Horse Illustrated Magazine

Perhaps you want to try cross-country jumping or would like to enter an eventing show. Many areas of the country are far from schooling courses, making it difficult to test your horse’s jumping skills in the great wide open.

The good news is that you can construct a few simple obstacles at home in a field or paddock, even with limited building experience, and prepare at home for lower-level eventing.

The simplest jumps are those that take advantage of natural features, such as fallen logs, ditches, banks and water.

If you have a naturally occurring ditch on your property, consider reinforcing it before using it as a jump; otherwise, it could cave in with repeated use. A shallow ditch can be easily stabilized by half-burying a ground pole on either side of it. Deeper ones will need more complex reinforcement, or “rivetting,” to stabilize the sides against collapse. Rivetting is necessary for most banks and water obstacles as well.

The most important thing to keep in mind is safety. Always ask yourself if there is any place a horse could trap a foot or leg on a jump, or get cut on a nail or splinter, and rebuild the fence as necessary until it is inviting and safe for a horse to jump. This includes footing concerns as well. Never build jumps in boggy, constantly wet ground. If the ground at the base or landing of a fence gets torn up, either move the jump or put down fine gravel to level the surface out again. Now you’re ready to have fun and enjoy your jumps!

Get more advice on training for eventing here>>

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