# 2 y filly free jumping, any talent?



## Elara (May 6, 2011)

Hi,

In this video is my KWPN/Latvian sporthorse bred 2 years old filly free jumping. Comments about her talent, techique and gaits?




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## horsesroqke (Nov 5, 2009)

Hmm. As others on this forum have stated, jumping a horse that high that young is extremely bad for their joints. The average age is about 4.

How long has she been jumping?


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## Elara (May 6, 2011)

Hi horsesroqke,

We start free jumping young horses the winter when they turn 2 years and excercise it 0-1 time/month. The fences are max. 100 cm (3.2 ft?). We continue these excercises until the horse is saddle trained and starts to excercise jumping with a rider. This happens approx. the winter the horse turns 4 years. 

This is the training method for sporthorses in most European countries. These free jumpings are often organized by breeding associations and/or studbooks and are open for 2-3 years old horses.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

horsesroqke said:


> Hmm. As others on this forum have stated, jumping a horse that high that young is extremely bad for their joints. The average age is about 4.
> 
> How long has she been jumping?


 I agree that the horse is too young to be jumping. I've always thought that they should wait until they are 5 yo. Their growth plates are still changing until then and can be damaged by jumping.

Elara - 100 cm is almost 4 ft. Just because the breeders and everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean it's right. Just like when horses are raced at 1 1/2 yo. People do it but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt the horse.


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

Elara said:


> Hi horsesroqke,
> 
> We start free jumping young horses the winter when they turn 2 years and excercise it 0-1 time/month. The fences are max. 100 cm (3.2 ft?). We continue these excercises until the horse is saddle trained and starts to excercise jumping with a rider. This happens approx. the winter the horse turns 4 years.
> 
> This is the training method for sporthorses in most European countries. These free jumpings are often organized by breeding associations and/or studbooks and are open for 2-3 years old horses.



I think what you're doing is fine. To get your horse registered in the studbook for jumping they are required to be able to free jump at age 3. The height they jump is about 3 feet. Free jumping the horse once a month, is not going to hurt it.

With that said...I think your horse looks really nice going over the fences. She shows a lot of potential. I also think about 90% of warmbloods that are bred for jumping, have a natural form over the jumps. 

Good luck with her, she seems like a really nice horse


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## mollybolly (May 26, 2010)

horsesroqke said:


> Hmm. As others on this forum have stated, jumping a horse that high that young is extremely bad for their joints. The average age is about 4.
> 
> How long has she been jumping?


She asked for a critique on the horse not IF the horse should be jumping.

That stated I think she definitely shows a lot of talent!


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## BrewCrew (May 12, 2010)

She looks very confident and really enjoying herself! Take it easy on her in these early years and she could have a great career ahead of her! 

Love the arena, too, BTW.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Elara said:


> In this video is my KWPN/Latvian sporthorse bred 2 years old filly free jumping. Comments about her talent, techique and gaits?
> ​


I am reading this wrong, correct? I read that this 2yo is bred. It is really saying that her breeding was done to make a sport horse, right?


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## Tamibunny (Jan 14, 2011)

Alwaysbehind said:


> I am reading this wrong, correct? I read that this 2yo is bred. It is really saying that her breeding was done to make a sport horse, right?


Lol, yes she was bred to be a sporthorse.


I think she has lovely movement. I love the suspension in her trot. She has nice form and is quick over the fences. I think she could be a pretty competitive showjumper once she's finished. She definetly has enough scope to jump the bigger jumps. Have fun with that one


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Alwaysbehind said:


> I am reading this wrong, correct? I read that this 2yo is bred. It is really saying that her breeding was done to make a sport horse, right?


I think she means that the filly in the video was born two years ago, not that she has been bred. 


The horse looks lovely over jumps, but I am in agreement, she is too young to be doing that height. 
I believe it is normal to free jump a 3 yr old up to 100cm. 




mollybolly said:


> She asked for a critique on the horse not IF the horse should be jumping.
> 
> That stated I think she definitely shows a lot of talent!


Oh well, that's how it goes when you ask for a critique. You might not ask for a critique of hooves, but if they are in poor shape, you will likely hear about it.


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## jrcci (Apr 28, 2011)

So pretty... she looks like a pro!


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I disagree about the age and jumping. This is common practice for all Warmblood youngsters and they certainly don't have high breakdown rates. Jumping with a rider, yes, but free jumping is comparable to strain they can put on themselves just out in a pasture with galloping, bucking, leaping, etc. How is it any different for them to leap three feet in the air out at pasture and land on their front legs? Warmbloods are rather known for their durability due to common European practice of not riding or really working them until 4-5 years old, so I highly doubt a little free jumping at 2 is going to hurt them any. Considering we RIDE our horses at 2, that's a bit of a stretch. At 2 years old, it's the spine that's a lot more of a concern then the joints.

She looks very nice! Nice snappy knees, beautiful natural balance and very eager and calculated in her approach. She's a good prospect!


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

I want to pose a theory here. Unless the horse is a train wreck, and has the bunkiest legs you have ever seen, it can jump. Most horses could jump 5 foot with no sweat. They could just pop over it and not care at all about the height.

What goes wrong? Why do some horses only ever make it to 2 foot classes then? Surely their talent is less than that grand-prix showjumper that is jumping the moon?

My theory is that the talent usually isn't any less - it's the talent of the rider that is stifling the horse's natural ability. Instead of looking at a horse and wondering if they have the natural talent for jumping, we should look to ourselves and ask if we are maximising the natural talent to jump that most horses are born with. Because at the end of the day, it is our riding that will limit the height and style of a jump, not the horse's ability.

Having said that, she can jump well. She has a good idea of where her legs are going, and confidence. What more can we ask for


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## Strawberryfields (May 9, 2011)

she looks lovely! 
and I agree.....if you are only doing it 1x/month then she is fine.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Lol. Freejumping a 2 year old a couple times is doing nothing to degenerate joints. If the horse were in pain or distress it would stop, and infact I see the opposite thing happening. With a rider, or drilling over fences, or longing it, yep thats an issue.95% of horses bred for sport are free jumped at 2. It's industry standard. Not comparable to bad feet and relative neglect.

Anyways. The filly is getting over the fences fine. Good technique but not overly scopey. I'd love to see a confo pic.
Good luck!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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