Janet L Jones, PhD

True and I have been working on hopping a wide variety of low jumps from a canter and (independently) starting over easy one-stride gymnastics. I had hoped to tell you about our latest efforts, moving on to longer gymnastics and cantering related obstacles… when a new problem cropped up: Footing.

Jumping is an aspect of equine sports that demands a lot from horse and rider. Soundness and good footing are critical aspects of keeping a jumping horse capable of doing her job. The concussion of landing—1200 to 1800 pounds of horse flesh landing on two spindly front legs—is intense. It can lead to all sorts of lamenesses, temporary and permanent, that will slow or end the horse’s jumping career. So it pays to be careful.

Prior to our footing problems, True was doing well cantering low jumps. He is not concerned about variety—if something looks scary, he just jumps higher. Evidently the rattlesnakes and alligators can’t reach him way up there. For horses who are afraid of variety, I supply jumps in as many different colors, patterns, and setups as possible… though all about the same height. Add a cone here and there, switch flower boxes frequently, make each jump look just a little different than it did, then approach or ride past them at all different angles and gaits. It helps to remember from Horse Brain, Human Brain that equine perception is not automatically categorical like human perception is. That means the horse will notice every tiny change that might not look very prominent to us.

True is also ready for me to add a third element to our simple one-stride gymnastic, though at this point I stick with distances that are designed for approach at the trot. But I could add a second vertical or True’s first little oxer at the end of a gymnastic. Gymnastic exercises have the advantage of being tweaked to correct small problems in a horse’s form over a fence, too. For example, if True doesn’t round his back over a jump, I can shorten the distance between elements just slightly or move a ground pole out by a few inches. That will help him to use his hindquarters more effectively and round over the last fence.

Gymnastics have another advantage—they’re great practice for riders. Balance, calmness, consistency in position, and steady guidance are all easier to achieve over gymnastics than over individual fences. This is important, because often young horses are are easily unbalanced by their jumping riders. A rider can unbalance a horse by as little as half an inch sideways movement in her hips. On the average horse weighing 1200 pounds, the rider’s body weight shifting only half inch to one side alters the horse’s legs on that side by about 15 pounds. It’s a difference that’s easy for the horse to feel and can easily pull him off balance in the air, leading to a scary landing. Many horses become poor or nervous jumpers because their early riders weren’t secure enough in midair.

Meanwhile, now is the time for related fences to show up in a young jumper’s view. I’m referring to jumps that are 4-6 strides apart. That’s a short enough distance that there isn’t much room for error in stride control. And young jumpers—at least True at this point—haven’t learned how to shorten or lengthen their strides too effectively yet. I like to work on all these issues—stride control, related fences, more complex gymnastics, form correction, and obstacle variety—while heights remain low. It’s safer for the horse. Easier on his legs!

All this talk about legs often leads to two common stereotypes: First, people get the idea that hunter/jumper “princesses” are paralyzed with fear about equine health. Most of us have been accused of paranoia on those grounds by one ranch manager or another. But if you notice, most of our concerns have to do with our horse’s legs, in particular, because without strong legs a horse cannot jump. It’s true he also cannot spin too well or slide to a beautiful stop, but intermediate levels of reining, dressage, driving, working equitation, vaulting, and trail are not out of the question. Jumping is. And we don’t buy horses with expensive jumping genetics just to mosey down grass trails. So we get pretty nervous about injuries to our horses’ legs.

The second stereotype is that we insist on perfectly manicured footing in pure sand arenas. This is less accurate in my opinion—I drag only about once a week, unless the weather demands more. But it is necessary to offer some cushion for a horse to land on. The fact that True is barefoot means that I have to pay a little more attention to footing than I might with a shod horse. Generally, a sand cushion of about 4” works well, level and consistent throughout the arena. Grass is forgiving, too, though slippery enough that caulks are usually necessary. And it doesn’t have to be sand, though that’s the typical preference. Crusher fines provide cushion although they are messy and more dusty than sand. Riders at the intermediate level and above in all horse sports are pretty fussy about footing.

True and I hope to be jumping again very soon. At least, the delays work with my philosophy pretty well. I’d rather build True’s progress too slowly than too fast.