Training a young horse to jump a Gymnastic Grid (Natural Horsemanship)

[Libertyhorse15]

Can I ask a question? i've been having some trouble with my horse, i havn't been working him hard but he used to be very easy going easy to ride and jump but now it take like 5 minutes to get him into a trot or canter sometimes he stops and wont go forward and whenever i bring him to a jump he slows down before going over it or he just plain refuses! I would like him to be a hunter-jumper. Can you give me any help to get him to go forward easier and not slow down at the jumps?He always did it.

[FDHorsetraining]

@Libertyhorse15 Hi! any time I see a change like this from willingness to unwillingness, I look for a physical problem or pain. You also mentioned working him hard. He could be sore from that. Maybe work him less and do some other games or exercises to take the focus off the jumping so much. Go back to ground poles, easier things or no jumping at all for a short time. Try some liberty exercises : )

[SoulEquestrian]

Another question, when is a horse too old to jump?

[FDHorsetraining]

@SoulEquestrian That is up to the individual horse. A well cared for, not over trained/shown/jumped horse could go for many years. I have seen many horses retired too early because of overuse/training/showing and incorrect riding. A long term program and plan is important and not being in a rush. : )

[SoulEquestrian]

I heard a rumor that it can harm a horse to begin jumping it at a young age, say three or four. Im looking into buying a coming four year old, but was told she shouldnt be jumped until she was at least five. Would it hurt to start jumping her now? Or should I wait until she is older? Im only concerned for her welfare.

[FDHorsetraining]

@SoulEquestrian Hi, That is a good question! I work with my babies playing with small ground poles at liberty VERY lightly until backing them. As they get older (2,3 and up) I will use Liberty jumping over smaller obstacles if they seem ready physically and mentally. As for under saddle, They have to be strong enough and ready to handle carrying me over the obstacle which is an individual choice for each horses' growth and level of learning.

[DanikaHere]

@SoulEquestrian at four a horses knees are beggining to lock, you can lead your horse over the jump with help of a leadrope. (very small jumps) and trotting poles. I wouldnt jump her until she is about five..

[SoulEquestrian]

@DanikaHere what do you mean by "lock?"

[DanikaHere]

@SoulEquestrian Lock as in, when they are babies or below the age of 4, there knees havent fully developed and cant hold the wait of landing on there front legs. So, it is quite dangerous.

too awnser your other question, a horse is never to old too jump as long as he/she likes to do it, is sound and in good health :)

[SoulEquestrian]

@DanikaHere Well, I have a 23 year old mare and another 26 year old, but when they jump, the landing hurts them. They are both very sound..

[DanikaHere]

@SoulEquestrian Ah i see, they can possibly have bad feet or artheritis. If not, then they just might not be able to take the impact. I wouldnt jump them, id put  them in retierment from jumping.

[SoulEquestrian]

@DanikaHere Alright, well I'm not sure why they would be in any pain..but they are OTTB's, and may have had some health issue I am unaware of. I'm retiring the 22 year old, Lily, to light work only. As for the 26 year old, I get the impression that she is just being naughty in the ring. When we go out for XC, she can jump around 2.5ft and be perky. But the second we get in the ring, she refuses to jump or canter..or even collect her strides. Idk if I should retire her with Lily?

[horsaygirl2649]

hi , i have a question

my horse loves to jump but he is a bit funny when it comes to different types of jumps . if it is a jump around 45 cm or overhe will clear it no problems but when it comes to small jumps he pretty much runs straigtht through them or he refuses them , i ahve tried putting a groumd pole infront of the jump and everythign he just wont do it ... any suggestions ?

[FDHorsetraining]

@horsaygirl2649 Hi have you tried Liberty jumping first starting with just a ground pole and a treat reward? I have a video on this. Can you lead or lunge this horse over a pole? Just ideas. Be patient and give him time to figure out the obstacles. Some horses have to learn how to pick up their legs over certain obstacles at the walk, trot then canter. It is good to do ground pole work for this. Make sure he has no pain also.

