Anatomy of a Jump Through the Eyes of an Equine

It’s All in Your Approach

An important part of jumping is to gain an understanding of how a horse moves to jump over an obstacle from takeoff to landing. Then, you can learn how to control that space between jumps that impact how a horse jumps—or does not jump.

You’ll need to learn how horses evaluate obstacles, which is different from humans—and why being aware of this is critical.

For every jump on course, there is a correct approach, correct track, correct amount of impulsion, ideal distance, bascule and landing that affect the success of the jumping effort.

Let’s break down what each of these factors mean and how to prepare yourself well for each jump.

Approach

Approach refers to the strides leading up to the jump.

In most cases, the approach to the first jump on the course will be a longer distance off of a sweeping turn with plenty of time to create a straight line and help the horse focus in on the jump. In a beginner course, this will be the case for most jumps.

As the course progresses—depending on the level—different “questions” will be presented to horse and rider.

These may include placing jumps on short approaches, placing jumps with short related distances in between them and placing jumps on angles.

Path—Or “Track”

You, as the rider, should walk the exact path on the course walk that you intend to use when riding the course. This will increase the chance of success as much as any other factor.

In general, the approach to the first jump needs to be conservative and very straight.

To start things off, aim for a long, straight approach so that the horse can lock his or her eye in on the fence. As the course progresses, the best track is very much dependent on how the course is designed.

Let’s look at a few different scenarios:

Straight lines are ideally ridden directly with a balanced canter between the jumps.

What you aim to create before a straight line depends on the type of fence you jump into that line. If the line is a vertical to an oxer, a shorter turn to the line could be best.

However, if the line is a big, square oxer coming into a more fragile vertical or a skinny jump, a slightly longer approach with more impulsion will be necessary.

If a line is bending or broken (one jump is offset from the next), the track will directly affect the number of strides the horse takes between the jumps. A more direct, straight line between the two jumps requires fewer strides.

Again, depending on design, a slice will affect the track on the landing side of the jump as well, and thus, the strategy upon landing needs to be considered when deciding on the best track between the jumps.

If both jumps in a bending line are jumped perfectly straight, the number of strides between the jumps will be greater.

Generally speaking, this is a more reliable strategy if the horse or rider are green, or if the obstacles are particularly spooky.

Jumps across the short end of an arena can be more difficult for the horse to perceive, since typically there is not room to give a longer approach that allows more time for them to focus on the obstacle.

Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on getting straight to the jump.

Impulsion

You’ve heard your trainer say it a thousand times: “Get a good canter!” Well, what they are really saying is get enough impulsion.

Impulsion is not speed. Impulsion is power.

Bigger jumps require more impulsion than smaller ones, but at every level, it is critical to maintain impulsion throughout the course.

Distance

The distance to the jump refers to the spot from which the horse’s front feet leave the ground when taking off to jump.

When a horse jumps over an obstacle, just before the jump, the horse gathers the hind end underneath the body and pushes the front end off of the ground.

The horse’s body lifts upward, the front legs tuck up and in, the hind end opens up and kicks out slightly and then the horse lands.

“Finding a good distance,” refers to the rider’s ability to place the horse’s front feet in an ideal location before the jump so that the horse can best push off the ground.

If the horse and rider fail to find the correct distance, the horse may run out, jump long, or stop right before the jump.

Bascule

The distance and height that the horse clears over an obstacle creates an arc, called a bascule.

As the technicality of a course increases, knowing how the bascule affects the landing side of the jump allows the rider to make quick decisions regarding how they ride the approach to the next fence.

For example, when a horse’s bascule is skewed toward the landing side, the horse will land farther into the line, thereby shortening the distance to the next jump.

It is the rider’s job to recognize when this happens and adjust the horse’s stride to achieve an ideal distance at the next jump.

If the horse reaches the height of the bascule too early, the landing side of the jump will be shorter and the rider will need to lengthen the stride on landing in order to compensate.

Landing

When the horse arrives at the jump properly and jumps in an even arc over the top, it greatly increases the chances of a comfortable landing. However, lots of things, like rider position and speed of approach, can lead to a less-than-ideal landing.

