when i'd start the basic jumping (trot poles) and work up slowly over 6 months to a year.

edit: so i over killed the answer. . . since the horse is already trained, why not just go with it? i personally dont like rushing a young horse into anything. own personal experiance makes me not want to jump horses that young.  sry for the long blah answer.

Answer 6

I wouldn't start jumping him until he is five. Thoroughbreds are very slow to mature, and aren't done growing until they are at least five.  And flat work is the basis for everything, so if you wait just a little longer and just focus on dressage, it will ultimately be easier and healthier for you horse.  I have a four year old Connemara/TB, and she has been free jumped maybe three times, no higher than 2'3".  Right now she is strictly flat work under saddle, and will start jumping next summer, after she is fully grown and very responsive and well behaved at dressage.

I hope this helps!

Answer 7

I don't start riding until the summer of their fourth year (or 5th year, if they're a later foal or not so mature) and then I start to jump over the winter of the 5th year / going into the 6th year - unless the horse was broken later, in which case I leave it another year.  In any case, I don't start to jump until the horse has been ridden on the flat for about a year and a half.

That's a lot slower than many people - but I give my horses plenty of time to mature and find their feet, and my horses and ponies go strong into their late 20s.  I think that the extra decade at the end is worth waiting a couple of years for at the beginning of a ridden career!  Other people do not agree - but that's their prerogative.

Answer 8

he looks great i would ride and pratice my jumping for 1/2 or a 1 year before i take him to a show so you will have a good bond and know how he rides and what he is strongest at

tip dont take just what the people say when it comes to jumping ride before you ride

Answer 9

I am a professional trainer and have trained for 5 years and over 50 horse in various disciplines. Your horse should be ready for light work over low rails for sure at age four, and by 5 ready to be ridden heavy. I saddle break my horses at age one(if they are big enough) do ground work till 2 and then break them to ride. And by 3 there are really goo in a snaffle. can stop and jump, age 4 start bigger more challenging jumps and 5 ready to be ridden 6days a week. You should have no problem with working your horse now.

Good luck! and dont worry about his knees as long as your dont over do it hes fine.

Answer 10

you can ride em when their 2 but not hardd.then when they turn 4 get their knees checked and if their knees are good you can jump.my horse just turned 4 and i gotta get her knees checkedd.

Answer 11

Do what feels right to you. I am with you about waiting to 5 to jump. I love everything about my trainer except for 1 thing. She (like your tainer) allows horses to be started to be pushed to hard. She had a 3 and 4 year old showing 2 foot this year.

I would wait till he is 5 to start really jumping (even if he knees are closed at 3). TB legs tend to be bad anyway so I would be really careful not to over work him. Better safe than sorry.

Answer 12

There isn't really a set age because of the way the breeds differ.  Drafts and Arabs tend to develop slowly, and they may not be completely finished developing until they are seven.  I don't know much about thoroughbreds development rates and I doubt anybody on here could give you a completely true answer simply because your horse is unique from any others.  You should get a vet to check out his legs and ask him for a prediction of when they will be completely developed.  If you don't feel comfortable doing something with your horse, don't.  Your trainer may be good, but she doesn't know everything..And this is YOUR horse - train him the way you want - do not let someone tell you when he needs to be started on something like jumping.  And I would say definitely no showing (jumping at least) you could do a few flat courses or dressage tests (if you do dressage), but nothing too strenuous..Wait a year, he will turn five, and in that year you can perfect what he already know or teach him new flat work things.  Do ground poles, set up grids, whatever..just let him get to know you and flat classes at shows before you throw something completely new at him.  My horse is five and I have just started jumping him over small crossrails...and I probably won't be doing much more than that for over a year since he is an Arabian and slow to develop.  At first, I thought that two years (I got him when he was four) is way too long to wait to start jumping him.  I thought a year of walk/trot/canter would be boring and repetitive...But it wasn't because he needed the practice and it turns out I did too.  I learned his quirks and how to hold my hands super steady (because he has a very sensitive mouth and gets mad if you are even a bit jiggly) and just little things that made the transition from flatwork to small jumps that much easier and smoother.  

Very pretty horse, by the way - Best of luck with him!

Answer 13

I would say at least 4-5 years old. You can't really predict if their bones are joined and done growing unless you were to run x-rays and even then most horses don't stop growing untill they are around 5. If it was me i would only do like poles and maybe tiny crossrails when they were like 4 and 9 months and than at 5 do a little more jumping and work your way up. But when they are pushed too hard and too young of an age they tend to have a way higher risk of getting hurt... arthiritis, lameness etc. That is also some of the reason why racehorses break down so easily because they are too young and worked too hard. Just my opinion

Hope that helped :)