This blog highlights the biomechanical effects of jumping and aims to get you thinking about jumping from an anatomical approach!!
You can learn more about this subject in our horse movement video course Anatomy in Action.
When a horse jumps he demonstrates an extreme range of movement and shows his ability to both absorb and create enormous forces through his musculoskeletal system. These are influenced by his anatomy, conformation, training and injury. Many horses love jumping and it's always a pleasure to watch horses displaying joie de vivre! Using different gymnastic jumping exercises - appropriate to your horse's experience, ability and fitness can also have musculoskeletal benefits. Jumping, amongst other things, can help to:
Increase muscular strength & the speed and power of contractions
Encourage a fuller and more varied range of joint movement
Increase neurological reactions
Improve flexibility and suppleness
The challenge, of course, is making sure you pick the right exercises for each individual horse. To help you select the best exercises for your horse, we filmed a catalogue of different gymnastic jumping exercises with anatomically painted horses and detailed explanations so you can learn to assess the biomechanics of each exercise and how it applies to your horse. To learn more have a look at:-
The recorded webinar Polework and Gymnastic Jumping,
The online lecture demonstration Jumping from the Anatomical Approach
Take a look at the short video below that shows you a horses jumping with and without a rider in both slow definition and in real time - allowing you to compare the difference between the two.
The skeleton painted on the side of the horses helps us to visualise what is happening biomechanically during these movements. - Fascinating!
Discover and learn much more about this in our horse movement video course Anatomy in Action.