[22LowLow]

Hello... I have a morab .. I always try to go over jump but she always refuses. She loves to jump high when she is not refusing.  What can I do to fix this? In the end I always force her to but'...

[FDHorsetraining]

@22LowLow Hi! Have you tried this exercise with your horse? I always go back to a lower easier jump or ground poles if my horse starts having trouble or losing confidence. I don't want to force. I try to make an obstacle my horse is willing to go over without force and then move up from there. Hope that helps : )

[StarHorseLover1]

How old is this horse? I have a young horse that is almost ready for jumping and I want to compare ages

[FDHorsetraining]

@StarHorseLover1 She was 5 when we did this but age does not dictate readiness, You know your horse well so you will best know your horses' readiness for this exercise : )

[StarHorseLover1]

@FDHorsetraining alright, thanks :)

[Jessiealana]

I have a morgan/Quarter horse she is only 15hh but she loves to jump anything :) she goes up to 4 feet when free jumping, but with me on her we only go about 2 1/2 -3 feet dont wanna push her too much, She will jump anything from logs to asending oxers ect but she WILL NOT jump a verticle why is this any tips?..

[FDHorsetraining]

@Jessiealana try building her up from a single ground pole in 3" increments. Don't go up in height until she in relaxed and happy at the ground level. Go back down if she shows reluctance. Take as long as it takes and she should come around since she jumps all other types of jumps. hope this helps : )

[TheWolke205]

Well done! It so important to take the time the horse needs. I did the same with my Arabian years ago and he still loves too jump (most lose jumping). @grate79 is so right, I also wish there were more people like you (:

[FDHorsetraining]

@TheWolke205 Thank you for you nice feedback and comment : ) I love loose jumping my horses too! i have videos on here of my play sessions...

[TheWolke205]

@FDHorsetraining I will have a look at your other videos soon (:

[grate79]

It's SO nice to see a coach taking the time to teach a young horse basics rather than scaring them into heights and courses when they aren't ready. I wish there were more people like you, it just makes me so happy to see something like this :)

[FDHorsetraining]

@grate79 Thanks for your comment! Yes I really like to work with young horses and build their confidence and trust so they like what they do and always want to try. Fear will never bring out a horse or humans best ability and performance nor will they enjoy their work....

[FDHorsetraining]

@horseponyrox Hi! Half seat is also known as two point position or forward seat. It is the position you take when you are on a jump course, or are naturally put in over a fence as the thrust of the jump lifts you out of the saddle. It is also used galloping cross country or Hand galloping.

[farmgirl188]

Thankyouuuu SOOOO much!! This will help out ALOTTTTTT!!

[FDHorsetraining]

@farmgirl188 Your Welcome!!!

[SacredMoonRider]

Omg SO Amazing. :)

[FDHorsetraining]

@SacredMoonRider Thank you for your comment : )

[xXxlovexXxjessx]

this is very nice horse u have and great riding :) and i like the way u teach them i im gonna try it on my new horse she never jumped b 4 and i was watching my friend and her foal practice (there just tiny tiny jumps to play around with) but i wanna try your method :)

[FDHorsetraining]

@xXxlovexXxjessx Thank you for the positive feedback and good luck with yours : )

[pecoslover97]

wwwooooowwwww super good love it

[FDHorsetraining]

@pecoslover97 Thanks glad you liked it! : )

[horselover99100]

i very much like the way u train ur horses to jump im am going to buy a western horse but i only do english and jumping and i really want to get this started instead of paying a fortune on trainers so thanks for putting this vidio up i like how u dont push ur horses u justmake sure they r ready to move on if u have any advice 4 me please tell mee!

[FDHorsetraining]

@horselover99100 I recommend introducing obstacles to any horse for the ground first. Check out my Liberty jumping videos and also lunging horses over ground poles and getting them to follow you over them. I try to teach everything from the ground and without me on them first. Then when they are good and confident with it, I try to ride the same exact exercises mounted. Every horse is different so I work at each horses pace. Happy Jumping :)

[horselover99100]

@FDHorsetraining thanks soo much!!!

