What Are the Different Types of Horse Jumps?

Horse jumps have to be set exactly. Horse shows are judged by the number of faults collected. By the end of the competition, the horse and rider with the fewest faults and the best time walk away with the blue ribbon. If a horse refuses to go over a jump, it is four faults. Refuse again and they are eliminated. Four faults are also collected if the team knocks down a rail or if the horse get just one hoof in the water. If the horse and rider fall, they are eliminated, and for every second they go over the designated time, one penalty second is added. The person who sets up the course has to know how long a horse's stride is and how many steps it takes to cover a certain distance.

  1. The Vertical Jump

    • The vertical jump is simply a fence with poles directly one above the other. The horse simply has to clear the poles without touching the top pole. The Triple Bar is three vertical jumps close together to make a wider jump. The Fan is a vertical jump that has the rails on one side spread out to resemble the ribs of a handheld fan.

    The Oxer

    • Another type of vertical jump is The Oxer, which is two vertical jumps close to each other. It makes the jump wider. The Oxer can be set up in many ways. In the Square Oxer, both of the top poles are equal. In the Ascending Oxer, the pole on the second fence is higher. In the Decending Oxer, the top pole on the second fence is lower that on the first. In the Swedish Oxer, the top poles are slanted in different directions.

    The Wall

    • The Wall looks like a brick wall, but it is actually composed of lightweight materials, usually plywood, that will fall easily if the horse touches the top.

    The Hogs Back

    • The Hogs Back is one of the more difficult jumps. There are three poles set at different heights with the highest one being in the middle.

    Combination

    • A combination jump can be any number of jumps so close together that the horse can only take two or three steps between them. The distance between the jumps are set by the course designer for the horse to take a certain number of steps between each one and the horse has to take that number and no other.

    Water Jumps

    • An open water jump is simply a wide ditch filled with water. It can stand alone or there can be a Vertical or Oxer Jump either right before or after the water, making it a much harder jump to navigate. When the water is under or in front or in back of a Vertical or Oxer, it is called a Liverpool.