Whats the best/worst and most exciting thing to jump?

[Fools Motto]

I am moving my horses to a family farm, which the local hunt use a few times over the winter months. I wanted to make myself some XC jumps for schooling, which I have permission for, but also have been told to add some much needed hunt jumps into the boundries of the fields. I know I can't make hedges per say, (they are not in good condition and need to grow for a few years to become good jumps). There are however, plenty of gaps which are crying out for 'filling', and I have plenty of wood.
Rails are 'boring' but very do-able. Ditches can be dug too.
What do people want to get a thrill? Give me some suggestions so I can get to the drawing board!
Many thanks.

 

[combat_claire]

We have a lot of the traditional solid rail hunt jumps made of telegraph poles at varying heights depending on whether there main purpose is to keep stock in or for an enjoyable jolly for the followers on neds. Some have a slip rail on top to make them stock proof height without being too intimidating for the field.

There are some double rails with blackthorn planted in the middle, which apparently are great fun for the mounted field, but less fun for the drag layer - I was in agony having scratched my legs on the thorns...

The most exotic one that we have is a tiger trap that covers a wire fence on a stock farm to make it safe to jump.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.502288270906.1131.278500003&l=28d89cb953

 

[Addicted to Hunting]

Yep would say rails of varying height, tiger traps, double rails both of these could be built over ditches, or a hedge in the case of double rails. Have also jumped one jump out hunting that was like an ascending spread made out of solid panels, not many pep jumped it tho and was impressive!
And Gates!! is espicially good if could make some like mini gates, good for the children and more nervous members of the field a chance to jump a gate? Ditto what Claire said if needs to be stock proof then worth putting slip rails up.
The one fence I'm not that keen on is when a narrowish fence is built into stock wire at same height but no post or anything really marking were the stock wire is, if horse goes a bit sideways or runs out is fairly likely to go through the fence, they are jumpable tho!!

 

[VGM]

agree about narrow fences in wire big no no around here we have an airy tiger trap over a ditch with water (so not a dry ditch) causes problems but your famous if you jump it and worshipped if you jump it first time! small gates are brilliant for the littlies i remember nephew coming home telling all and sundry hed jumped a gate on his little 13 hand woolly sheep and our jaws hitting the floor before someone probed him and he coughed it was a half gate!

 

[GlamourPuss86]

Not hunt/ XC related but I keep eyeing up the builders bright yellow barricades that they have left down the road... they may just have to have a little trip to the field... shh! (bet the spooky baby would LOVE them!)

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

There's nothing quite liking jumping a hedge, big or small. They are great fun to jump.

Our countryman (new last season) had never built hunt jumps before and built a tiger trap on top of a very steep hill that if you jump it going down hill is only about 2'9" with a huge drop. However, the first time we jumped it, it was from drop side up and must have been well over 4 1/2 ft and that's after galloping up the very steep hill. There is nothing flat about that hill - the hill is very steep whichever way you go - up or down!! You can see it from across the valley and when I first saw it, I assumed it was a 5 bar gate and very much hoped we would go through it not over it. I closed my eyes and kicked like my life depended on it!!

Jumps like that DO NOT encourage anyone!! We have had words in his ear about building inviting jumps, not ones that scare the life out people. Funnily enough, hardly anyone ever attempts it now.

It is far better to make the country crossable for everyone as it were - far better to have a row of inviting jumps that flow than trappy nasty things that catch people out.

 

[Addicted to Hunting]

Yep to be fair the fences aren't like stile narrow but still not nice, would be nicer if smaller than the wire or had post/guard rail round, can easily get round but do get a fair amount of respect jumping them, alltho I should of reminded myself how easy there were to get round on last day, rather than tryin to prove I could jump them, horse doing bit more of a climb than jump gettin shoe stuck in wire and sending me flying and breaking collar bone, whoops!!!

 

[Happy Hunter]

Anything 2ft to 3'6" is fine by me! - the wider the better (face front wide, not oxer wide) prevents too much queing, and a dodge sideways on a small jump can be re-presented with a sideways leap!

how about a short section of stone wall? a gate or two. a tiger trap. a few ditches. maybe a log,


oh stop it =- I cant wait any longer! - this ground is too hard!!!! gr!

 

[JenHunt]

I would like to point out that the more that can be jumped in both directions the better. there's nothing worse than only being able to jump into a field safely then face the dilemma of jumping out over less than idea fences or using the gate.

