How old should a horse be when it starts jumping?

Answer by  JJP (360)

Once your horse has established solid under saddle and ground work you may begin training for jumping. There is not required age but a rule of thumb is age 4. Jump training will all depend on the horse some take right to it while others take a little longer to learn. Lunging will help achieve better form.

Answer by  martin (522)

A horse should not jump until its leg bones have finished growing. Depending on the breed, this can be as young as three years or as old as five years.

Answer by  Appaloo2u2 (32)

You should wait until your horse is at least four years old before ridding him under saddle over fences to make sure that his body is mature enough to handle it and not break down. Cavaletti work and a little bit of free jumping as a three year old is OK. It will help build a strong foundation for later.

Answer by  Roland27 (16334)

Most people do not like to start to jump their horses until age 5. Age 5 is around the age when the horse has reached it's maximum height and all the joints in the legs are fully formed. This also gives you time to train the horse under saddle to prepare it to jump.

Answer by  Darlene (194)

The horse has to be an adult horse about 3 to 5 years of age. Then of course it depends on the horse maturaty level also.