Benefit of early jumping
training.
Is there any benefit in training
potential show jumpers from an early age? Does
early training improve their show jumping ability
later in life? Perhaps early training would allow
the foal to develop better coordination of limb,
head and neck movements - which could help in
jumping technique.
Dr Susana Santamarķa and others,
working in the Department of Equine Sciences, at
Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, have been looking at the effect of
early training on the jumping ability of Dutch
Warmblood horses. The study followed a group of
horses over five years.
Foals in a control group were
managed in the traditional fashion. They were
loose housed in a barn in winter and at pasture
in summer until they were three years old.
Horses in the experimental group
started training at six months of age. They were
exercised on a horse walker three times a week
and did free jumping twice a week. This continued
until they were three years of age.
When they were about three years
old, horses in both groups received a short
period of training, to get them accustomed to the
saddle and bit, before being turned out to
pasture for about six months. Then they went to
the Dutch Equine Training Centre in Deurne where
their intensive training began.
The researchers used a kinematic
motion analysis system to assess the horses`
jumping technique. Reflective markers were placed
at various points on the along the spine and on
the limbs. Video recordings were made of each
horse free jumping a 0.6m fence. The movement of
the reflective markers was analysed by computer.
The horses were assessed at six
months old, before they started training. They
were assessed again when they were four years
old, as they started their jumping training, and
at five years old. A final test also assessed
their performance in a puissance competition.
Dr Santamarķa found that early
training had a major effect on jumping technique
at four years of age. The early-trained group had
a more effective jumping technique than the
traditionally managed horses. They did not jump
higher than was necessary to clear the fence.
Their centre of gravity passed closer to the top
of the fence than in untrained horses. They
flexed their forelimbs more and landed closer to
the fence.
The horses that received the
early training were also less likely to refuse or
knock down fences at four years old.
In countries like the
Netherlands, France and Germany, potential
breeding stock is selected at events that include
free jumping. Dr Santamarķa points out that
horses that have received early jumping training
may benefit at this stage. This may make it
difficult to differentiate between horses that
are jumping well because of their genetic
potential, and horses that have less inherent
ability but have received a lot of training.
By the time the horses had
completed their training at five years of age the
influence of the early training program had
disappeared. The kinematic analysis revealed no
difference between the two groups. Neither was
there a difference in performance in the
puissance competition.
Dr Santamarķa concludes that
from the point of view of improving jumping
performance, early jumping training is
unnecessary because its effects are only
temporary.
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