Once you feel secure in the saddle, you might think about taking a horse riding course which teaches you to jump over manageable fences. Even dressage riders work over raised poles on the ground to vary their horses' routine, supple them and improve their gaits.
If your goal is to ride on the trails, learning to jump will increase your fun. You will be able to clear small obstacles and spice up your riding.
Here's what to expect when you learn to jump on a horse riding course.
Preparation
You start with work on the ground, so don't worry about being asked to do something you are not ready for. Read a well-illustrated horseback riding book which incorporates the basics of jumping, and it will help you adopt the correct position in the saddle.
The course instructor will make sure you have mastered the riding basics of walk, trot, canter, turn and halt in a controlled fashion before you begin jumping.
Baby Steps
You will start by walking and trotting your horse over poles on the ground, and get used to the feel of 'going over' something in the jumping position. Riding in both directions, you will learn to control the speed of your horse while you ride round corners and through the poles.
First Fence
Once you are comfortable with this, you will trot over a pole placed on the ground, at the correct distance in front of the cross-pole to aid your horse in making a smooth jump over it.
A 'cross-pole' comprises two poles crossed in front of each other which form their lowest point in the center where they meet. To jump correctly you must aim for the middle of a fence and since this is the easiest place to go over a cross-pole, both horse and rider are naturally drawn to the correct jumping spot.
Pop over this and you will have cleared your first fence! It's now up to you and your riding instructor to decide how much higher you should go during the rest of your course.
Do You Have the Right Horse?
You may worry that your horse is not a 'jumper.'
As long as he's not a hot-head, overweight or unfit, it doesn't matter whether or not your horse has a natural talent for jumping. Virtually every horse can clear a 3 foot fence, and you are starting with a few inches. So if you have a large Shire horse or little pony, your equine friend will have no problem clearing small fences.
Both you and your horse will benefit from the gymnastic exercise jumping provides and feel refreshed when you return to your regular riding routine. Or maybe you will get hooked on a new riding discipline!
