Should jumps be proportionate to the height of the horse?

S

Shilasdair

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Recently, the politicians have been discussing 'fairness' ad nauseum.
This got me thinking.
Is it fair to have a 15hh horse and a 17hh jumping the same round of show jumps, when it will be a lot higher comparatively for the 15hh animal?
Should fences be proportionate to the height of the horse to give everyone a fair chance?
Your thoughts?
S :D
 
Dont know.
After all, you cant expect a 14hh cob to jump (anything) the same height as a 14hh TB. but then they shouldnt be in the same class.

The audience should use the cob as a chair to sit in and watch the TB jumping.

Maybe your idea is correct, but how would you apply it to XC?
That would take a serious amount of nails and cordless drills.....
 
Erm no!!!!!!!! Have had 12.2 ponies indeed still have who will happily jump 1.20m tracks when the 17hh horse frightens himself to death jumping 0.90cm all on individuals ability/agility over fences
 
guido16 said:
Dont know.
After all, you cant expect a 14hh cob to jump (anything) the same height as a 14hh TB. but then they shouldnt be in the same class.

The audience should use the cob as a chair to sit in and watch the TB jumping.

Maybe your idea is correct, but how would you apply it to XC?
That would take a serious amount of nails and cordless drills.....
Click to expand...

Don't you think that jumps for cobs should be wider than those of TB's of the same height? Spreads could also be proportional on rug size. Why confine yourself to just modifying two dimensions?
 
This leads to the further question then about taller horses entering smaller classes. Surely a 17 hh should not be allowed in any class with jumps under 3'.
 
no! If a 15hh horse can't compete against 17hh horses then they are in the wrong class. My 14hh pony competes in senior bs and regularly beats big horses including my own 16.2. There are a huge range of classes available at unaff and affiliated shows so it's not like small horses HAVE to compete beyond their abilities
 
no just look at lucinda fredericks mare headley britania she is tiny but does fantasticly as did that old SJ to be fair smaller horses tend to be more springy so can jump equally as well. If a 17hh horse isnt allowed to jump less than 3ft at a competition how will thhey ever build up confidence as they grow at competitions not just jumping at home!
 
What about horses who don't like jumping? Can they just run around the course?

Those jumps they had in 'A View to A Kill' that went up and down automatically would be ideal.
 
No. Each horse has individual ability so this would be unfair on the little ponies which are fantastic jumpers as they would be limited to about 75 cm and also it wouldn't be fair on the big horses which aren't confident enough to jump 120 cm.
 
I don't think there's a need. If you feel that your pony is incapable of jumping a course then you shouldn't enter it, just as you shouldn't be forced to jump a larger course on a big horse who's a youngster for example. It's really depends on the individual and at the end of the day it only becomes a matter of fairness if your horse/pony is incapable of competing against bigger/smaller animals- which isn't the case for the majority. My 15hh competes extremely successfully against 16.2hh horses (and sometimes bigger). I know his capabilities, he has huge scope, and I wouldn't like to think that he was only confined to certain heights when he was more than capable of jumping bigger jumps that some of the large horses won't jump!
 
In the same vein, surely smaller horses should, therefore, have windier SJ tracks when things move indoors - it is much harder to jump a rangy 17 hander around an indoor track than a nippy 15 hander ;)
 
I'd rather see the jumps get narrower than smaller in height, as that is where the problem tends to be. Our 13hh will clear a metre upright confidently, but can't make the spread at that height.

But at the same time, she's not really built for jumping. Now I think about it, there are specific breeds that excell in all discaplines - arabs for endurance, warmbloods for dressage etc. You do get other breeds suceeeding occasionally right to the top, but those are rare.

To adjust jumps for the height of horse would somewhat go against this. Big warmbloods are the popular horses for showjumping because they have been bred to have that ability. At the end of the day, it's about finding the best jumper on the day. Yes, taller horses have an advantage, but so do tall men in the long jump!

Part and parcel of competiting in a sport is trying to hone a talent, which is often much more related to build and size (which most people like to forget).

So having considered it, though it would benefit me, I would disagree. No, they shouldn't. If you want to suceed in the sport buy a big horse, or take your chance on a little one and hope to find that special size defying talent!
 
Weezy said:
In the same vein, surely smaller horses should, therefore, have windier SJ tracks when things move indoors - it is much harder to jump a rangy 17 hander around an indoor track than a nippy 15 hander ;)
Click to expand...

Yup that should put the 12.2s off as they'd be inclined to disappear up their own derrieres:D
 
If the horse can jump the height then why not?
As someone said earlier Stroller was a pony and jumped at the Olympics! Little Tiger a tiny little eventer who competed very succesfully and Seabiscuit, tiny but amazing :)
 
I have an 18 hh jumper. I dont mind competing against ponies but they are always quicker. It is not easy getting a giant size horse around a jump off even if it can jump the moon. its sometimes nice when I see a class that says horses and ponies split in this class.
 
Kayfm said:
I have an 18 hh jumper. I dont mind competing against ponies but they are always quicker. It is not easy getting a giant size horse around a jump off even if it can jump the moon. its sometimes nice when I see a class that says horses and ponies split in this class.
Click to expand...

Agree! I dread a jump off on our 17h horse, especially indoors.

I did complain the other year when our local pc went back to age classes for jumping (ie under 12s 2', under 15s 3' and 16 and over 3'6") as all the kids with little ponies couldn't do the bigger jumps, and pc shows are meant to be encouraging!

I don't agree on changing heights for sizes of horses. You could then continue to smaller jumps for less athletic horses of that height... The system we have has worked fine for years, and not all top jumpers (or even lower level jumpers) are large.

If you want this sysyem, do working hunter. They have height restrictions...
 
Kayfm said:
I have an 18 hh jumper. I dont mind competing against ponies but they are always quicker. It is not easy getting a giant size horse around a jump off even if it can jump the moon. its sometimes nice when I see a class that says horses and ponies split in this class.
Click to expand...

Exactly turning my 18hh is like turning the titanic-takes 3 weeks can only win a class if the only clear in jump off
 
Dont know.
After all, you cant expect a 14hh cob to jump (anything) the same height as a 14hh TB. but then they shouldnt be in the same class.

The audience should use the cob as a chair to sit in and watch the TB jumping.

Maybe your idea is correct, but how would you apply it to XC?
That would take a serious amount of nails and cordless drills.....
Click to expand...

ROFLOL :D

Jumps on castor wheels, with a windy mechanicsm to put them up and down. That's the answer. Every owner should have to send their horses inside leg measurement so adjustament can be made to spacings between jumps too. Dead unfair, those whizzy little ponies nipping in and out the jump off whilst the big dinasours are lumbering round.

Even more so, I'm loving the fact that many people are taking this seriously...........:D
 
LMAO - I have had one of those!!

Can you imagine the show schedule of your local show?

Class 1: 12.2 and under
Class 2: Over 12.2 but only those with proportionate sized legs
Class 3: 14.2 and under but with wide jumps for cobs only
Class 4: 14.2 and over with narrow jumps for TB types ( we could of course split this class for ROR competitors)
Class 5: A very big and open course for the really big horses who struggle to turn.
Class 6: (by now it would be dark!) an open class for all the odd bods that don't fit into the above!

:D
 
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