How to Jump a Horse or Pony

How to Jump a Horse or Pony

By:Sarah and Skip

Warning:

There is a possibility that you may get hurt or die. Please read the following to be safer.

Step 1: Rules of Safety

1.) Make sure you have the proper equipment for example riding boots ( not fashion boots you buy the boots at a tack shop not shoedazzle.com). You will also need jeans you also might want half chaps. ( you don’t need them but they stop the jeans from coming up and rubbing). If you have a horse/ pony that is lazy, then you probably will have a crop, bat, magic stick, or encouragement ( these are all ways of say crop also a crop is not a framing crop bat does not mean the animal or a baseball bat).

2.)If you are jumping you should have  your trainer with you unless it is alright with you jumping without them, but for safety you should always have someone with you when you are riding.

3.)If this is your first time jumping you should probably ride a lesson horse/pony, but if you have a horse/pony that you are comfortable with then you should ride them. If you are not sure who to ride ask your trainer.

4.) Make sure your horse is warmed up before you start jumping. For example you should walk, trot, and canter. If you horse/ pony is not really listening then try the sitting trot and extended trot.You could try curling.

Step 2: Position

1.) When you are going over the jump you should be in two point. Your two point position is your are leaning forward with your feet forward . You do not want your weight relying on the horses neck their center of gravity is their weithers .Your head has to be lup if you are not looking your will run into stuff.

Step 3: Approach

1.)For the approach you should be looking at the jump. I recommend a diagonal line because that is what I have the picture of. This is a diagonal signal.

2.)For the approach you want to be looking before you the corner that you will be turning at.

3.) When you are turning at the corner you want to be bending you want to ride the corner hard. You want to squeeze with the inside leg, and turning with the inside rein. Here are the stages.

Step 4: At the jump

1.) You should get in two point about 5 trot steps before the jump.As your improve you will need less time before the jump to get inot to point. If the horse or pony that you ride jumps where you get into to point then get into to point at the corner.

2.) When you are at the jump you want to be looking up or this will happen. What happened is I was not looking up I was staring at the jump so I was not asking my horse to go over it.

3.) If you are not looking up your horse might stop are you will go forward most of the time like  this. If you are lucky then this will happen but most of the time this  happens.IF you do fall you should get back on and try again.( I did not actually fall.)

4.)If you look up the you have a better chance of staying on and going over the jump, and squeeze then you have a better chance of going over the jump.

Step 5: After the jump

1.) When you land you should stay into point until about 5 trot steps after the jump of before but you should have all 4 feet over the jump and then a step after.

2.)Once you are up you should sit up nice and tall and  take a deep breath, and ride like  you did not just jump a jump.

3.) If you had fun then try it again. Even if you did not have fun still try it again.

That is how to jump a horse. If you still do not get it ask your trainer. Thank you for reading my project.