# Can shires jump?



## SamBam

I'm about to buy a 17.2 hh 3 year old shire, but what I want to do eventually is dressage and cross country. I know drafts are typically lazy and people think they can only pull carts but I've seen plenty jump (and do it beautifully). My question is does it hurt them, and if so can I give him supplements or something to keep his health up? I don't want to hurt him, but I really want a draft and I really want to do cross country. And if it does harm drafts to jump is it the same for a half draft? Everyone has different answers for this so please only respond if you know for sure and you're educated. (If you're feeling extra kind mention to me other things I can do with him if not jumping, I haven't been able to find an event that I'm interested in yet and I'm open to suggestions. Google just brings up jumping, dressage, and rodeo for different events). Thanks so much!


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## Kaity Painted Equine

I have a big boy too, definitely not as heavy as a draft. But I wouldn't be overly keen to jump him for competition purposes. That's just me though...
I'd suggest not to start jumping until he has fully developed... age 5+
It can cause arthritis and problems further down the track if he isn't rested properly or jumped with the appropriate leg supports you can get.
I think you should just try out a wide majority of things before you can judge it if he and you like it enough as partners. ☺


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## Zexious

Is a Shire physically capable of jumping? Yes. Will they be competitive in cross country? Probably not. They simply won't have the stamina or speed to keep up with the Sport breeds (and stock horses/ponies that you may see at the lower/lowest levels of eventing).

As to whether or not it will "hurt" the horse, that's entirely on an individual basis. I think most (if not all, barring any health concerns) horses can safely jump to one extent or another if they are allowed to mature and are conditioned properly.

Half drafts are another animal entirely, so to speak, and their abilities will depend entirely on what they're crossed with. Several Draft x Sport crosses (the one that comes to mind in particular are Thoroughbreds x Percherons) are actually quite successful in the H/J and Eventing scenes.


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## smrobs

Almost any sound and healthy horse, regardless of breed, can do just about any discipline at lower levels, providing they have the temperament for it. There is absolutely no reason that a shire would be unable to do some lower level (or even mid level if he has the mind and agility for it) dressage and/or cross country. Like Zexious said, he may not be very competitive so if ribbons are important to you, a shire might not be the best choice, but if you are just doing it to have fun and he enjoys it too, then go nuts and jump til your heart's content.

Like others have said, you sure wouldn't want to do much of anything strenuous until he was fully matured (because he's a big breed and already a very big boy, I'd wait until he was 6 or 7 before doing much more than ground poles or small cross-rails). It's not that their bodies break down easier, it's just that strenuous work and impact from that much weight creates more stress than that of a small horse.


Not all drafts are lazy; just like any other breed, that depends on the individual horse and their breeding. I have 2 full drafts (a Belgian and a Percheron) and 2 draft crosses (a foal from each of my drafts crossed with a stock horse). My black horses (Percherons) are much more sensitive and have a LOT of natural "go". They tend to get a bit hot or excited easily. My cross would make an excellent jumper and he would kick butt at cross country. When he's fit he is basically the energizer bunny LOL. 


On the other hand, my red horses (Belgians) are much more steady and sensible....and a bit lazy. My Belgian cross is one of my main riding horses and while it took a TON of work to get him to respond to light cues, he's much more pleasant to ride than any of the others. He's calm and sensible and easily trained....but will get very lazy and dull if you let him.

My full drafts are mostly farm horses to pull wagons and plows but I've ridden both a little bit. Both the crosses are ranch horses, used for working cattle, roping, and trail riding. They are not the most talented horses in the world and temperamentally are polar opposites from each other, but both are good horses and I wouldn't trade them for anything.


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## 4horses

I would say- No. 

Horses are like people. A football player probably isn't going to make a good ballerina. 

I used to have a Percheron cross that I loved. We did play around with jumping in the 2-3 foot range. Sure he could get over the jumps, but he just didn't have the same aptitude as my TB did. My TB made jumping look and feel easy. You could just point her at a fence and she would hop over it. My Percheron just felt like you were pushing the gas peddle all the way to the jump, where he would lurch over it. Even when you got him motivated enough to jump, he just didn't have that natural ability or talent.

I would also worry about soundness issues. Drafts just have so much more weight than a regular horse- that is a lot of strain on their legs. 

But for fun, I see no problem in taking the occasional jump.


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## jaydee

Yes Shires can jump and yes they can do dressage but people that buy a Shire or some sort of heavy draft horse don't usually buy them because they want to do those disciplines, they buy them because they like those types of horses and understand that they've got pretty tight limitations to how high they can jump or how agile they'll be for dressage so being able to do stuff like that is at the bottom end of their list
You have to make up your mind which is most important and if it's competing even at lower levels then don't buy the Shire.


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## QtrBel

I three year old draft is very different than a 5 or 7 year old. They don't put on bulk until later so the horse you purchase may turn out very different than the horse you envision. You may purchase a tall lean animal that physically looks big enough to do the job you intend but their body is not mature enough. Are they capable - yes. Should they - no. Once they have matured and they are physically ready they may not be able to physically handle the heights you are looking at nor the pounding because of their weight. My mare is of the tall, lean type. Could easily handle 5' when she was much younger. She still handles 2-3 feet very well and I will allow limited jumping by the kids ((100lb range or less - she weighs 2000+) that ride her now and again. She loves to jump and if there is a tree down you can find her jumping just to jump. Would I push her or encourage them to compete and regularly jump with her - no. Her sister as a two year old was taller, just as lean, could jump but didn't care to. At 3 getting close to 4 she was still lean but a good hand taller. My Maid of Honor brought her to pull the carriage for my wedding and I have pics from the wedding of me side saddle. Two years later as a 6 year old she added another couple of inches and had finally filled out. She was never fat but she packed muscle like the old pictures you see of drafts from the 20s. She weighed over 2800 pounds. Could she jump -yes. Was she ever jumped - no. There was so much bulk in relation to bone even with heavy draft bone she'd have never held up to that sort of use. As it is she didn't stand up to heavy pounding (quite a bit at a trot) on the pavement year after year. Her mother who came close to her in size was sound well into her late 20's but she was worked on the farm and rarely put in time on pavement. When she was it was usually for historic home tours at a slow walk for limited time frames of a couple of hours.


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## QtrBel

If you still really want a Shire focus on enjoying trails and light ring work, learn to drive but if you really want to compete even at low levels know that as your draft matures then instead of getting better he'll just bind up and never really progress. Besides 3 is really too young to be riding or even driving them as they just aren't mature.


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## EquineBovine

Subbing to read this later. 


A local lady uses her Clydesdale stallion for show jumping/cross country/dressage with a lot of success.
My shire x clydie yearling maaaaayyy end up being a hunter (ish) however I doubt a draft horse could keep up with the field in a hunt, nor pick up speed in a jump off or time trail. A nice cross with a TB or something would have more luck


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## Chessie

My stable has a few Shires. Gorgeous horses, but I can't imagine one jumping. Although, Ivan doesn't like to get his feet wet, and I've seen him clear some impressive puddles.


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