Friesians - Jumping??

[moneypit1]

A friend told me about a post on another board about Friesians and the fact that they cannot jump as they are not built for it? Apparently jumping is bad for their backs? Has anyone else heard of this as it sounds a bit odd?

 

[OrangeEmpire]

Pah! is all I can say - my friend has a 11yro Friesian and has just introduced him to jumping - he is jumping 2ft6 easily and could go higher if they felt like it. He loves it!!

Friesians were originally bred as the ultimate all rounder horse so they are quite capable of jumping.

 

[HenryandPeta]

And the Friesian in question:

 

[Moggy]

Yes they can jump, some jump very well. I know several that hunt and do local level SJ. However, as a rule they aren't the best choice for a SJumper.

 

[HenryandPeta]

I would just add that they don't have the aptitude to jump big fences in my experience. Harm, the Friesian above, doesn't really like jumping, he does it, but he's never going to be fabulous. His mentality is that he likes things easy and showy, not fast and furious! But that's just him!

Bear in mind though that Friesians were bred to be driven - they are the ultimate carriage horse so they are meant to be long backed with a high step in front and generally a bit weak behind, with large powerful shoulders. Not really what you'd look for in a jumper. That said, I'm sure there are Friesians out there who enjoy their jumping and are pretty good at it!

 

[llewyn]

When my i jump mine its like a mini earthquake. Mine doesn't enjoy jumping much & isn't very good at it!

 

[mat]

I think fresian crosses are probably ok, but they really arent bred for it. If you look at their conformation you would see they really dont have much going for them in the jumping stakes. There are probably some freaks out there, but generally as stated above they make excellent hacks/carriage horses and sometimes dressage horses. We have a 3 y/o fresian for sale at the moment, and although we have popped him over a x pole, we have worked mainly on the flat and hacking as thats what he will most likely end up doing!

 

[icestationzebra]

Utter rubbish. I worked with carriage horses some years ago and jumped the friesans as part of their ridden schooling - they loved it and were very capable!