Cobs and XC, does your cob love it more than sj?

cobbychic

cobbychic

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Oct 21, 2008
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I was at a show recently and got talking to a lovely lady who had a chunky cob like dylan.
She said that her cob loved xc far more than SJ and found it alot easier. She said that she had to do xc in a pelham though as her boy did get very strong.

I would LOVE to do XC and dylan has never done this.
I wonder if he too would love it....I am scared though incase he doesnt and therefore doesnt pick his feet up and we hit a fence.

I am booked in a jump x lesson next month which is kind of like XC but would love to do the real thing with steps and ditches etc....

Would love to hear how other peoples cobs get on with xc...
 
My 16.1hh H/W lurves XC - he is ridden in a pelham though for it.

He is a good jumper, but when showjumping sometimes doesnt respect the jumps (he has snapped wooden poles) and jumps a tad flat.

He listens to his rider much more and concentrates - when we did his first one last year (he is rising 7) we thought he would be a nitemare, but out of the 5 horses that went to the comp from our yard he was the only one who got clear (albiet 45 secs out of optimum time, but i can forgive him for that) :D.

When we got there, alot of people were saying 'eeewww look at that heavyweight he wont do very well' - i think we showed them! :p

Attachment shows him jumping some of the BE Course at Hedley West Farm in Durham! :)
 

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cob1 said:
My 16.1hh H/W lurves XC - he is ridden in a pelham though for it.

He is a good jumper, but when showjumping sometimes doesnt respect the jumps (he has snapped wooden poles) and jumps a tad flat.

He listens to his rider much more and concentrates - when we did his first one last year (he is rising 7) we thought he would be a nitemare, but out of the 5 horses that went to the comp from our yard he was the only one who got clear (albiet 45 secs out of optimum time, but i can forgive him for that) :D.

When we got there, alot of people were saying 'eeewww look at that heavyweight he wont do very well' - i think we showed them! :p

Attachment shows him jumping some of the BE Course at Hedley West Farm in Durham! :)
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WOW, cool pics. Your boy looks fab!
 
My old pony who was a welsh D X MUCH preferred XC :)

Can you tell? :p

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But in both of our defence', the SJ pic was taken a couple of years ago ;)
 
Bounty seems to go better cross country than show jumping - I think it might be because we tend to 'attack' a cross country course more... I do have to have her in a dutch gag though, as I do for sj, but only use it to check her on approach to a fence - much easier to just go with her throughout the rest of the course, keeps her happier.
Have a go - your horse will probably love it :D
 
JS far preferred xc to sj :) Twists & turns of sj courses can be a challenge to a heavy cob IME but xc was awesome, he would just radar lock on a jump (hopefully the right one!) and charge! Once I learned not to try & slow him down but to trust him to look after me we never looked back & he won lots of xc ribbons :D
 
My 15.3hh H/W cob is an absolute dreammmmmm to jump full stop, she gets so excited her feathery legs are all over!

But I have to agree she does enjoy the XC more than the SJ, not because she has a dislike for the SJ, but I think it is more that she loves the thrill of the chase, galloping from one fence to another and up and down combinations. She gets a thrill from it and so do I, so I guess that helps with her enjoyment factor as well!

Also, I am more concious of SJ as I am more aware the fences will give and its sooo easy to tip a pole with those chunky feet, so I think it makes me more nervous also, so my T feeds off that.

Having said all of this she is an absolute superstar and is now becoming a dab hand at Dressage too :D

If you're nervous, why not try a JumpCross or a XC practice at your local riding club if you have one with an XC course available? That's what I have done with my babe and both she and I have come on leaps and bounds in our jumping confidence, now daring 2'9''!!! Which I never thought I would do! Alternatively, you could enquire about hiring a local XC course, maybe one that does larger events and has a special XC 'schooling' trail for those who aren't too keen on the enormous fences.

In both cases, you pay your money and it's a bit of a free for all, let yourself loose and jump what you like! :D I am going to another one on Saturday, will keep you updated with pics :D

Good luck!
 

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my chunky cob jumps most things and is brilliant at sj and xc. however if there was a choice of the 2 both of us would choose xc. on sj the turns are sometimes too tight and i dont want to generalise and i can only talk about my cob, she is sometimes not as careful with her feet as she should be and just enjoys xc a lot more. give it a go, iv jut started competing and absolutely love it! :D will still be doing sj locally in winter though ;)
 
i think i'm not sounding nice here but i wouldn't advise to jump with heavy horses, as they are too heavy and not made for jumping, so when they land with all their weight they damage their joints!
 
valentina said:
i think i'm not sounding nice here but i wouldn't advise to jump with heavy horses, as they are too heavy and not made for jumping, so when they land with all their weight they damage their joints!
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oh dear, i dont think you are sounding very nice. thats the wrong stereotypical view people have of cobs, they are in fact good all rounders and if i am not wrong here, they were bred to hunt! ie-jumping
 
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valentina said:
i think i'm not sounding nice here but i wouldn't advise to jump with heavy horses, as they are too heavy and not made for jumping, so when they land with all their weight they damage their joints!
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What a sweeping generalisation! And it's rubbish!! If they are fittened up properly there's no reason why cobs can't jump and stay sound. I've known cobs go out hunting year after year & stay sound as a pound. You need to be careful about jumping them on hard ground because of concussion and joint damage, but the same applies to any horse. I've known enough arthritic TBs in my time to know that joint damage is really not a cob-specific problem so I don't know where you've got this idea from :confused:
 
Ok well dee is a new forest so not excalty cob but more chunky build than other breeds. She adores XC we have been twice and she flys over it :) I think its also to do with the fact that its in the open which always makes her much more forward and more willing to please.Where as show jumping she has to think more rather than run and jump! :rolleyes:
 
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