Do you have a young horse? Or are you thinking of getting a young horse? Do you have a horse that is already trained but you would like to learn the basics again? Discover in this article some advices and exercises for a successful jumping training.

1. Working on foot

Before you start working on your horse in the saddle, you will probably do some preliminary work on foot, and you are right.

At this stage of breaking-in, your horse is probably familiar with the ground bars. If this is not the case, it is absolutely essential to get him used to them. Start by having him pass a bar on the ground at the walk, then move on to higher paces and you can increase the number of bars on the ground as the sessions progress. Do not forget toadapt the distances between the ground bars to your horse's stride, especially at the beginning of the work!

Shoulder work

If your horse is well trained and the foot codes are well established, a good way to introduce him to the bars is shoulder work. You're going to need a little cardio, because you're going to have to run! Start with shoulder work as usual. Make sure your horse is on command, then start putting a bar on the ground at all three paces and in both hands.

The first obstacle you can climb is a small cross or vertical a small cross or a small vertical. We suggest that you take your companion at a trot on these first cavallettis. This will allow him to have more time to grasp the obstacle.

Don't get upset if your horse is surprised at first and stops. Show him calmly. If you are used to working with targetsyou can use them. Since the obstacle is very low, you can encourage your horse to pass it from the step. For the more anxious, this technique allows you to avoid increasing the pressure of the gait.

Lunging work

When your horse is comfortable on small shoulder cavallettis, you can move him away from you to work him in the longe. You can then start to diversify the exercises and thus begin the real work with the obstacle.

Always start with a few easy jumps at the trot and canter. Do not hesitate to put bars bars perpendicular to your obstacles to frame your horse! your horse!

a. The adjustment bars

The adjustment bars are very useful for young horses. They allow you to mechanize your horse and make him adopt the right gesture at the obstacle, by breaking down his movement.

Don't forget to adapt the distances to your horse's stride. The examples that will be given are for a horse with a classic stride.

Put a foam bar 2,80m before a vertical. Let your horse find his place with this bar on the ground, then you can add one at the landing, between 2,80m and 3m behind depending on the place your horse takes when he jumps.

Once your horse is used to one vertical, you can build a line of verticals. Alternate between a vertical and a bar, always with 3m between each. This exercise is excellent for the mechanization of horses

b. The jumping jack

Still for the mechanization of your horse, the is a very formative exercise that allows the horse to learn which allows the horse to learn to become autonomous the obstacle.

Put a setting bar 2.8m before your first vertical, then leave 3.2m between the first and last vertical. The horse may be surprised by this exercise which is not quite natural for him. So be patient with him, although it is a training exercise, it requires reflection from the horse.

If your horse rushes the jumping motion, shorten the distance with the bar to allow for a trotting approach.