[Kalila]

What do you think the average Thoroughbred can jump height-wise undersaddle? Only talking about undersaddle with a rider. Only asking this as me and a friend were talking about it, and we had different answers.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Single fence or course?

Out of 12 that I have owned...only one wasn't able to easily jump a 4'3" course (3'9" was his limit)....and several jumped higher. The current two are just learning...but both feel pretty capable so far.

But a lot depends on the individual horses, soundness, training...more than the breed.

[vineyridge]

IIRC, the world records for both the broad jump and high jump are owned by TBs. So it's going to depend on the horse and has nothing to do with the breed.

[Xctrygirl]

Imho.... big....very big.

But the rider asking is a factor in the outcome... a big factor.

~Emily

[IrishDeclan]

This is one of those questions that is unfortunately very hard to answer. So many factors go into how high a horse can jump such as soundness, training, bravery, and pure athletic ability. It might help for you to define "average" for us. Do you mean average as in the horse conforms to the standards of the breed or average in regard to training and ability. I've seen TB's that could go do the grand prix's and I've seen TB's who could barely muddle through a course of poles on the ground. That said, I think most horses with an ounce of ability can easily jump around a 3'-3'3" course. Above that the horses need a little more natural ability IMHO. As someone else mentioned, it's best to look at the individual horse regardless of breed.

[Big_Grey_hunter]

It's pretty much impossible to say. The people on this board who will claim 4' are educated horse(wo)men who know how to pick a horse based on conformation and athleticism. The *average* will be much, much lower.. One horse (17h) I had can do 3ft if he's fit, but no higher. So it's hard to say what the average TB can jump, when it's so hard to decide what an average TB is.

[deltawave]

That's sort of like asking "how fast can the average person run a mile?". You would not be wrong to give a number between 6 and 15 minutes, but that is a large range. And many individuals can go faster, or can only go slower than this.

If you guessed "between 3 and 4.5 feet" you would also be correct, but that is such a large range--what does it prove if one individual can or cannot? Is this "average TB" 5 years old, 20 years old, a trained jumper, sound . . ?

[LauraKY]

It depends. In steeplechasing, the national fence is 54".

[Samantha37]

My ex-steeplechaser jumps 3'6 with me with EASE. He could definitely go higher but I'm holding him back And that is after he had suspensory surgery, so he is pretty athletic.

LauraKY- I didn't know the steeplechase fences were that big!! WOW! So I guess he has jumped 4+ feet while racing.

My coach is a 4* rider who has all OTTBs, including her 4* horse.

TBs can do anything

[2DogsFarm]

IIRC, the world records for both the broad jump and high jump are owned by TBs. So it's going to depend on the horse and has nothing to do with the breed.

^
What he/she said

OP:
wondering what kind of discussion you & friend were having that could pose such a question

FYI:
MY OTTB did 3" with one hoof tied behind his back.
Highest I ever jumped him was 4' and he told me that was a piece of cake.
When he was 25yo, I kept fences around 2'6" out of respect for his age.
He routinely added a foot on his own.

DH's TWH evented BNH and schooled to Training at home. We schooled a lot more than we showed, so he was jumped ~3'9" routinely, and had plenty scope left to do more.
Put that in your discussion pipe & let me know what kind of smoke comes out

[Kalila]

We were just discussing a Thoroughbred, a 15.2hh 4 year old filly, who's owner had jumped her once under saddle to 4' 0". We thought it was impressive, but waaaaayyy too early to jump that high undersaddle of course, and we were not sure whether or not we were correct in our reactions or not. The rider was way too tall for the horse too, 5' 8". It's a good thing she didn't look like she weighed a lot for her height, the rider I mean.

I understand jumping ability isn't innately tied to breed, just added the breed in there as the filly in question is a TB.

[GoForAGallop]

We were just discussing a Thoroughbred, a 15.2hh 4 year old filly, who's owner had jumped her once under saddle to 4' 0". We thought it was impressive, but waaaaayyy too early to jump that high undersaddle of course, and we were not sure whether or not we were correct in our reactions or not. The rider was way too tall for the horse too, 5' 8". It's a good thing she didn't look like she weighed a lot for her height, the rider I mean.

I understand jumping ability isn't innately tied to breed, just added the breed in there as the filly in question is a TB.

5'8'' is fine on a 15.2 horse. Don't be silly.

Your discussion has more to do with proper training landmarks and whatnot than the breed of the horse.

It sounds like you and your friend might be young?

[purplnurpl]

that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
My first horse was 15.1-15.2h.
Toby the cow pony is 15.2.
Harry was 15.3 when I rode him.
Endeavor was 15.3...
I jumped them all 4'. Except for Tobs, he jumped 3'6" though.
I'm 6' tall.

Also, concerning the original question. A horse can jump as high as the rider on it's back.
Jumping height is a rider issue not a horse issue.
A damn bovine can jump 4' from a stand still.

[Kalila]

5'8'' is fine on a 15.2 horse. Don't be silly.

Your discussion has more to do with proper training landmarks and whatnot than the breed of the horse.

It sounds like you and your friend might be young?

