How to Teach Horse Jumps to a Stubborn Horse

Horses, just like people, have different attitudes and personalities. Some are sweet and good-tempered while others kick and bite whoever comes near them. This is largely because of the way they were treated and broken in when they were younger. If you are a horse trainer or owner, you probably come across stubborn horses. These horses are the most difficult to train, especially if you want to teach them how to do different horse jumps.

Teaching a gentle horse to jump over a fence or an obstacle is difficult enough; teaching a stubborn horse the same thing makes the task doubly harder. A stubborn horse will not obey you no matter what you do. It is important that to know how you can handle this type of horse effectively. Whether you are teaching a horse how to perform show jumps or cross country jumps, you should consider the tips outlined below.

- First, it is important to identify the reason why your horse is hesitant to jump. If it feels scared or uneasy, you will notice your horse becoming restless or uneasy. Or if it stops in front of the obstacle and would not budge, it is probably testing you as a novice rider. Some horses would walk around the obstacle and avoid it. This could mean that the horse does not understand what you want it to do. Once you know the reason, you should start your training from there.

- You can also begin the training using ground obstacles like cavalettis. These are very low obstacles, only a couple of inches above the ground. Your horse might feel a bit scared to jump over an obstacle a few feet above the ground. Lay down several cavalettis on the ground. As the training progresses and you can see that your horse is becoming accustomed to jumping over low obstacles, you can now place a very low fence at the end of the cavaletti line. This will teach the horse how to do horse jumps little by little.

- You should also be relaxed whenever you have the training with your horse. If you feel tensed and stressed because the horse does not want to do what you say, you would have a harder time to train the horse. The animal will feel your tension and will be even more stubborn and scared. Horses are very sensitive to human emotions. They will notice even the slightest shake in your hand or voice. It is also important that you are confident about what you are doing. If the horse thinks that its trainer is not firm enough when it comes to laying down the rules, the animal will most likely do anything that it pleases to do.

- You should also try painting the obstacle a color which is different from the color of the ground. Maybe the reason why the horse does not jump is because it does not see the obstacle. Painting the obstacle a different color from the ground is not only helpful for training the equine some horse jumps but also makes the training less dangerous.

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Nick Morgan is a professional if you want more information on Show Jumps. To research all the stuff about horse jumps, check out the web presence available at >>> www.horseshowjumps.co.uk

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