# How To Tell If A Horse Likes Jumping?



## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

First of all, GET WELL SOON!! Being sick is so hard when you want to be out and about with your horse. I love your question and think it's something a lot more people should ask. As you know there's much more to your relationship than just "he's got the build and bloodlines to be a jumper so he is!" 

Here's a couple articles that may get you thinking even more:
Does Your Horse Like His Job Does your horse like his job? | EQUUS Magazine

An excerpt from Peter Leone's Show Jumping Clinic book chapter "The Emotional Horse" https://books.google.com/books?id=fjbuqz7l5dAC&pg=PA33-IA19&lpg=PA33-IA19&dq=how+to+tell+if+your+horse+is+unhappy+with+his+job&source=bl&ots=pZFW13ZCNg&sig=FIwfMXEObEJp8bntB1Q4CQJlOfM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit67Pds73KAhUhkoMKHcDADA4Q6AEISDAI#v=onepage&q=how%20to%20tell%20if%20your%20horse%20is%20unhappy%20with%20his%20job&f=false

I'd love to hear your observations of your horse as you go along!
Feel better :charge:


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

It's really funny that you asked this because I just had this conversation with a couple of someone's last week! 

Being primarily a western rider doing trails (he hates the arena), I started noticed that my horse asks to jump. He has been wanting to line up prickly pear, fences and fallen logs with branches even when there is space to go around and I have been letting him jump them (not the 4' barbed wire fences though, even though he thinks he can make it). Our highest so far is 3'. He just seems really proud of himself and gives a small head toss after a good jump just to punctuate it. 

Since it seems to make him happy, I started asking people I know who have done Cross Country, Fox Hunting and Jumping. What I was told was that the horse needs to be confident, but still listens to his rider when they say no, not built down hill (withers lower than croup), which I assume also means not heavy on the forehand and should be forward moving in nature. But, one of the people said they had a jumping trainer friend who uses a different selection method that seems to work well for her, so it seems to vary.

I have no intention of competing, we would just do this for fun.


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Oh, and something that was emphasized to me that I forgot to mention. You have to really trust your horse's judgment. If he says he can do it, you have to be willing to go for it. The barbed wire fence my guy wanted to jump is a good example, but that had less to do with his abilities and more to do with mine, jumping with a western saddle, I wasn't sure I could get a good position for that height and then not nail myself in the gut with the horn upon landing! 

What I find most intriguing is the relationship you seem to need with your horse to really be successful in jumping. A lot of reading one another!


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I jump my horse for fun/cross-training and he seems to enjoy it. He's a naturally laid back horse, so I figure any time he's being willingly forward he's having a good time. When we first started jumping he would be more forward for days after a jump lesson. He seems eager when we line up to the jump and never refuses or runs out. All he'd have to do to get me to stop taking him jumping would be to be sluggish or not take the jumps. I've also had a couple chances to take him out on a cross country field and he really enjoyed that, too!

Trail riding, on the other hand, I've never been convinced he likes...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Thank you Boo Walker  I'll read the article now.
I used to have a gelding before Wyatt who did enjoy jumping so much that instead of crossing a 6 foot wide creek he'd jump it, I'd also feel him sizing up the jump. 
As for Wyatt I have a feeling he may like jumping. We have two culverts that are used as obstacles since sometimes the trails we use have fallen logs in the way and the horse has to learn how to pick up his/her feet to go over the logs. I'd paced a culvert and went to walk him over it and he decided to jump it instead. Then the other day I'd put his rain sheet on, not sure if it was the first time having a sheet on or not and let him out in the arena to move around with it on and he did about four laps, two of which he'd jumped the small cavelette that was set up. 
So far he's only going w/t, so no jumping right away. At the moment just lots of trail miles. I learned the hard way that going too fast can lead to trouble, but I hope by this summer to see how much he likes jumping  I think I may create a journal for him and Chloe since I'll be starting to ride her in about a month.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Foals will jump downed trees if mama does so he knows how to pick up his feet. Where I rode as a teen, we had numerous trails with obstacles to jump. Our trails ran thro the trees so horses had to travel single file. The best jumper would strike off and no problem getting the others to follow.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

I would say set up some small little jumps all over your arena one day and free longe him in there. see what his reaction is to the jumps. does he go towards them with ears forward and what we would call a 'happy look'? 

this is what i did with my mare last fall. set up a little 1 foot tall vertical and a cross rail about the same height at different places in the arena. turned her loose in the arena and just encouraged her to move out with a longe whip. she seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit over those little baby jumps! my plans for her one day are low level 'backyard' type eventing. meaning i don't want to show but i do want to do the cross country, arena jumping, and dressage disciplines with her.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

One of the little monsters in riding school dumped his rider and went on a jumping spree around the arena. He would not be caught so we left him to it. He jumped for 15 minutes at full tilt and when he had enough he meekly came up to our instructor. She promptly put him into jumping lessons and he loves it. So, my suggestion is set up some small jumps, get him nicely warmed up and leave him to his devices, he might tell you himself.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Keep in mind some horses have no idea what a jump is when you set it up, so they'll question it like any other foreign object. So don't take their reaction the first few times as how they feel about it. Like riders, they have to have some time to figure it out.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

Although my gelding isn't really built for jumping, I can tell he loves it by these signs:
* On trails, if there's an obstacle over the road, he'll offer to cross it rather than going by it; 
* If I point him at a jump during training, he'll get all perky and active, and jump willingly as long as I feel as happy and confident as him; 
* If I turn him out in the jumping arena and he's in a frisky mood, he'll jump a "course" all by his own, crossing his favorite jumps out of free will, often throwing in a playful headshake, a buck+squeal combination, the works. Really fun to watch.  
* If we're doing something "boring" in the arena (by his standards), he'll sometimes try and steer us over a jump, if one is near. 

So, jumping it is, whenever the footing allows. We don't jump high, and don't compete, but it really brings a spark out in his eyes.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Here's a very late update on my part, but I've been doing quite a bit of groundwork with Wyatt due to the weather being nasty, and we had a break through!  
I've been working through his wtc transitions and picking up the right lead on the line and his wt transitions and collection undersaddle. I've kept a little jump set up at one end and working him over it at the trot on the line once in a while. He'd just trot over it like it wasn't even up off the ground though. But when he picked up the canter and I aimed him at the jump he actually jumped it. Tucked his front legs up and everything. 
Well the next time I was out and riding him, the jump still up, we were working on framing up at the trot undersaddle and I went to go around the jump, but he actually slowly moved towards the jump and popped over it at a trot. Be it he stumbled at the end 
I really hope all of this makes sense XD I'm trying to watch something and type all this at the same time.


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