I'm sure weight-wise she is completely fine riding her, I'm just saying she looked too tall for her. If she put her legs down around her barrel in a dressage saddle, her feet would be hanging down quite far. Probably enough to completely encircle her. So I guess a better term would have been she was too leggy for her horse. I'm 5' 3" myself though, and ride a 13.1hh pony over jumps regularly. But even then, my legs don't hang down as far as hers were.

I wasn't going for a breed discussion in the first place, I just wanted to to put the breed in there in order to give a bit more context. I guess a better way to phrase it would have been, "Average 15.2hh jump height?".

[Kalila]

that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
My first horse was 15.1-15.2h.
Toby the cow pony is 15.2.
Harry was 15.3 when I rode him.
Endeavor was 15.3...
I jumped them all 4'. Except for Tobs, he jumped 3'6" though.
I'm 6' tall.

Also, concerning the original question. A horse can jump as high as the rider on it's back.
Jumping height is a rider issue not a horse issue.
A damn bovine can jump 4' from a stand still.

Yes, but there is a difference between a ridden horse jumping, and a non-ridden horse jumping. A horse by itself can easily clear almost any obstacle it wants, regardless of any other factor. Undersaddle is a different story.

[GoForAGallop]

I'm sure weight-wise she is completely fine riding her, I'm just saying she looked too tall for her. If she put her legs down around her barrel in a dressage saddle, her feet would be hanging down quite far. Probably enough to completely encircle her. So I guess a better term would have been she was too leggy for her horse. I'm 5' 3" myself though, and ride a 13.1hh pony over jumps regularly. But even then, my legs don't hang down as far as hers were.

I wasn't going for a breed discussion in the first place, I just wanted to to put the breed in there in order to give a bit more context. I guess a better way to phrase it would have been, "Average 15.2hh jump height?".

So what? Just because she doesn't "look right" on her horse doesn't mean the horse isn't perfectly capable of carrying her. Check out the reining rings if you don't believe me...little 14.2 QH's hauling around 6' 200lb men, with NO issue.

Your logic is still flawed, and the question still vague, breed discussion or no. I like the person who compared it to humans running a mile. It will vary from individual to individual depending on athletic and mental abilities, as well as anyone in the cheering section. (Or the rider, on a horse.) Everyone will have a different answer, even if they're all 5'5'' white folks.

[Simkie]

Oh dear lord. Kalila, just stop talking. It's obvious that you don't have a 10th of the experience--real, honest to god LIFE experience--that several of these posters have. Sit down and listen to these people and learn something.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 5' 8" person riding a 15.2 H horse over a 4' fence. There is no way the riders "legs would encircle the horse" unless the rider was some long legged, no torso freak of nature or the horse was actually a stick horse (which would actually be a more interesting question: how high can your average stick horse jump?)

Just because something looks off TO YOU does not make it wrong or weird or even all that different. Get out there, look around you and learn. Better yet, start with the old masters, both in dressage and jumping. Go ahead and take a look at where their legs hit on the barrel of the horse. Or will you say they were "too leggy" for their horses as well?

[Kalila]

So what? Just because she doesn't "look right" on her horse doesn't mean the horse isn't perfectly capable of carrying her. Check out the reining rings if you don't believe me...little 14.2 QH's hauling around 6' 200lb men, with NO issue.

Your logic is still flawed, and the question still vague, breed discussion or no. I like the person who compared it to humans running a mile. It will vary from individual to individual depending on athletic and mental abilities, as well as anyone in the cheering section. (Or the rider, on a horse.) Everyone will have a different answer, even if they're all 5'5'' white folks.

However, some breeds can carry more weight than others. A 15.2hh draft can carry a lot more weight than a 15.2hh lightbreed based on bone mass/density. Adding obstacles makes this even more apparent, though, drafts are going to have a hard time anyways because they can be too heavy of course. The mare in question is a bit more on the light side, and her owner even thinks she is too big for her.

I understand that there really is no clear answer to this question, vague or not. When I posted this I just wanted to hear some opinions on the subject, not on anything else.

[GoForAGallop]

Oh dear lord. Kalila, just stop talking. It's obvious that you don't have a 10th of the experience--real, honest to god LIFE experience--that several of these posters have. Sit down and listen to these people and learn something.

It's why I suggested the OP sounded young. No one who has been involved with horses for any period of time would post a silly question like "How high can a TB jump?"

[Kalila]

Oh dear lord. Kalila, just stop talking. It's obvious that you don't have a 10th of the experience--real, honest to god LIFE experience--that several of these posters have. Sit down and listen to these people and learn something.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 5' 8" person riding a 15.2 H horse over a 4' fence. There is no way the riders "legs would encircle the horse" unless the rider was some long legged, no torso freak of nature or the horse was actually a stick horse (which would actually be a more interesting question: how high can your average stick horse jump?)

Just because something looks off TO YOU does not make it wrong or weird or even all that different. Get out there, look around you and learn. Better yet, start with the old masters, both in dressage and jumping. Go ahead and take a look at where their legs hit on the barrel of the horse. Or will you say they were "too leggy" for their horses as well?

I would rather not take this discussion to a personal level please. People can have different opinions on subjects, it happens all the time. I can respect that people feel different about it than I do, no big deal.