I had the day off of work today, so I went to the barn this morning. I never have been to the barn on a Tuesday morning, so I wasn't prepared to see a line of big jumps set up in the arena. There are a few gals who have hunter/jumpers, and in the summer they have these ginormous jumps set up in the outdoor arena. In the winter there are never jumps in the arena, and I always wondered if they just didn't jump in the winter.
Turns out that they only jump once a week, and that's Tuesday morning. I had been curious about whether Phil would have any talent or desire to jump, so I asked them what they thought would be the best way to figure it out. The answer was "ride him at a jump and see what happens."
So we did!
The gals really helped me out, and we started with just poles in the ground. I wasn't sure how he'd react, but Phil wasn't afraid at all. Then we went to a low crossrail fence. He was hesitant a few times but he really seemed to enjoy it. We went over eight or ten crossrails, and then I schooled the canter a little bit. I was amazed at how the canter felt after we did our little tiny jumps. It was amazing! Phil was really using his back and haunches, and pushing a lot in the canter. It felt fantastic.
Overall it was a little scary, but very exciting. I might have to bring out the crossrail once a week or so and see what we can do with this. It might end up being nothing, but at the very least it will be fun!
The Week In Pictures
4 years ago
10 comments:
Oh he looks like he LOVED that. He had a let me at 'em look...lol. You are going to come over to the dark side hehe. I used to jump my arab all the time as a kid. He was halfway decent at it too.
Jumping is a great way to develop psuh with the hind legs and roundness over the back. Well done for giving it a go.
Phil is such a cutie! I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to jumping these days but my haflinger really likes it too. I think it is a great thing to break up the monotony and build muscle in the hind quarters for dressage horses.
Yay! He looked like he was having fun. I've always thought if I ever got into dressage that Prix Caprilli looked like fun.
I love how happy & excited he looks after the first jump! Pretty awesome for a dressage pony!
Sounds fun! You never know until you try.
He's so cute! He looks like he's saying "Woo hoo! That was fun!"
my horse is very long legged and if we are out of shape the chasm between a stiff pogo stick trot and a swinging working trot proves challenging. Some jumping, as you discovered, easily asks him to open up, flex back onto his hind end and then carry on. This is a clearer solution we both love.
a good friend of mine has 2 horses one she jumps one she rides dressage but she frequently crosses them over. Gives the horses a break from what is normal and they always have fun and seem so much more engaged after the do the opposite of what they are used too.
Phil is so cute.
Too cute! He got so excited. Silly Phil. :D Glad you guys had fun. Jumping is a good way to break up the monotony of a winter spent in the arena.
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