Free Jumping - Setup

Setup

In free jumping, a chute is used to direct the horse over the jumps. The chute consists of all the jumps in the line as well as a small stretch for entry and exit so the horse approaches and leaves the jumps straight. The width of the chute is the width of the poles for the jumps. The “walls” of the chutes usually consist of jumping poles at a height above the highest jump with additional poles underneath if there is a chance the horse will try to go under the poles. This is to discourage any refusals and make the horse face the jumps head on without them seeing an easier way out. The series of jumps should increase in height down the line to allow the horse to get going before faced with a large jump. The striding between jumps can vary depending on what the trainer wants to achieve. When starting a horse in free jumping it is a good idea to start with fewer and lower jumps until a horse is comfortable and then increase the difficulty. A good practice is to lead the horse through the chute the first time and work towards either running the horse to the chute and letting it go, or sending the horse through the chute without having to touch it.