"Jumping" ground poles?

Question

I recently trotted over ground poles for the first time. I was curious what that helped. Does it prepare you as a rider [as well as a horse just learning to jump] for jumping or is it not even considered "jumping" and just an exercise?

This sounds like a pretty dumb question but that's something I've been wondering..

Answer 1

You learn to rise and sit again getting you used to the motion of jumping - going into your forward seat and recovering.

Yes, it does help a horse when they are learning to jump as it is an easy obstacle to tackle without scaring them early on in their training.

Answer 2

Its an exercise so it will pick up its feet more and pay more attention to your aids

Answer 3

haha dont worry i asked that a few months ago! depending on your stable, it may be a step towards jumping. (did you go over it in 2 point?) at my old one, it was not. At my new one, it was and the other day i jumped my first crossrail! its not a dumb question, dont worry. even if its not, you will soon, and its so fun! good luck!

Answer 4

Ground poles help with lots of things.  

Horse:  They teach a horse to place his feet so that he doesn't step on the pole.  It will also help the horse to learn to make his striding the right length so that in the future when he approaches a jump he will be able to take off at the right spot.  Lining up poles before a jump will help the horse learn to take the right strides so that he won't take off too early or too late.  

Rider: Trotting from one pole to another can help you learn to count strides.  It will also help you to learn how to control the length of your horse's stride( you can trot faster to put less strides between each jump)--when you start jumping you will be able to judge how many strides your horse will take before taking off and you can shorten or lengthen his stride to take of in the right place.  It also helps you learn to keep posting in rhythm with your horse's stride even if he steps out of rhythm when going over the pole.

It's not a dumb question.  I used to wonder the same thing!

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Yes it does! I started with ground poles for 2 weeks and went on to poles standing on small cinder blocks. Then i moved on to bigger jumps. Also its not a dumb questain I asked that questain to my trainer and she wus happy i asked. MAKE SURE U ASK LOTS OF QUESTAINS!! Good Luck and have fun jumping! I did!

Answer 6

Its to prepare you for jumping... My trainer says that you have to know how to go over a ground pole before jumping. You have to be able to go over straight and with confidence and it also keeps the horses attention and you thinking as well.

Answer 7

yes. if you canter to a single pole, you can count strides to it as if it were a jump. this helps the rider practice knowing strides and where to take off and whether to take the long distance or the short distance. it benefits the horse because it saves their legs. a horse has only so many jumps in him. trotting poles really isnt a jumping exercise but cantering to a single pole is.

Answer 8

its not jumping but it gets you ready. It will help your horse pick up their feet and learn when to pick up their feet along with strides and stuff.

And it helps balance the rider and you can learn 2point over it.

also its a good warmup before jumping.

Answer 9

The purpose of trotting poles is to get the horse to pay attention to his feet, overall making the horse more grounded and to adjust his stride.

Learning to adjust the horses stride is vital when learning to jump as you as a rider must be able to tell what distances are between jumps, thus helping the horse prepare to leap.

xx

Answer 10

It prepares you physically and mentally to move on to bigger better things. I would say that it is considered as both jumping and an exercise . I know its not exactly jumping much for the horse as the pole is on the ground but its still kind of lol

I don't think its a dumb question . No question is a dumb question to me . If you wana ask something just ask away