[aridxxluv]

nice riding but on question....

how many times did the horse hit the jump with its foot from the start to about 1min ???? cause it looked like it hit every one of them....

[FDHorsetraining]

@aridxxluv In my training, I don't focus on any mistakes a horse makes. This helps them stay relaxed. I only focus on what they do right and how to help them learn something better. This video shows that she learned how to jump this exercise beautifully. Hope this helps...

[dressagehorze]

great horse! It learns so fast

[FDHorsetraining]

@dressagehorze Yes she is very smart!

[spiceitupgirlnum1]

thanks so much!!!

[FDHorsetraining]

@spiceitupgirlnum1 Your welcome!

[hannah1chalkie]

wow that was really good, the rider was excelent and the horse ofcorse x

[FDHorsetraining]

@hannah1chalkie Thank you! Yes she is a good rider and a student of mine. That's why I picked them both for the video!

[dicapriohorselover]

i tried this with my appy mare and she did it she used to buck and rear and go crazy!!!!!!! thank you for helping me!!!!!!

[FDHorsetraining]

@dicapriohorselover Awesome!

[marcieincooke]

I'm thinking about training to jump so this helps as a notice of what to expect. Thank you so much for posting it. It really helped me.

[FDHorsetraining]

@marcieincooke I'm glad it helped you. Make sure you start with a single pole and progress to a jump before you try this one : )

[marcieincooke]

@FDHorsetraining thanx! I'm going to be working with my mare a lot and we hope to get to jumping this fall! :)

[stephandpony]

good video, im getting a youngster soon whos just been broken in and I want to teach her to jump, so this helps x

[FDHorsetraining]

@stephandpony This exercise is meant for horses that can jump a single or line at least first. So I would work on that before you do this one...

[Jerseyandchico]

Great Video!!!

But, I have tried this on My Horse....and he just Doesnt Jump.......!

[FDHorsetraining]

@Jerseyandchico

He may not be ready to do this level.

Stay at one or two jumps or just ground

pole in a row until he gets more comfortable.

[hannahblackwolf14]

thanks for the help did all of this happen in 1 day ?? im going to try gradually doing this with my horse that was amazing

[FDHorsetraining]

She was jumping single and simple long lines before this. You should take as much time is appropriate for your horse as an individual. Which it sound like you are.

[Jasminowa17]

Great movie! I give 5;)

[FDHorsetraining]

Thankyou!

[TaylorRunyon]

I have watched this video numerous times, and I love it!

You guys are amazing with the youngsters.

I love how you are letting her realize what she's supposed to be doing instead of striving for perfection immediately.

Great trainers, keep up the good work. :)

[FDHorsetraining]

Thanks for the complement!

[sophieemerson]

that was great i love the calmness you have when dealing with her

she is doing really well

thanks for that

[3dono]

that was good thank ou it will help me with mine :)

[FDHorsetraining]

Glad to help!

[newforestponies]

wow thats really good are u sure that horse has never jumped before? lol

Great horse and great tips i will try them out!

[rustydanielle101]

great video! I really like how relaxing and simple you make it for the horse.

[FDHorsetraining]

Thanks for the nice comments! It helps me know what videos to do.

[HiddenFarmApalachin]

You have a lovely, lovely way with this horse! I really like your training method!

[horselover9983]

wow thanks so much for all the help! i am training my horse to jump and this will help me a lot!

[lostsun55]

how old is the mare she has nice paces.

[FDHorsetraining]

She is coming 5 and is showing currently and doing well!

[ShadowPwincess]

Thanks for doing this video, there arn't that many that explain and show you how to train your youngster, so i will use this to train mine. He is a 3 1/2 year old TB/Cob and he's a great hack in company/alone, i do some flatwork normally small dressage tests and several jumping. But i really need to know how to teach him to be balanced and co-ordinated!

thanks so much! x