Are Quarter Horses Great Jumpers? 5 Reasons They Can Be The Best

Quarter horses are extremely popular and they are one of the most common horses across the world. They are strong and fast.

But how do they stack up against the other breeds when it comes to jumping?

Can Quarter Horses Be Good Jumpers?

Quarter horses can be great jumpers. The ability to jump well depends more on how the horse is trained than the genetics of the breed. A good jumper typically needs to be 65 inches in height and Quarter horses generally fit that criterion.

So how do you find out if a specific quarter horse is a good jumper?

Let’s find out.

Most show jumpers are warmbloods but there are plenty of quarter horses as well that do really well in the best competitions all over the world.

5 Reasons Quarter Horses Can Be Excellent Jumpers

Let’s line up the main reasons why a quarter horse (or any good jumper for that matter) can become good at what they do.

They are an incredible breed with many talents.

1) It Has A Strong Psyche With Sufficient Will Power

Quarter horses unknown to have a very strong psyche and the ability to learn a lot of stuff in a short period of time.

They are clever and intelligent horses with a good sense of what is going on around them. This is also the reason why they are great around cattle. They are very observant and aware of their surroundings when they are put to work.

You need that horse with a strong psyche in order to get a good jumper. The reason is that some horses will get cold feet too often and abandon the jump just before they reach the obstacle. This is something that has to be trained over and over between the horse and rider.

They need to form a strong bond and have a high level of cooperation. In order for that to happen, we need a horse with a strong psyche as well as a good rider to train it.

2) It Has A Muscular Physique

Quarter horses are built with a very strong core. They have a very muscular neck and they are able to accelerate at an incredible speed.

This structure is also a very good basis for a good jump. The strong hind legs give the horse a world-class jump with lots of height and speed.

You need this type of body with the horse in order to get the very best result.

Quarter horses are also excellent rodeo horses. This is a skill that demands two things from the horse that are also crucial when it comes to jumping:

1. Strength
2. Agility

This a very good combination for a horse that is being trained to become a jumping champion. They need to be sleek and fast. Quarter horses are easy to steer as well and you can hold onto them with very little effort. They know exactly what to do at any time when given the right training.

That leads us to the next point on the list.

3) It Is Flexible And Sleek

But it’s not enough just to be strong and fast. It might be even more important than the body of the horse is flexible and sleek. It takes a special technique and the horse needs to be flexible in order to bend the legs during the jump.

For the same reason, you don’t find jumper horses that are super heavy and built to pull heavy stuff.

They need to have long sleek limbs and a long muscular body.

4) It Loves To Learn And Train

The quarter horses are working machines. They like to keep going for many hours at a time and they are willing to do so when there’s a good connection between the master and the horse.

This is a very important quality when you’re looking for a horse that shall excel at jumping.

It will take a lot of hard work and many many hours to get that horse in shape physically as well as mentally. So you need a horse with a good mental and stable mind and the willingness to train.

Some horse breeds are not too fond of repeating the same tasks all over again until they master the skill completely. But with the quarter horse to have a very good starting point and a high chance of success.

This is also why they have been used to work around cattle for ages. When they set their mind to something they are able to master almost any skill you throw at it.

5) It’s Courageous And Fearless

It’s no fun riding the jumping horse all the way up to the obstacle just to be thrown off because the horse gets scared. It needs to keep going no matter what you throw at it. You as a jumper needs to be in control and the horse should learn that it must jump when you go for the obstacle at full speed.

Otherwise, you may end up injured and the horse itself can also get hurt when it decides to stop at high speed.

This type of courage is a good foundation for training. The quarter horses have shown multiple times that they can be fearless and that they will continue when the rider leads the way.

Even if they have to pull through with something they are not used to, like a new tall obstacle they haven’t seen before.

Horses can react to colors, sounds, and new surroundings but you need to be sure that your jumper will pull through when you two set your mind on winning.

It Depends More On Training Than The Specific Breed

As with many other things in life, there are certain thresholds a horse needs to measure up to in order to become good at jumping. We need a horse with the right physic and without any genetic disadvantages like short legs or too heavy bodies.

But when a horse meets these basic criteria they can learn almost anything. You just need to give them time and proper training.

We have covered these thresholds in the article so far, and the quarter horses certainly meet these criteria in order to become a good jumper.

Besides this, it basically all comes down to training.

This is something that has to do with the individual horse and not so much that breed or genetics. Some horses just get it naturally while others are more resistant and do not like to train and jump.

It takes practice to become good at jumping. For the horse as well as the rider. You do not become a champion overnight and a horse also needs many many hours of training.

How Big Are Quarter Horses?

Quarter horses are typically between 56 and 65 inches tall (14-16 hands or 142-163 cm.). They can also be taller and a taller horse is often a really good jumping horse.

You probably wouldn’t want a horse that’s smaller than 65 inches (16 hands or 162 cm) tall.

When they become smaller than this they will often have a hard time jumping as high as the other bigger horses in the game. So be sure to pick a quarter horse that is at least 16 hands tall.

This should not be a problem with the quarter horses. You just need to go for one of the bigger quarter horses.