The idea of planting hedges between two rails is a good one, it makes it stock proof, provides protection for the hedging plants while they grow, and makes an inviting jump for the field. Once the hedge grows then you can make it into just a hedge or keep it trimmed.

 

[Flowers187]

I know I mainly showjump but I did take the girls out hunting a whole 3 times this year Them little sheep feeder things stuffed full of straw bales, Never too fussed about the heights of jumps but the width scares me, think its something to do with my ability to fall inbetween it! I cant even look at someone else jumping a tiger trap without shivering in fear!

 

[spotty_pony]

Hedges are good to jump, but I do love my post and rails! What about a tiger trap fence or a skinny fence?

 

[Fools Motto]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have a huge pile of rails to make use of, a stack of old tyres and even some sleepers. I could sandwich a small hedge between some rails, allowing hedge to grow and yet still be ok to jump (but seemingly wide) Part of the boundry fence line is a raised bank area that needs to have something done to it to make it a) jumpable and b) stock proof - fed up of chasing the rouge cow!!
So, the question is, do I dig the raised bank bit out and put a rail or two in, or leave the raised bit and add a rail - perhaps thats going to be too much to jump all in one??
Whats the verdict on open ditches? Do they scare you and therefore you avoid, or you take the challenge up and leap!? (may not be a dry ditch either as land is clay soil.)

 

[Addicted to Hunting]

I would say the ditchs are ok, but it like the jumpin really u are either brave enough to try or not, if that makes sense? Always helps on a good horse tho, espicially if it's Irish has alot done ditchs.

 

[maxie]

So, the question is, do I dig the raised bank bit out and put a rail or two in, or leave the raised bit and add a rail - perhaps thats going to be too much to jump all in one??
Whats the verdict on open ditches? Do they scare you and therefore you avoid, or you take the challenge up and leap!? (may not be a dry ditch either as land is clay soil.)

Here's what we did last summer where there was a raised bank in the boundary.

Get someone who's handy with a tractor or digger to shape the bank, drive four large retaining posts at each corner of your bank (two on each side of bank) & face the front & back with railway sleepers. Tightly pack soil on top on bank with good soil & shake grass seeds on top to creat a sod that will hold together until winter.
The bank in the picture is about 3ft high on the near side & slightly higher on the far side and is the barrier between a field of sheep & cattle and a tillage farm.
The bank itself is about 6-8ft wide- I think the most important thing with this type of fence is to make it wide enough for horse to jump on and jump off. We have some older banks that are too narrow and horse does not have enough time to sort his legs out on top of the bank and as a result the jump off the other side is more like tripping off .
It's also good to have the soil on top of the bank mounded a bit so that it is slightly higher in the middle. Then the horse can see from either side that there is something solid to jump onto. He knows that he is to "bank it" instead of "fly it".

 

[lauraandjack]

The worst thing is wire. But then again, it's good for a horse to know how to jump wire, in case it is unavoidable!

An irish friend always jumped wires on the farm at home, they just slotted pipe over the top strand to make sure the horses could see it.

The best feeling is surviving horrid trappy jumps! We have some horrors and you are always grateful to still be in the plate striding away the other side. The worst one has to be a set of narrow meaty rails jumping into the corner of a field from a felled forestry plantation! You get a 2 stride approach, jump, land, dodge the rocks and then it's downhill. Sit back, shut your eyes and pray your horse knows where to put his feet!

 

[cheeseandhorses:)]

i am going agaist what everyone has said, for me the most thrilling thing to jump , is a great big ditch. Always gives me a thrill, and if its a really nasty one its always nice to be one of the few over but hedges are nice, so are very little roll tops that aren't wide if that makes sense? with a slip rail over the top when not in use. One has just been built near us, and is teenytiny, something everyone can jump but has a drop on the other side.
Again diffrent to what everyone else has said , i hate jumping tiger traps , theres just something about them i really dont like. what about an elephant trap, they're always nice and inviting?

 

[spotty_pony]

I do love my post and rails. What about a tyre jump? Or a small rustic wooden gate? I jumped a tiger trap last season (must have been 3ft6 easily) which was fab! Also, two jumps in a row is fun to do (not necessarily big) I did two post and rail type fences as a jump in and jump out combination (there were about 4 strides bet ween the first and second fence on a dogleg angle) I hate fences with a stop on landing as I just find them really difficult to ride and not very forgiving if you get there wrong!

Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

[lauraandjack]

I'd def second JenHunt about making them jumpable in both directions.

I can think of a few jumps in our country that are ok going one way and horrid the other!