what does a horse do after approching a jump?

Answer 1

There are 5 stages to a jump
the approach - horse lowers his head and stretches his neck.

the takeoff - horse shortens his neck, raises his head and lifts his forehand (front end). He brings his hocks underneath him, stretches his head and neck and makes his spring upward and forward.

the moment of suspension - head and neck are fully stretched and downwards. The hind legs are gathered up under his belly.

the landing - the horse shortens his neck bringing his head up.

the recovery - the first full stride after landing

Answer 2

It depends on the horse, the rider, and the situation.

In show jumping (both hunters and jumpers), you consider the course as having lines of jumps, and you consider each line and how to approach it before you ever mount your horse to ride the course. You know your own horse's length of stride and you look at the distance down the line to decide whether the line needs to be ridden forwardly (i.e., your horse striding forward strongly towards the first element of the line), or steadily (your horse moving towards the first element with a steadier, shorter stride). Then you consider the other elements in the line, and how many strides are between them, and whether you continue forwardly or have to steady. You also consider where the turn is for the next line of jumps.

Consideration also has to be given to what the different jump elements consist of. A solid jump might require a stronger approach than an element consisting of a post-and-rail set-up, even if they're the same height; and a jump that has an unfamiliar appearance, such as a water jump, might require that you ride very strongly.

When you enter the ring, you circle once to set your pace, and then you turn to go down the first line of the course. You want to make sure that your horse sees the elements and understands that he is expected to jump them. This sounds elementary, but many a novice has come to grief by not lining up well for the first jump, and the horse is surprised and unready and either runs out or refuses.

You know your own horse well enough to determine how much urging and guidance he will need to go down the line. Some horses are honest and eager, and once they're pointed in the right direction and see the jumps, they do well with minimal guidance in finding the distance and making the strides down the line; other horses need more help and a stronger ride. It just depends.

You can pretty well tell as you approach the jump whether you've got the distance made and the horse is going to jump it right. Most refusals that you see in a horse show are a result of the horse not getting the distance right, having either an impossibly long distance to jump or having to take off from the base of the jump. Some horses will try no matter what, but most horses, if they're left with a bad distance, will refuse unless you're riding very strongly indeed. (My trainer always preferred that we crash through a fence rather than stop in front of it, because she said that if we stopped because the distance was bad, we were teaching the horse it was okay to stop-- a bad idea. She wanted the horses to know that they were going to go forward no matter what, and would rather that we send rails flying but get over the jump than stop in front of it.)

You can feel whether the horse is going strongly towards a jump and intends to jump it or stop or run out on it. You can tell by the way they feel, the position of their head and neck, what their ears are doing, and the general feel of the horse under you and in your hands through the bit. You know far enough in advance to fix the problem, either through riding forwardly, or steadying the horse. Virtually all "crashes" that you see happen at a horse show are "pilot error."

The exception to that is when you're riding a horse that is a "dirty stopper." This is a horse that will ride forwardly towards the jump, but at the last second slams the brakes on and drops his or her neck and shoulder and gives you a flying lesson. You sail over the fence while your horse stays on the other side.

Answer 3

Usually they jump it...unless you got one that's stubborn, then it usually acts like it's gonna jump then stops suddenly giving the rider no warning whatsoever and then sends the rider flying over it's head into the jump and dirt. Gotta hate it when that happens

Answer 4

Jump!

Answer 5

Collects himself,then jumps!

Answer 6

After the approach, would be the precise moment that you would expect your horse to JUMP !!!

I hope for your sake he makes it!

Answer 7

hopefully the horse jumps over it and proceeds to next obstacle

Answer 8

They perk their ears forward in anticipation of the jump

Answer 9

Runs with direct speed toward it, then stops abruptly and sends the rider flying.

Answer 10

Jump it!!