Who says Friesians can't jump?? Any horse with 4 legs can jump! The question many people fail to ask is "Should Friesians jump?". Well, that depends. If you ask anyone from the FPS or FHANA they will probably say "No", simply because the Friesian is a "Heavy" horse. To make your Friesian jump 3' or 4' fences competitively could very well shorten the life of his legs and/or back... especially the baroque horses who are even stockier than the "modern" version. I suggest that any sound Friesian can comfortably jump 2 or 2-1/2' fences regularly with no ill effects, but anything higher than that you are pushing your luck.
Posted on Feb 27, 2001, 12:15 PM from IP address 207.154.46.65