Table of contents for Practical Horseman Extra Volume 34 in Practical Horseman

To perform a successful jumper round, both you and your horse need to be physically and mentally prepared for the questions asked by the course designer. Your horse’s jumping mechanism—his muscles, tendons and ligaments—needs to be warm and supple to perform its best but not worked to the point where fatigue might set in while he’s still on course. He needs to be mentally focused and tuned up, too. Similarly, your body needs to be warm and loose and your brain must be fully engaged in the task at hand. Both of you should enter the ring feeling prepared and confident. In this article, we’ll share our basic system for warming up a horse for the jumper ring. We’ll cover our flatwork strategy and then move on to jumping, starting…

MOTHER NATURE EQUIPPED our horses with highly effective “clothing” to keep them warm and comfortable in even the coldest, snowiest winter weather. The long hairs of their winter coats stand on end to create an insulating layer of warm air around their bodies. When a layer of snow accumulates on their backs, their coats’ natural oils and thick hair prevent the moisture from reaching the skin. Horses even have a built-in wicking system: When their coats get wet, their body heat pushes the moisture out toward the tips of the hairs where it then evaporates into the air. When the air temperature is below freezing, this moisture may even form icicles on the tips of the hairs—still a comfortable distance from the skin. For those of us who choose to…

1. Jenni progresses to a vertical, approaching it with a little more pace than she used for the crossrail. Even in this more forward canter, she stays connected with Casseur through her hands, seat and legs. 2. Although the added pace dares him to get closer to the fence and risk hitting it, he stays in balance and arrives at another nice takeoff spot, then folds his forelegs carefully over the jump. 3. Now Jenni plays with Casseur’s adjustability on the landing side of the jump. First, she adds a rail 18 feet after the vertical. After he lands, Jenni sits up and closes her fingers on the reins to ask him to collect his stride. You can see he’s come up to her hand, balancing himself for the shorter…