Welcome to Trainer Tuesday! Each week we ask trainers a question and gather their answers for you. These trainers have a range of experience, backgrounds, and focus points of their programs, so the answers have as much variation as you would expect and also probably much more similarity.
This week’s question posed is: When would you describe a horse as “careful” over the jumps, and can you train jump awareness, or is it instinct?
Here are their answers:
“I would describe a horse as careful over the jumps when the horse consistently demonstrates a clear awareness of where they are in relation to the jump on the approach and in the air. Jump awareness can be improved upon through systematic training methods. However, most of the horse’s desire to be careful is generally instinctual.” -Rob Van Jacobs
Read more from Rob and listen to him on The Plaidcast here.
“‘Careful’ is a necessary quality in a horse to be competitive in today’s top grand prix competitions. I believe it is a horse’s nature to be careful or not.
Horses can also become ‘smart’ about the jumping material, which is a bonus and a product of intentional horse training. Variety in jumping material is suggested to keep horses interested and ‘careful.’ A variety of jumping materials is also suggested to improve riders’ confidence and trust in their riding skills to answer the questions on course while competing.
It’s important to match careful horses with riders who can place the horses correctly to the fences. A very careful horse may also be less tolerant of intermediate riding mistakes.
While the goal is to leave the jumps up, at the entry level of jumpers, it is imperative to match riders with tolerant and honest horses. This builds rider confidence and riding technique, which advances riders in our sport.” -Diane Carney
Read more from Diane and listen to her on The Plaidcast here.
“A ‘careful’ horse over jumps is often one that feels slightly emotional or sensitive about jumping. These horses might rush at the fences, overjump, or leave extra space because they see the jump as a bit ‘scary.’ This isn’t necessarily a bad quality—it can be useful if developed thoughtfully and slowly. The key is to give these horses time to understand the job. They need the chance to study the jumps, think about the questions being asked, and learn that jumping isn’t about speed or just getting over it to get away from the obstacle.
Yes, you can absolutely help a horse improve its jump awareness. Proprioception exercises—things like walking or moving laterally over rails or rails raised with blocks—are excellent for this. Working at the walk helps the horse slow down, place its feet carefully, and build the body awareness we’re aiming for. While you may not be able to make every horse as naturally careful as one with strong instincts, you can definitely improve their awareness and confidence with thoughtful and consistent training.” -Chelsea Canedy
“Gymnastics to keep them sharp, but never over school. Put the horse first!” –Megan Finkle
“There are horses that instinctually are more aware of the poles than others. A careful horse will typically also react after touching a pole, either by overjumping or refusing altogether, depending on how ‘careful’ the horse is.
As horses are creatures of habit, you can usually train some awareness in those less careful with exercises that encourage the horse to clear the pole better, but this type of horse will likely still have a rail here and there. A careful horse will feel confident under an accurate ride, but may feel nervous to jump if too many mistakes occur.” -Laura Kotimäki-Hurd
“Breeding can influence ‘careful’ jumping for sure, but I’ve also seen instances of that working against the horse. They can be so careful that they become worried or afraid of jumps if they’re not brought along patiently.
I’ve also seen non-jumping breeds who are crazy careful with jumps because they love it! I think the horse’s innate talent through natural breeding can be amazing in the right hands and become a detriment in the wrong hands.” –Melissa Kalember
“In my experience, horses are either careful or not. I do think it has more to do with nature versus nurture; however, horses can learn to become more careful over time.
For example, some become much more aware when their rider makes errors measuring distances. The horse kicks into fight or flight mode. Some horses (like people) get stronger when their rider makes mistakes, and others give up. These life experiences can make some horses more careful than they would naturally be.” -Nora Thomas
