Could he be a working hunter?

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clairey_fairy

New Member
Mar 10, 2008
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Hi, this is firefly, my 9yr old tb x connemara gelding. I'm thinking of showing him as a working hunter but I'm not sure that he's the right type or that his conformations good enough. What does everyone here think? (he is well mannered, responsive to ride and a bold and careful jumper if that helps)

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He looks the part of a nice hunter his tuck seems pretty tight in most pictures!

The question is does he have pace? and can he go around a course without rushing? Some XC horses might rush to jumps or when they enter larger rings (especially grass ones, or atleast that's what my friend's horse use to do), but hunters need pace like the jump is part of his pace!

He's major cute btw!!! :D
 
hmmm I'm fairly sure he could go round without rushing, we do a lot of showjumping but he can be excitable and pull a bit (but I do ride him i a very soft bit for showjumping and flat!)
 
The basics of a hunter is pace, if you're looking to win! The horse must show a series of courses, navigating smoothly around the turns and over the jumps (this means you have to practice a nice bend and good spots) he basically has to show manors as a horse while asked to navigate a course and points are taken off for bucks/refusals and almost devistates your winning chances =( but he looks like he's very trust worthy and brave! I bet he'll be fine!!! :) )
 
Clairey_fairy are you in the UK? and LongShot, are you in the USA? It sounds like you're coming from different angles!
 
LongShot said:
Yeah I'm in the USA, is there a difference? =o
Click to expand...

There's definately a difference. In the UK, working hunters are a show class, where they are looking for a horse suitable for hunting. Horses jump a round of jumps (judged on faults and style at a good hunting pace) and then go back for a "show" section, where they are judged on conformation, type, way of going and sometimes the judge will ride them too.

In the USA I believe "hunter jumpers" are judged on style around a course only.
 
I would say that he would make a good WH horse, although I believe that you would need to do the show section at least in a snaffle or double bridle, not sure about the jumping section.

I think he'd cope well with the rustic fences as a XC horse, good luck for future competitions.
 
You can use any bit for WH, but a double/pelham (two reins!) or snaffle is preferable to things like gags. There is to be no change of tack between the jumping and flat phase, so it's a case of finding the bit that the horse goes well in for both jumping and flat.
 
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