Careful jumpers or bold ones... which is better?

sandi_84

sandi_84

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Just wondered as my boy is a very careful jumper (he's not done a lot of it really) and I hope that over time he'll just continue getting better at it. You point him at it and he'll go over it but you can almost see the cogs turning as he works out where to put his feet :D
My mum's old boy was a very bold jumper and would practically run towards anything vaguely jumpable ha ha! :D

So in your opinions what is better/ which would you prefer?
 
sandi_84 said:
Just wondered as my boy is a very careful jumper (he's not done a lot of it really) and I hope that over time he'll just continue getting better at it. You point him at it and he'll go over it but you can almost see the cogs turning as he works out where to put his feet :D
My mum's old boy was a very bold jumper and would practically run towards anything vaguely jumpable ha ha! :D

So in your opinions what is better/ which would you prefer?
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Depends I think what you are jumping, Xc or show jumping. Probably a horse somewhere between the two is best. My pony who I rode bsja was really careful but because of this she would put stops in at anything that looked too big and imposing, especially Xc. For me if I had to choose I think I'd go for boldness as you will be able to go further but might take longer to progress than with a careful horse.
 
Mmm you've got me wondering now! At the level my daughter does, its no good having a careful one that won't do the height, but its also no good having one that's bold but trashes them!

I think probably bold - she enjoys faults In bigger classes more than wins in smaller ones :D
 
My mare i'd class as a bold jumper, because unless you get it right, she'll drop a leg and will knock it, so she's not careful. But, i personally prefer a bold jumper because most of the time, if you get it right, you leave it up, but if you get it wrong, you're going over it anyway :D I have met a couple of very careful horses, so careful in fact, that if on the way in it wasn't right, they would panic and take off from miles away and shoot up twice as big as the jump so that they leave it up. But every horse is different and everyone likes different horses, so a bold jumper may suit some people, and may scare others because they're so excited and keen. :)
 
Ummm.... I'm not sure! My 6yo is very careful but can be bold and sometimes over bold, thinking he knows it all. That's why 2weeks ago I had four stitches in my leg when he 'knew' how to jump a bounce and jumped all in one go. Impressive because with his careful toe flicking jump he cleared it but not so as I fell under his feet after landing! Also on the careful side if I don't ride 100%, at times he can struggle to take me, if that makes sense!
 
I prefer a careful one. Mine are both very careful so O have to be more accurate when I ride but it doesn't stop me jumping the height as they are capable. Same as I wouldn't enter a bold one in a class it's not capable of just because it's brave (or stupid) enough to give it a go.

They can still have poles but they're more likely to stop if you get it really wrong rather than something that's too bold to know when to stop.
 
I think it always helps when you have a bold horse that likes it's job and takes you to a fence. My mare is very bold, and when I have pathetic moments and drop her, will take over. However it is quite rare for us not to have one fence down on the SJ. That said, you get a lot less faults eventing for a fence down than a stop XC or time faults because they were a bit sticky!

If you have a careful youngster you can build up their confidence slowly, and then hopefully you will end up with a horse that is both careful and bold.
 
Mine is pretty bold and has a lot of scope, rarely touches anything. Team chasing/x country will jump anything and never backs off no matter how imposing. Did end up in a spectacular wipeout though when he mis read a step out of water


He's given me masses of confidence but have found that it doesn't help my riding much! :o I'm trying to do some show jumping and finding it hard! Because he is bold and genuine, has a tendency to be a bit keen and not listen and I think I've developed a bit of a habit of just not telling him. Result, even when I completely cock it up (forget where I'm going, change my mind, present him at horrible angle - poor boy), he will still jump. Instructor will often be heard to say "You're a passenger again" or "You didn't deserve to get a jump there"! I think a careful horse would improve my riding as I'd need to think for myself a bit more and concentrate!! :D
 
You need a clever bold horse. Mine will crash through a SJ, but knows not to remotely touch a XC fence, and will put strides in XC to have more of a look before she leaps!
 
Loving this thread actually, wish I'd made it a poll but it looks like the bolds have it :D
Personally I'd like a bold jumper... but not right now ;) It's been a long time since I jumped anything over a foot in height so having a careful boy who is still learning is quite good for my confidence (strangely) as he is very honest in that if you are "driving" rather than being a passenger he will jump whatever you ask (he can do 3'9" no bother with someone competent and brave on his back - not me I hasten to add! ;)), but if you are just a passenger he will run out :cool: so he helps me to think about what I'm doing and give clear aides :) I wish I had pics of me jumping him actually - just for me to smile at - the only ones I have of him jumping are from the riding school we both worked at with kids on him :rolleyes:
I quite like the confidence building for both of us just popping the smaller jumps.
Eventually when I've found my brave pants I'd love for him to have found his too and in my dream world he'll boldly pop over things but be careful how he goes and not just barrell up and over them.... well I can dream can't I? ;):D
 
I prefer bold jumpers :) I find them easier to take round a course.

One of mine is bold and careful (luck me). He will jump anything he is pointed at and hates touching rails. He jumps 65 cms like it's 95cm. The only time I need to put my leg on him to keep him forward is when we are doing combinations or towards the end of xc when he is tired. He is very much a point and shoot horse.

My other horse has only ever jumped little jumps (45cm max) and he is a careful jumper. he needs a lot of leg and encouragement to jump new things. In saying that, on his first time around a xc course he jumped everything and didn't even hesitate once. I think if he was able to be an eventer (he can't due to a suspensory injury), eventually he would be a bold horse. Due to lack of jumping experince and him not being exposed to it all that much he tends to err on the side of caution and over jump :) haha
 
I'd rather have a horse who jumped anything & knocked it down rather than a horse who refused. Iv never had a refusal in 3 years of ownership but I have carried on jumping a couple of fences once we were over the last jump (not through choice might I add! :o) so I would say mine was bold. Although she is very careful with the bigger. Only really get knock downs with anything under 2'6 :)
 
Ideally you need the right combination of both. Too careful,tend to over jump and may not be old enough for XC. Too bold, don't always respect the SJ s and tend too roll poles, however you can sometimes teach a bold horse to listen, wait & respect the poles.
 
Mine is forwards enough, but not bold I wouldn't say. He is however very careful and has helped me out numerous times when I've sat there like a lemon. He's only competed up to PN level eventing, but think with a braver jockey he'd be more than capable of novice. I think a showjumper, maybe Michael W summed it up perfectly. The perfect sj horse is one that is bold enough to canter down to a huge fence, but scared of it enough/careful enough not to touch it. :)
 
A bold one that is careful :D. But not so careful that they waste time and energy over jumping everything or that are spooky or frighten themself easily. I actually really dislike jumping anything spooky or that has a stop in it as I lose confidence quickly jumping. Thats why I love my horse as he tucks his knees right up and keeps his toes out the way but he is as brave as a lion and he is just not phased by any type of jump or where he takes off. He does have the odd 4 faults occasionally but he is fantastic for amature stuff and excels at eventing. id rather this than a super careful paranoid horse that would rather stop then take one for the team.
 
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