I have to say that I agree completely with gypsygirl. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, but... There are quite a few drafts who can jump on here, but that doesn't change the fact that
in general, the draft horse breeds are not jumpers and these are more exception than anything. You don't have to be an Olympic contender to realize that with their mass, their build, and their original purpose, realistically you're going to have to work harder to find a draft that is capable of jumping properly and continuously than you would when looking at lighter breeds who are meant for it. I'm not saying that drafts can't jump, they obviously can... they are just
in general limited more than other breeds. You can always look for ones that are more athletic than most, but the reality is that you're probably not going to get a draft like the ones in the blogs that have been posted here after the first few times you go to look.
If the horse you're looking at is capable of going over the fence heights that you want to go over, then go ahead. If he fits you, if you like his personality, if you feel comfortable with him, go ahead. Ask to see him go over some fences, too- just to see. If you feel comfortable with the possibility of his joints being put under too much strain, of him being difficult to condition, of him not being able to jump over a certain height, go ahead. I'm not saying this to be mean, although it kind of sounds like it- these are all things I would think about if I was looking to buy a draft and wanted to jump him. I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine to have fun on, do some shows on, but the possibility that he might not be able to is still there. Take his breed into account but also check him out as an individual horse, is basically what I'm attempting to get at, haha.
Just remember to be realistic. Just like you would have to work harder to find a quarter horse that will have the movement to go past certain levels in dressage comfortably and find an arabian that is built so as to be able to comfortably compete in barrels past certain levels. And, before anyone posts their quarter horse doing second level dressage or their arabian running a winning barrel pattern, remember, I'm speaking about the breeds in general. I ran a quarab on barrels and poles and won every time in, but that doesn't change the fact that he wasn't as good at turning as he could have been, although he was faster than the quarter horses. He just wasn't built for turning as well as they were, and it took a toll on his knee leaving him retired at 14. My arabian that I have now is also built for speed but lacking in the turning department, and because of this I would not run him much on barrels because he couldn't take more than some fun playing around type shows. Yes, he could run the pattern, but in the long run it would not be good for him... There are arabians out there that would have no problem with running barrels as a career, but if I wanted to find one, I'd have to search a bit harder. Hopefully I made an understandable point without offending anyone in the process...
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