looking for a jumping horse?

Question

I wanted to know the best breed of horse for jumping with, what should I look at when buying a foal or colt? Do you know a good site that will get me the basics and everything else in this sport? I have wanted to do this for yearsss. I had a quater horse that did good but had to sell:( I would like to get back to jump and want to do lesson.

Answer 1

I highly suggest that you start off with a horse that is already trained for jumping and go from there.

If you purchase a weanling or yearling (a foal just weaned from it's mother or a young horse that is one year old) - you'll have to wait at least 5 years before going in the show ring; at least until the horse is 2-3 y.o. to start training under saddle and I usually wait until the horse is at least 5 y.o. before starting over fences. Not to mention, at this young age, it's incredibly hard to forsee their future and know for certain they will excel in the show jumping ring. I have a yearling now with German Warmblood lines - I HOPE to take him to Lake Placid, but I'm not betting the farm on it.

Any breed of horse will jump - the key is to find a horse that likes to jump. Typically these breeds are German Warmbloods such as Hannovarians & Oldenburg, Irish Thoroughbreds, Selle Francais, American Thoroughbreds, Am. Quarter Horse, Am. Paint horse.

When looking at horses for jumping - pay particular attention to their confirmation (how they are built). You want a horse that has it's shoulders at the same height or a little bit higher than it's hips. You also want a shoulder that has a nice, easy angle to it - not too steep. The back should be proportioned correctly, not too long, and should be flat with some muscle. The cannon bones (from the knee/hock to the fetlock (ankle) joint) to be of substance and be free of splints. The hooves should be healthy and shoed/trimmed at correct angle of the pastern.

Watch the horse free jump - without tack or rider - over fences. Does s/he easily pop over the fence or do they seem to struggle? Did it come easily to the take off point or did it scramble because s/he consistently comes into the fence too close or far away? Does the horse naturally round over the fence or does it hallow it's back - aka splinter belly? Does the horse snap up the front legs or does s/he let them dangle or swing them around & over the fence?

Last but not least - take your trainer with you when looking! His/her advice will be invaluable!!

Answer 2

If you want to jump any time soon you'll need to be looking at 4 or 5 year plds and older. Thats when they've developed the joint strength and have the basics of training. A thoroughbred cross would be a good start, any warmblood, Arabians depending on the level you're going into. You want to look for good feet and legs. Small feet aren't good, they should look like they belong to the horse in size and shape. They may never be a problem but there's no reason to take a chance and have to start a new horse over something so avoidable. Look for athletic, trots over poles not through them like a clod. Have a trainer and vet do a check before any purchase good luck

Answer 3

Listen to Aoifa, she knows what she's talking about.

I don't have much to add since I don't do much jumping, but a majority of jumpers I have seen and ridden are Thoroughbred or warmblood. The horse will probably be expensive, but buy a trained one with competitions under his belt. Find a good jumping trainer to help you, even before you have your own horse. They might have lesson horses or know of a jumper you could lease so you could at least get started.

Answer 4

I'm a draft X lover, warmbloods, only breed i buy anymore...Finding the right horse may take a awhile. Sites i know for horse sales are dreamhorseclassified and equine.com...Try the race tracks you can get a Thoroughbred off the tracks that's not racing anymore and retrain, i did this for a long time. If you have a trainer thats you best bet to get help finding the right one....Do they have any shows near you? Talk to people there, people are always changing their horses and you may find one for sale....

Answer 5

www.buyhorses.com is a great site to find horses. first of all a foal is a baby horse and a colt is a baby boy horse. u should know that if u r allready jumping... u probibly dont want a young horse to jump with if u have never jumped.

Answer 6

Hunters. They are born to jump. The horse should be healty and strong, but it has to be flashy. Good looks will get you places in the world of horse competition.