Horse jumping requires lateral suppleness for bending to a new line and longitudinal suppleness for shifting weight from front to back to enable the critical bascule over a fence.
How to Build a Kids Jump
Jumping is a significant gross motor milestone that kids learn around age 3 (for some, a little earlier, and for others, a little later). It requires balance, coordination, and strength and is a new concept for children who have been in contact with the ground since they became mobile.
Practicing jumping skills helps kids become more confident in the activity and can increase their overall strength, agility, and endurance. They can try jumping rope for fun and to work on their endurance or play games like “Follow the Leader,” where two people turn a long rope, and kids enter the rope in a line and jump. When the first jumper exits the rope, the next jumper enters to make a figure eight and continues in this pattern.
Other great jumping games include animal hops, where they can practice hopping as a frog, bunny, or kangaroo. It will also help develop the calf muscles essential for jumping and propelling themselves upward off the ground.
Fences
When a horse jumps, it engages many muscles, especially the front legs and shoulders. The muscles in the hindquarters compress and coil, storing energy and power to propel it over the fence. Jumping is an intense exercise for the horses and riders and should be done under controlled conditions with the correct equipment.
Fences are typically constructed at a height that challenges the competitor without being overly tricky in kids horse jumps shows. The rider walks the course before a competition to plan how many strides to take between each fence and from what angle. Minor departures from the course will cost time, and major ones will result in disqualification.
Some of the more common fences include walls that are created to look like brick walls that can easily fall if the horse hits them. Combinations, a series of two or three verticals or oxers, placed one or two cantering strides apart. Liverpool features a tray of water under an oxer and is challenging for the horses to clear.
Landing Area
Hobby horse jumping is the latest trend – a delightful way for kids and young people to exercise. Competing with friends is also fun to see who can jump the highest, most stylishly, etc.
Getting to the point where you can ride a course of smaller jumps is essential to help you prepare for riding more enormous obstacles. It helps you to develop a solid canter and gives you confidence that you have adequate control over the jump.
Table fences are among the widest obstacles a horse may be asked to jump, often with a height of up to six feet. They must be approached firmly, and the rider must judge their take-off to ensure they can clear the obstacle but not so deep that they are forced to stretch out their legs and chest. It can lead to refusals and run-outs.
Rails
When you build your kid’s horse jump set up, place a ground rail 9 feet before the first bounce rail. It helps the horse regulate his stride on his approach to the jump and helps him create a good bascule, or arc, over the jump.
When jumping, the horse’s back muscles are compressed, allowing the hind legs to flex deeply. It requires a great deal of strength. Jumping also provides a fantastic cardiovascular workout for the horse’s core and strengthens its abdominal and arm muscles. The activity also improves hand-eye coordination.
A brush jump has a brush or faux grass on top of it and can be 2-5 ft tall. These are often used as warm-ups or to practice a course before an event. This type of jump is usually vast and forces the horse to stretch his body out over it. It can be a good exercise for horses with weak backs or shoulders.