How hard is too hard?!

[Bea_millard]

I’m planning on riding my pony in his field today (if you’ve seen my recent thread you’ll know why!) and I wanted to pop a jump, just to get him used to jumping on grass/see what he does.

But I’m not sure how hard is too hard in terms of the ground? I have jumped other horses on grass during that horrendous heatwave last year when the ground was rock hard but that was the owners decision.

For background, he’s barefoot and is pretty footsure.

Any tips? Or shall I just pop a small jump?

 

[Auslander]

If I can hear their hooves hit the ground, I don't work them on it faster than a walk. I have special needs horses, but it's a pretty good rule to follow in terms of reducing concussion

 

[Micky]

I usually go by whether the horse makes an imprint on the ground, if it does then the ground is ok, no imprint, too hard, imprint deep, too soft..

 

[SpringArising]

As above. If I can see my horse's foot sink into the ground, it's fine. If I can't, or I can hear the feet hitting the ground, no faster than a trot if hacking (have arenas at home).

 

[bubsqueaks]

If he is barefoot he will have far less concussion from the ground - strange really as we all think shoes = comfort/protection as with humans but actually its the opposite most of the times with horses as its the frog that cushions the landing so if you have big healthy frogs that's ideal.
If we were to gage on imprints we'd hardly ever ride as our ground is always on the firm side as are most of our bridleways.
However, you state your horse is foot sore - why is that do you know? & I would want that sorted before jumping tbh.

 

[Bea_millard]

If he is barefoot he will have far less concussion from the ground - strange really as we all think shoes = comfort/protection as with humans but actually its the opposite most of the times with horses as its the frog that cushions the landing so if you have big healthy frogs that's ideal.
If we were to gage on imprints we'd hardly ever ride as our ground is always on the firm side as are most of our bridleways.
However, you state your horse is foot sore - why is that do you know? & I would want that sorted before jumping tbh.

I meant foot sure, as in he walks over uneven/stony ground no bother. Sorry, I think that’s a phrase I’ve just made up haha. If he was foot sore I wouldn’t be riding him and would find out the issue first, definitely!

 

[bubsqueaks]

I meant foot sure, as in he walks over uneven/stony ground no bother. Sorry, I think that’s a phrase I’ve just made up haha. If he was foot sore I wouldn’t be riding him and would find out the issue first, definitely!

Ahhh my mistake sorry
Although the ground is firm we have had on/off rain & I wouldn't be worried about it yet unless my horses were showing me any signs that they were worried!

 

[Leandy]

Not sure this answerable? All horses are different, some are more robust than others, how often and how high are you planning on jumping? What are you concerned about? Slipping, concussion? How big is the area ie how much grip does he need? Where are your horse's weaknesses and preferences? Some prefer firmer going, some softer for whatever reasons. If the jump is small and it is an infrequent occurence and he is generally sound, I can't see the issue.