How to Do Bounce Strides with Your Horse


Bounce strides

A bounce stride is used for jumping two fences where the distance between the fences does not allow the horse to take a stride between them. The horse lands over the first jump and as soon as the back legs touch the ground, the front legs take off for the second jump.

Bounce strides are useful for developing the athleticism and agility of a horse but can be both mentally and physically demanding. Avoid practicing bounce strides for more than 20 minutes in one lesson.

Horse Bounce Strides

  • Place a set of four poles at equal distance apart and trot down the line.
  • Change the middle two poles into cross-poles. Adjust the distance so that it allows for a bounce stride in between the two cross-poles and two full strides from the first pole and to the last pole.

Judging distances

An experienced rider will be able to judge distances and to alter their horse’s stride accordingly so that they reach a fence at the right point for takeoff.

Related distances refers to jumps that are related to each other by between three and five non-jumping strides. They can either be in a straight line or at an angle. When jumping a course, related distances allow the horse and rider to continue in a balanced style and to maintain a rhythmical canter into and away from a fence.

  • Set out some poles with a distance of three, four or five non-jumping strides between them.
  • Practice shortening your stride so that you are able to ride five strides in a four-stride distance and six strides in a five-stride distance.
  • Once you have achieved this over poles, replace the poles with small cross-pole jumps.

Increasing the height

Once you are confident with cross-poles, start to introduce some higher uprights and spreads. With the change in height of the fence, the horse may jump short or long. In this case, you need to work on either lengthening or shortening your stride to reach the next fence on the right stride.

  • If you land short over a jump, kick on and ask the horse to lengthen its stride.
  • If you land long, gather up your reins and bring the horse back to a shorter stride.

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About the Author: Fred Goodson has a passion for pets and animals. He has 4 dogs and is planning to have another one. He is also a blogger who writes about pets and animals. Currently, he is living in New Jersey.

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