The rider must be prepared to immediately make adjustments upon landing—if not sooner.

Now that we have learned about the different phases of a jump and things that can affect them, we will consider another important factor that is never on a course map: how your horse views a jump.

How Horses See and Evaluate Obstacles

So far, we’ve been learning how riders can better prepare for competition by understanding course design elements, purpose and opportunities. But riders are just half of the team that soars around a course.

This section provides insight into how horses perceive a course of jumps and their surroundings in general.

Think Like a Horse

You know that feeling you get when you are first up in your class—the jumps are freshly painted, the footing is newly harrowed, the decorations are in place, the crowd (whether three or 3,000 people) is quietly poised and the announcer calls your name?

Well, it is safe to assume that the little burst of anxiety and excitement that rises up inside you also rises up inside your horse.

Your horse experiences the atmosphere of competition, just like you.

Many horses seem to thrive on the adrenaline that competition creates, but very often, the greatest factor in the horse’s response to new stimuli is how the rider handles this excitement.

A good competition rider needs to know which behaviors to address and which to ignore, when to be assertive and when to be soft and gentle.

Building the Showjumper will help you give your horse the confidence he needs to go from good to great in the show ring.

The way the rider handles the horse in a competition environment—especially a young or green horse—will influence how the horse learns to handle new things.

As horses become more seasoned competitors, they can become the leaders, teaching a new generation of riders how to become confident competitors.

A horse is only as good as its rider.

If you could use a confidence boost, Believe in Your Magic is exactly what you need.

Colors and Shapes

Rails and planks use both colors and shapes to create beautiful obstacles and an eye-catching course.

But, horses see colors differently than people do, so it won’t always be obvious to riders what fence on the course will be spooky until after a few horses have gone.

Often, there are one or two places on course that will spook multiple horses.

Textures and Fillers

Jump fill is used underneath the poles or rails to make jumps more beautiful, support a theme or sponsor and to make the jump more challenging.

Jump fill can cause the horse, rider or both to look down below the top rail, shifting balance and position in a way that increases the chance of knocking it down.

Some horses jump too high and lose their shape in the air if they are spooking at fill. In some cases, the fill under the jump can cause a horse to refuse the fence.

Distances, Perspective and Depth Perception

In the Jumper division, most jumps have only rails, planks and rails, or rails with freestanding filler underneath. They rarely have a solid ground line as hunter fences do.

The ground line makes a big difference in how the horse perceives the jump and how easy it is for the horse to jump the fence.

When a liverpool or wall is used in the Jumpers, it can be placed in front of, underneath or slightly behind the jump.

The placement of these materials under the jump drastically changes the level of difficulty.

For example, a liverpool placed behind the front rails of a jump creates a false ground line.

It can make it difficult for the horse to “read” the challenge or understand where to take off and how high and far to jump. Typically, false ground lines are reserved for upper-level competition.

Atmosphere

Atmosphere refers to the energy, environment and activity occurring on the show grounds during your ride.

Horses are flight animals—in the wild they flee to escape predators. As such, they are very sensitive to their environment. They have keen senses and are acutely aware of subtle movements and sounds.

Experienced horses are generally more comfortable with the activity around a show ring.

Younger and less experienced horses rely on their riders and the behavior of the other horses in the arena to influence their response to what is going on.

Tractors, water trucks, spectators, dogs, wind, signs, flags, decorations and vendor tents are just a few of the many distractions at a horse show.

When a rider enters the competition arena, if there is time, it can be beneficial to take a tour around the ring to familiarize the horse with the setting.

Parting Thoughts

Now that we have considered how horses perceive their surroundings and things to keep an eye (and ear) out for that may potentially affect their behavior, we can embark on the strategic stroll that can make or break your round—the course walk.

In this article, you have gained a greater understanding of the movements horses perform to execute a jump. You have also learned how horses perceive obstacles differently—and how that may impact their jump round.

Armed with this insight, you have more knowledge—and confidence—to critically analyze future jumping courses and enter the arena better prepared to compete.

P.S. Enjoy this article? Trot on over to:

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