Today my young horse did his first "jump."
For many people, the first jump is about getting over the fence.
For me, it is about everything that happens before the fence.
- I want the horse to wait.
- I want him to carry his weight on the hindquarters, not lean on my hand.
- I do not want speed.
- I want him to stay straight.
And most importantly, I want him to understand that the job is simple: go over the obstacle and arrive calmly on the other side.I have no problem if a young horse stops and looks. That means he is thinking.
But running away, avoiding the question, and getting away with it is never an option.
The horse must learn confidence, not avoidance.
I never jump higher than what I can comfortably jump from a walk. The ears should be forward. There should be no rush. No stress. And definitely no whip. I hate using a whip on young horses. In my opinion, if you need a whip to get a young horse over a small fence, the process has probably moved too fast.
The horse must first understand the leg. When the horse answers the leg correctly, there is usually no problem. We started from the walk. Then a slow trot. The leg is there to explain to the horse how to use the hind leg, how to bend the joints, lift the body, and jump correctly. Jumping is not about pulling a horse over a fence. It is about teaching the horse how to use its body.
One thing that worries me today is that fewer and fewer people truly educate horses. Many people focus on the jump, the height, and the result. But the real work happens long before that.
A horse is not born understanding balance, confidence, rhythm, or trust. Someone has to teach it. Patiently. Step by step. A talented horse can jump a fence. Educating a horse is something completely different. We still have a long way to go.
This is only the beginning.
But success comes from doing the process correctly, step by step, without shortcuts.
The first jump is not important. The education behind the first jump is.