Approaches to Training Your Horse

As with any young horse we acquire, teaching it to jump typically makes all of the flat work we do more rewarding.  Jumping, as we all have been told, is just “flat work with something in the way.” That “something” can eventually be fairly substantial, so we want to make sure we create a good foundation as we educate our horses and take them to our riding ”gym” to bodybuild each day.

There are three things we need in order to progress in any horses’ training — whether it be a grand prix dressage horse, barrel racer, or event horse. They need to stop, go and turn. Or, in instructor’s language, we say we need balance, impulsion and direction. Riding our horse towards a fence (or just on the flat) and having one of these be absent can be quite an experience — usually not enjoyable. So, any jumping school begins with a thorough warm up, and a review of the skills you and your horse have learned.

The rider needs to think about their position, especially their balance and strength in a “half seat.” There are many degrees of this- from doing a gallop set and being as unobtrusive as possible, to riding a green horse to a ditch with a heavier, more driving seat. We need to be able to stay light and in balance with the horse as we canter around a course of fences. In my lessons, I often start with time in the half seat- through transitions, trotting and cantering around the arena, before we even see a fence. This gives me an idea of how strong and secure the rider is, and how their balance is affecting the horses’. Often I will suggest that the rider spend 15-20 minutes 3 times a week riding in their half seat. This makes a tremendous difference long term.

With any young horse, we will start with a series of single fences, eventually creating a program of gymnastics and simple exercises that allow us to do course work in a positive manner. Most horses enjoy time over fences, so this becomes a welcome component of their daily regime. I have known many horses that prance out of the barn with a smile on their face when they know they have their jumping tack on!

We will assume that your horse has not yet jumped a fence, so once we have warmed our horses and ourselves up and they are relaxed and rideable, we can then begin to introduce our horses to cavaletti and simple ground rail exercises. I like to start with rails spaced 4 1/2’ apart. For a horse with an average stride, typically this distance will work when we trot through. If, after trotting through a time or two, you find that it is too long, jump off or have your ground person (which makes life so much easier!) roll the rails about 6” closer. If 4 1/2 ‘is too short, your horse must shorten to answer the question. Our goal is to maintain the same trot stride through these rails, and most importantly, after the rails. Any issues we have here- rushing, stalling, drifting, leaping- will typically also be present over fences. The idea is to iron things out and find a nice rhythm, with an understanding of what we are asking before we proceed. Remember- the horses can not read our mind- nor do we ever make eye contact with them. So our communication is based on consistency with our aids, and a reward system when we have a job well done. We want the horses to remain rideable with our three components… balance, impulsion, and direction. Horses generally try quite hard to please us, so as they understand what is asked of them, they will try to make us happy by doing what they perceive us to be asking.

We can also take these rails and put them 9’ apart (by taking out every other one) to make a canter exercise. If the horse has a fairly well balanced canter, this is a great exercise to add to your regime. By making the horse sit down and compress, and requiring that they use their hind end by keeping our leg on, it creates an understanding both physically and intellectually, as to what we want in the canter. I say this upright, balanced canter then has more “jump”, which is essential over fences. The canter, after all, is what we run & jump out of, so we need to have a concept early on as to what is required. If the horse does not have a well developed canter (which most greener horses do not), this exercise done frequently, and in conjunction with your flat work, will help create one.

After your introduction to cavaletti, you can expand on the same theme by changing the exercises with your rails. You can make the cavaletti spiraled, by making the center of the spiral 9’, the outside 12’, and the inside 6’.& I would start with no more than 4 rails. This will allow you to have both trot and canter exercises, which you can vary by riding to the center, slightly inside or outside according to the length of stride you want to create. (a 9’ canter exercise is a two step trot exercise, or twice 4 1/2 ‘) You then can also work on direction, by keeping the horse centered on the line that you chose to ride. By cantering through the center of these rails, you create a useful jumpy canter, both on a right and left bend. Thus, both sides and both leads are challenged and developed.

As with your flat work, you want to think about keeping the horse in a package. Compression and expansion is then easier, and you can then direct the horses’ entire body through the exercise. We want to be able to balance the horse and soften, and have him carry himself in the shape we need, instead of demanding every stride. We also have worked on our balance and strength as riders, so the more independent both horse and rider become, the more successful our jumping schools will be.

We have not yet seen a fence, but have done our homework so when we do jump our first fence, we can build on the skills we are developing. Remember that issues you encounter through these simple exercises need to be addressed as they arise, so when you start over fences, you have tools to use should an issue come up. It is also always good — and safe — to have a ground person with you. Not only does this make setting fences much easier, it also gives you an eye on the ground that helps immensely in “seeing what you feel”.

When we start over our first fence, it should be “no big deal”, as we have done our homework previous to this. In our next article, we will talk about gymnastic exercises, distances and placement of fences, and solving typical green issues that we commonly confront. With a smart and well planned introduction, most horses will learn to love jumping, and become smart enough to keep us out of trouble.

Kentucky Organizations Team Up to Count Kentucky’s Horses

While the often-raised question, “How many horses are there in Kentucky?” is as simple one, the answer isn’t as straightforward. The answer depends on who you ask and how the count is done. What is known is that many horses never get counted by the Census of Agriculture because they are not on property classified as a “farm.” [Find out more]