How often do you jump?

CassTheCob

CassTheCob

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Hello,
I'm just wondering how often everyone jumps their horses, and how often you all think I should jump my horse? I have a 13.2hh cob, who I don't jump that often. He genuinely loves to jump, and has free schooled up to 75cm! I only ride him 2-3 times a week. He's still a bit green and unfit but it doesn't stop him popping a little cross pole every now and again. As he loves jumping, and I'd like to do more show jumpy type things with him at competitions, I just wondered how often everyone would recommend I could jump him without it affecting his joints etc?
Thanks in advance 😊
 
Personally I wouldn't jump more than twice in a week at the absolute most, and would probably stick to once a week, especially with a green, unfit pony, although I don't know if this is correct, just my personal preference! You can do lots of flatwork in preparation for jumping, which I would think would be a lot of help if the pony is green and unfit. Poles on the ground are great for exercises and for practicing getting a good line, a smooth turn, maintaining rhythm, keeping accurate and straight, etc, which I think are far more important than height, especially if the pony is a happy jumper anyway. If you set him up well he can jump well :)
 
Depends on the horse, but I wouldn't jump more than once per week, personally. My boy tends to only jump once before a competition and this averages at jumping about twice per month. I rarely do much at home as he tends to jump better away from home. These jumping sessions are sometimes swapped for going somewhere for a school during the Winter, if I am not competing.
 
I jump once per week. If I compete at the weekend then it ends up being twice a week as I don't like going out competing without knowing how she's going at home.

I also do polework and flatwork to prep for jumping - creating an adjustable canter, working on our rhythm, using flatwork to strengthen her behind etc
 
I'm going to sound really bad after everyone else's comments but I jump 2or 3 times a week ride every day and compete pretty much every weekend oops
 
Last weekend she was off for both sat and Sunday to play in her fields and every other week she takes a Wednesday of, unless she has a show I try to limit jumping to once a week
 
skewbaldmillie said:
Last weekend she was off for both sat and Sunday to play in her fields and every other week she takes a Wednesday of, unless she has a show I try to limit jumping to once a week
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You just said you jump 2-3 times a week, ride every day and compete every weekend... I would say that's way too much for any horse to be doing without a break at all. Your change of story in this post sounds like a better setup for your horse.
 
Once mid week if competing on a w'end. Otherwise once or possibly twice a week in the school over SJ fences. Generally it would be a casual pop over a ditch/stream/log when out hacking after a schooling session for the other days of the week.

I really don't like it if horses are jumped over twice a week in the sense of being presented with SJ or XC fences/schooling. Out hacking and ambling over little obstacles if they are in your path I have no issue with.
 
nato said:
You just said you jump 2-3 times a week, ride every day and compete every weekend... I would say that's way too much for any horse to be doing without a break at all. Your change of story in this post sounds like a better setup for your horse.
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I don't suppose the horse is working 4 or 5 hours each day, or leaping grand prix fences.

That workload doesn't sound excessive to me to be honest. Lots of horses that have to be fit work that much, race horses, eventers, endurance horses, hunters etc, mine used to exercise for at least an hour and a half every day, hunt FOR HOURS on the mountains once a week, and then have one day off. Horses are capable of working far more than they generally are nowadays, an hour pootling around a school is nothing, it still leaves them with 23 hours to relax and be a horse ;)
Providing a horse in hard work is fed for the work done, healthy and sound blah, blah, blah, then I see no harm in it.
 
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nato said:
When does your horse get a break? He/she sounds like a trooper who deserves one.
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Why would the horse 'need a break'. If you read the definitions of light/moderate/hard work, it sounds like this animal is in light work still. No rest day needed. Are the 22 hours a day that it's not being ridden not enough of a rest?
 
nato said:
You just said you jump 2-3 times a week, ride every day and compete every weekend... I would say that's way too much for any horse to be doing without a break at all. Your change of story in this post sounds like a better setup for your horse.
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I also ride every day, jump on average twice a week, occasionally more, and my horse never has a day off.

That regime keeps her alive (as well as really happy).

As Mongoose says, they have 22 hours a day to do what they like.
 
I ride 6 days a week, but i only jump once a fortnight when i have a lesson. I have this thing that when i jump without an instructor something always goes wrong ..so ive banned myself x
 
I should clarify. I don't think it's too much work physically - I'm in agreement that the horse has enough time off during the day and is spoilt rotten, so it can surely work for an hour or so! I also don't have an issue with horses being ridden every day - for health reasons and particularly in older horses where their joints need to be moving, it's actually the best thing for them.

However I do feel like horses need a break mentally or they will sour, and I feel like jumping 2 or 3 times a week PLUS competing every weekend is a lot for a horse without a mental break. I compete every weekend but my horse gets a day off afterwards and we also hack. She is the type that would get sour with that work but not all horses are like that. Riding school horses do it but then again my horse came from a riding school and is much happier now than when I got her (a number of other factors included in this)

As other posters have said it really depends on what is being jumped. I wouldn't be jumping my horse to the height of her ability that many times a week plus competing with no break. But we often do little ones here and there to improve our flatwork session and break things up as she's a happier horse when she's had a jump!

This is how I feel but it's because this is what I do with MY horse - every horse is different and needs different management, but fundamentally I do believe horses need a mental break regularly.
 
I wouldn’t do a jumping session more than once a week, and less than that on a horse that is competing every weekend. In fact, I’d probably switch one weekend of competition a month for a jumping lesson or course hire.

Hopping over logs and ditches out hacking, or jumping a cross-pole once each way as part of a flat session, is a bit different and I wouldn’t worry about doing that a few times a week on a horse who isn’t otherwise being jumped.
 
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Presuming you mean 147cm, but still that depends entirely on the horse. If you mean a cob for a novice, I’d say it’s probably comfortable popping 50-60cm without schooling, and that should only be once a week until rider is more experienced.
 
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