Gymnastic Lines & Horse Jumping

The horse has been used in warfare since as early as 4000 BCE. There is archaeological evidence in the steppes of Eurasia of fortified towns being built to defend against horse-riding bandits and raiders. In 1350 BCE, the Hittite tribe developed a written manual for successfully breeding and conditioning chariot horses. Thus, since before written history and throughout the recorded development of mankind, horses have been a powerful ally to victorious armies and successful agriculturalists. In Medieval Europe, the heavy armor of mounted knights required a new style of horses, strong like a draft horse but athletic like lighter breeds. The destrier, and lesser so the courser and rouncey, became the type (not breed) of horse that would fetch the highest price among nobles and elite military officers.

In this free horse riding video series, expert instructor Mara Keith-Hunter teaches you how to build and ride a gymnastic line. Mara leads you through spacing the jumps and bounces, careful to make a jumping line that is at the same level as her horse. Raise the jumps slowly after the gymnastic line is complete. Mara gives you tips on placing jumps, calculating strides, keeping the horse in a trot, and more. Remember to cool down your horse and take care of his or her legs after a day of jumps.

"Today we'll be talking about jumping a gymnastic line. Gymnastics are a great way to strengthen and increase the adjust ability of your horse. You want to make sure that when setting a gymnastic line, you consider your horses capabilities and the level of experience. You don't want to over face them. It's important to have a trainer or someone that can help you decide what exactly is best for your horse and also someone that can be on the ground to help you set and change the jumps. Sometimes the distances need to be fixed, sometimes you want to change the heights. You also want to make sure, just like with any jumping, that you have your proper equipment on. I like to have four boots on my horse when she jumps just in case something were to go wrong, it protects their legs. If you need a martingale, some horses need a martingale to jump and that can also be considered. You want to make sure that before jumping you're truly ready to be jumping and your confident and take care, with your position."