Starting
Free jumping is primarily used to start horses over jumps. The goal from this training method is to develop an honest jumper that has confidence over fences and to strengthen muscles used for jumping. Starting without a rider is viewed as beneficial because a rider can interfere with the horse’s natural way of going and create unnecessary problems. A poor rider will create nervousness or bad habits in the horse that will be difficult to reverse. Allowing a horse to jump on its own also develops better balance and strengthens the necessary muscles which will make it easier on their joints and back when it comes time to jump with the added weight of a rider. By starting a horse over jumps without a rider it makes the horse better prepared and easier to ride over fences.
Read more about this topic: Free Jumping
Famous quotes containing the word starting:
“Down went the owners—greedy men whom hope of gain allured:
Oh, dry the starting tear, for they were heavily insured.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“It smells like gangrene starting in a mildewed silo; it tastes like the wrath to come, and when you absorb a deep swig of it you have all the sensations of having swallowed a lighted kerosene lamp.”
—For the State of Kentucky, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“And down in fathoms many went the captain and the crew;
Down went the owners—greedy men whom hope of gain
allured:
Oh, dry the starting tear, for they were heavily insured.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)