I have this five year old mare she is meant for dressage but i would like to start eventing with her.?

Question

She isnt meant for jumping but i would like to try. My dad would go mad if i spoilt her as she was my b.day pressie, what should i do?

Answer 1

start off working over poles on the ground and see if she takes to them. then start raising the poles higher.
if your unsure of doing it mounted do it on the lunge first so you don't have to worry about having an effect on the way she goes.

once you get to working over raised poles start using jump wings.

pole work is good for dressage horses as it helps with striding and collection or extention work so if your dad is worried she'll spoil then tell him your working on perfecting paces.
hope this helps

above all have fun and always finish on a good note even if you spend an hour walking over poles to start.

Answer 2

All horses have the ability to jump unless a back problem rules it out. But then this would show up in dressage. Also if you are going to do the higher moves like grand leaps where all 4 feet are off the ground i.e. Lipizzaner horses then she would need to be able to do this.

Start by doing ground work with poles and small cross jumps this will also improve her in-hand work and getting on the bridle more because you have to have the correct distance through them. Then just try a open class 1.6 at a show and see how she does.

Also tell your dad what you are doing and if he has sense then he will understand that it is beneficiary for both of you.

Answer 3

not sure what you mean by she isn't meant for jumping. What I'm reading is she was sold as a dressage horse not for jumping...which leads to the question if there's an injury that rules jumping out. Some retired TBs have soundness issues - fine on the flat but not for jumping. If that's the case I'd say no jumping. Maybe some lessons where someone has a schooling jumper to try it?

Answer 4

First check with the previous owner to see if tthere's any medical reason why she shouldn't jump.
Next, do you know how to school over jumps? If not, get a trainer.
You should be schooling over poles and caveletti if she is performing dressage, so its not such a huge step. Just make sure you fitness train first. It puts a lot of strain on their muscles and joints.

Answer 5

its great for a young horse to learn to do everything, if you only did dressage with her she would get very bored. horses jump naturally anyway so even of she isnt bred for jumping there is a fairly good chance she would still be very good! Just take it steady, start with poles etc and if in doubt ask an instructor.

Answer 6

Start jumping but if it isn't working, quit doing it for a while and then focus more on dressage. Maybe just jump a little every once and a while. Do what you want to do!

Answer 7

i have two eventers i started doing dressage first my horses are thourghbred one is crossed with new forest pony my pure thourghbred was bred for racing he raced ten times and then i rescued him from the slaughterhouse it really depends on the breed of your horse some are bred for dressage some are bred to make showjumpers and some eventers my horse loves jumping he has the speed and the power to jump big jumps and he was never happy doing dressage he plays around too much we get the worse score in dressage talk to your dad and see what he says but as i said before it depends on the breed of your horse is she lightweight and would you be happy eventing a horse who has been bred for dressage good luck

Answer 8

Start to teach her very slowly to jump. Use very small fences. Use the excuse that it is a good strecht and good for develpoing the hind end. That is assuming she is physically fit for jumping and the vet it fine with it.

Answer 9

i just watched a Jennie Loristan Clark video called going straight and she teaches all her horses to jump and a few to drive as well as dressage :-)

Answer 10

I abhor any activity in which stupid animals are trained to perform. Dogs are smart creatures and love to work and it is a pleasure to watch them work. Horses are stupid creatures and should not be trained in this way