Starting Jumping...

[horse_lover]

I have jumped a lot, the highest I've jumped is like 2' 8'' (not too high) but I'm going to start riding my 3 year old paint/arab (he is at training right now) and I was wondering what an appropriate age to start jumping is, I won't be doing any anyway for at least a year, but I would like to know what a good age to start jumping is, so if he is being REALLY good one day I don't get to currious and ask him to jump, just giving my self some boundries! :p

[DixieGirl]

I thnk a goo age to really start to jump a horse is 5 or 6. Maybe the couple years before you can do ground poles and work yourself and your horse up. That would be my best guess.

[horse_lover]

Ya I think it is when they are Fully grown, arabs take a long time to mature, and Spy is half arab so I was thinking ya around 6

[Half&Half]

Well if he is in training, chances are the trainer will give you a rough age or time of when he can start jumping.

[DixieGirl]

Ya I think it is when they are Fully grown, arabs take a long time to mature, and Spy is half arab so I was thinking ya around 6

Yeah I would do that.

[cursivenight]

You don't have to start when they are six.

Depending on the horse, you can start SMALL (as in POLES) when they are three. I wouldn't 'jump' them till they are four and stay small. Once they are okay with that you can SLOWLY raise it, but make sure the horse is ready, and you're not pushing his body too far.

Are you going to do this with a trainer or yourself?

[Haley]

Work with your trainer to establish when he is ready - you can start soon, as long as you keep it very small. You can even teach her to free jump now without the weight of a rider, but again, as long as the jumps are very small. It's a lot of impact to put on a horse's legs, so wait until he's five or so to begin the real training. For now, you can start him on poles and little cross-rails to get him used to the rhythm and the feel for the jump.

[horse_lover]

YES! I'm gonna have a trainer! Don't worry, i'm not that brave, lol

[cursivenight]

Lol good.

Good luck!

[StarGirl]

I don't know much about jumping, but I was under the impression that each horse is different and you have to wait until their knees close before jumping them...and from what I know, that usually doesn't happen until at least 4 or 5....maybe SilverLeprechaun will put in her opinion???

[PrissyBritches]

I think you should wait til age 5, 4 maybe.

With Chy I had to start at age 2 becuase she was going blind fast and I had to teach her EVERYTHING I knew before she lost all of her vision.
She popped 3 splints becuase of the young age.

You need to wait until they are fully grown.

:)

Good Luck

[ILoveMyKizzyWizzy]

im training my 11 year old former western pleasure horse to jump (Kismet or as i call him kizzy-wizzy) and hes pretty spooking but seems to get through it ok. I think the only reason hes actully trying is becuz he trusts me :D
well my mom and i are finally getting some really standards so we can start doing bigger jumps. probably wont need them until sometime in summer cuz i got to reintroduce him since hes been on winter break (ooo i cant w8 til spring!!!)
please let me know if there is anything that could help him calm down and not spook so much when he knocks over a pole... theres only one thing hes 100% confident on and thats ground work XD
Why do i always get the spaztic horses??? :rolleyes:

[ILoveMyKizzyWizzy]

I think you should wait til age 5, 4 maybe.

With Chy I had to start at age 2 becuase she was going blind fast and I had to teach her EVERYTHING I knew before she lost all of her vision.
She popped 3 splints becuase of the young age.

You need to wait until they are fully grown.

:)

Good Luck
i agree. if u start out a horse too soon they could develop serious leg/ joint issues and thus destroy their riding career... u may be anxious but its wise to wait :)

[crazy4horses]

I think maybe around..... 5 or 6-ish. Becuase as many member have said, his bones should probably grow and become mature. Yeah, that would be fun to jump Spy!! He would do a GREAT job at it. I'll go and see Tia this weekend at your house!!

[PrissyBritches]

If you want you can trot over polls on the ground, but I wouldnt recommend jumping.

My 3 year old Mare, Britches is broke at the walk trot and canter and I want to jump her SOOOO badly. But I know I have to wait. So for now I'm still teaching her new things and trotting her over polls and such. :)

[zansgoodnews]

I started jumping my horse when she was nearly turning four, but the jumps were extremely small. Gradually I worked her into higher jumps and she was perfectly fine. I would suggest working the horse gradually into jumping, and conditioning its body to that it is ready to jump.

I allowed my mare to rest for a couple of weeks and then went back to jumping huge jumps again. BIG mistake since she wasn't conditioned enough just from leaving her alone for a couple of weeks. She ended up chipping her hock and had to be kept in a stall for several months. It know it's not fun having to wait to jump, but it's worth it to not have to end up with an injured horse.

[horse_lover]

ok, he's half arab, and arabs are slow to mature so I think I'll start gound poles when he's 4 then once he is 6 I will bump them up to just like glorified ground poles, say 1 foot and we'll probly stay at one foot for about a year then slowly work our way up, thatnls for all the help everyone!!!!!!!! :D

[zansgoodnews]

ok, he's half arab, and arabs are slow to mature so I think I'll start gound poles when he's 4 then once he is 6 I will bump them up to just like glorified ground poles, say 1 foot and we'll probly stay at one foot for about a year then slowly work our way up, thatnls for all the help everyone!!!!!!!! :D

That sounds good :)

[cursivenight]

ok, he's half arab, and arabs are slow to mature so I think I'll start gound poles when he's 4 then once he is 6 I will bump them up to just like glorified ground poles, say 1 foot and we'll probly stay at one foot for about a year then slowly work our way up, thatnls for all the help everyone!!!!!!!! :D


You can probably move faster then that, at least I think so, and as long as he's ready. Do ground poles till hes confidant and so are you, and then you can make teeeeensy tiny xs and get him stepping/jumping over those. Slowly build up the height from there.

[horse_lover]

ok, well don't worry, I won't do anything he isn't ready for, I think I might go super slow, the last time I saw him, he was in all honesty looking lik a hyper sensitive little arab...

[Jyl]

Talk to your vet. I know some horses take longer to fully develop their knees, so have your vet check your horses knee's and make sure they're closed before you start jumping. My sister owns a Appy and we started doing ground rails and SMALL (like, 6 inches) cross rails with him when he was almost four. It really just depends on the horse.

[horse_lover]

Lol, I know, My mom is a vet! :p

[hurricane.harold]

You already know that arabs mature a little slower than most horses, but I don't think you need to wait until she is 6 to start jumping her. I would say 5 ish, depending on her other training, and her maturity level. Some horses just aren't ready mentally, and you & your trainer are probably the only ones that are able to tell.
However, trot poles/ canter poles aren't going to hurt your horse at all. They add a little something different to the routine, and give you something to work at, which really does help the jumping later.

Good luck.

[ToujoursLesBelles]

i just finished an article that described how, though different breeds mature differently, they all finish bone development at around the same time...(around 5)
i wouldnt start jumping until your horses knees have closed and youll need your vet to check that..