Why jump the hedge when the gate is open?

I jump whatever I need to! My horse is 20 years old (owned him since he was a just backed 4 year old); he's evented to a very high standard but now we only go in straight lines! :) There's nothing wrong with his jump or enthuisiasm but at 20 he will have a limited number of jumps left in him and I doubt very much if I will ever find another like him, so I choose to preserve him for as long as I can.

Sooooo..............if the field master takes everyone on a circular 'jolly' I will pick my spot and stand and watch. If there's a rail that for whatever reason is jumping badly but the hedge next door is jumping fine, albeit a bigger jump, then I go for that. If a gate is open right next to the jumping spot - be it hedge, rail or wall - then I go for that. If there's a line of six or seven hedges we go for that and have a very large grin on our face at the end! :D
 
gunnergundog said:
I jump whatever I need to! My horse is 20 years old (owned him since he was a just backed 4 year old); he's evented to a very high standard but now we only go in straight lines! :) There's nothing wrong with his jump or enthuisiasm but at 20 he will have a limited number of jumps left in him and I doubt very much if I will ever find another like him, so I choose to preserve him for as long as I can.

Sooooo..............if the field master takes everyone on a circular 'jolly' I will pick my spot and stand and watch. If there's a rail that for whatever reason is jumping badly but the hedge next door is jumping fine, albeit a bigger jump, then I go for that. If a gate is open right next to the jumping spot - be it hedge, rail or wall - then I go for that. If there's a line of six or seven hedges we go for that and have a very large grin on our face at the end! :D
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Picture of horse please !He sounds fantastic.:)
 
cptrayes said:
not make it unsafe for people who ride well on a mannered horse to jump a hedge when a gate is open nearby!
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Do you not get that this can annoy a landowner who may have deliberately left the gate open? Horses do poach ground (ground doesn't have to be overly wet)
 
Agree with Mike, difficult now to actually have a good run, as too many restrictions on where you can go. For the most part hunting is like a hack with a few bits of fast work and jumps thrown in and a pack of hounds somewhere in the distance. I jump to educate my horse (as only really take out youngsters) over natural fences, I hunt for a bit of a jolly, I enjoy watching the hounds work but sadly due to the nature of hunting now and the fact we are plagued by uneducated anti's thats very rarely possible.
 
The gate is open for those who don't wish to jump so they are not putting off people from going hunting.

I'd jump the hedge if it was nice, much more fun for me then going through the gate!!:D
 
Tharg said:
Do you not get that this can annoy a landowner who may have deliberately left the gate open? Horses do poach ground (ground doesn't have to be overly wet)
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I drag hunt Tharg, the hedges we are allowed to jump are agreed with the landowner in advance. In any case, anyone who hunts knows that you don't jump where the field master has not jumped unless told that you are allowed.
 
I came from a pack that jumped anything and everything and are well known for annoying landowners in doing such.
Now I try to only jump when I need to, I'm not on my horses and I'm always concious that OH is likely to lose a shoe and need to swap with me so I try to save the horse.
 
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