Types of Horse Jumps

Equestrians and horses both need to be trained on how to perform jumps, since a horse’s natural inclination is to walk around any obstacles in its path. The beginning rider, on the other hand, can hamper a horse due to his own tension and excitement. There are three different types of horse jumps to accommodate all levels of riders.

  1. Show Jumps

    • There are different types of show jumps. The vertical jump is one of the easiest jumps to perform: the horse jumps upwards over stacked poles with no width to jump.

      The oxer jump, sometimes referred to as a spread, consists of two vertical jumps next to each other, which gives the horse both width and height to jump. There are different types of oxer, such as a square oxer, which is composed of two level vertical poles, and an ascending oxer, where the second pole is higher than the first.

      The hogsback is a difficult jump to perform: there are several uneven poles to jump, with the highest pole in the center. There is also the wall, which is a jump constructed out of lightweight brick so it looks like a wall, which can be daunting to both horse and rider.

    Cross-Country Jumps

    • Cross-country jumps are constructed out of rustic, natural materials so they blend in with the countryside. Many cross-country jumps contain a dug-out ditch for the horse to jump over. Logs can be arranged to form obstacles to jump as well. One log is ideal for a beginner; two to three logs for a more advanced rider.

      A palisade is a fence that leans at a mild 45-degree angle into the direction from which the horse is jumping. A new rider would jump the palisade on its own, while a more experienced rider would jump a palisade with a ditch dug out in front of it, notes the website The Equestrian and Horse.

    Water Jumps

    • Water jumps can consist of a man-made water feature or a naturally occurring stream. Depending of the level of the rider, the horse can be expected to splash through the water jump, as in the case of a novice; splash through the water then jump out onto land, also expected of a novice-level horse and rider; or for an advanced rider, the horse will be expected to jump in and out of the water without splashing through. Just about any other jump can be transformed into a water jump by adding a ditch of water on either one or both sides of the jump.