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Jumping Up and Downhill

The added difficulty of jumping fences that are placed on hills builds your skills and challenges the horse’s athletic ability. Jumping up and downhill will improve your communication with the horse while strengthening your partnership.

Preparation

Practice jumping up and downhill on the ground first before trying it in the saddle. If you don’t have hills or uneven ground, trailer your horse to a place that does in order to practice. Lunge your horse up and downhill before getting on him. This allows the horse to improve his balance and coordination before challenging him further with the added weight of the rider. After the horse is comfortable on the lunge, begin riding him up and downhill at a walk first then move up to the faster gaits. Be sure that you feel safe and confident before jumping.

Stride Variations

Horse’s stride length and takeoff points change when jumping on a hill. When going uphill the stride tends to shorten, when going downhill it tends to lengthen. A downhill fence is basically a drop fence as the landing slopes away. This makes the landing a bit farther away than normal, as the horse spends a longer amount of time in the air than he would at the same fence in a level arena. As a rule, when jumping uphill a horse a will land closer to a fence and when jumping downhill he will land farther away.

Horses don’t find jumping uphill as difficult as downhill as it is easier for them to balance uphill. As the rider, all you need to adjust when traveling uphill is maintaining enough energy as you will want to extend your stride and speed up. Do this by pushing your weight down in your heels which lightens your seat. Bring your upper body forward and into a lighter position.

Uphill Aids

  • Stay somewhat forward going uphill, being careful not to get too far forward and becoming unbalanced.
  • Control your horse’s speed. The horse has to slow down or risks going faster until he loses his balance and falls.
  • Maintain a strong lower leg position, forming a vertical line from the knee to the toe.
  • For correct balance, sit close to the saddle. Be ready to have your weight back so that you can look ahead for the next obstacle.

Remember when jumping uphill the jumps will be bigger than the actual height of the fence. This is especially true when jumping from a long distance. That is why it is very important to keep your horse moving with enough impulsion, as it takes a lot more energy for your horse to jump uphill than it does down.

Downhill Aids

  • When jumping downhill the take off is raised which means that the horse’s jumping effort is minimal.
  • Keep your upper body back and continue contact with his mouth.
  • Control your horse’s speed from the moment he lands. Slow down before approaching the next fence.
  • Keep your weight in you heel, as you don’t want to have too much weight in your knee which will make your position insecure. The ideal position alines the heel with your shoulder.
  • Push your hands forward on landing, letting the reins slip. Allow the horse to stretch his neck without moving your upper body forward. At the same time be careful not to drop the reins when lengthening them.