Jumping exercises
Jumping exercises for horses are an essential part of showjumping and eventing training, but can also be used to mix up training in other disciplines.
Jumping exercises help horses to develop better balance, sharpen their footwork and improve their jumping technique. They’re great for riders, too, as they help you to develop your balance, accuracy and forward thinking.
While many jumping exercises may only include one or two fences, gridwork exercises are made of a series of jumps usually in a straight line. Polework exercises are often used as a precursor to jumping for beginners, but then feature throughout training at all levels.
If you need some inspiration for jumping exercises to try at home, check out the examples from top riders and trainers below.
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How to stop the drift and correct a horse that swerves over a fence
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How to improve a horse’s jumping technique and encourage tidy front legs, with tips from gold medallist Will Fletcher
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No more poles down! Training exercises and tips to sharpen your horse’s reflexes and ace those important showjumping clear rounds
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Improve your horse’s footwork while jumping and have fun with Gemma Stevens’ gridwork exercise
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Does your horse rush when jumping? Tips from an expert to help solve this problem
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Only have four pairs of wings, plus poles? 5 great jumping exercises you can try
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Ros Canter’s useful jumping exercise to help improve performance
The individual World champion shares a simple exercise to help develop your horse’s balance, turning and accuracy, using just two fences
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4 exercises to help you ride better lines when jumping
Check out these useful exercises from a top eventing coach
