Miniature horse training.

Question
Hello.  Last year I leased a miniature horse for a 4-H project.  I enjoyed it so much that I convinced my dad to buy me a miniature horse of my own.  She is a three year old snowflake appy who has never been trained much but is very calm and loving.  I would like to train her for jumping, but am lost as to where to start.  Could you please help me?

Answer
hi will,
start with ground work. make sure she leads well and stands well. next go to the round pen. teach her to walk trot and canter on command and most important of all whoa. once she has this down teach her leg pressure. stand by her side and put one hand on her neck and the other on her side. apply pressure to both hands and when one front leg crosses the other stop and praise her. keep doing this everyday until she has it down and you don't have to apply that much pressure on her side. make sure you do it on both sides though. next put a bit on her and work her with that alittle bit. then put a saddle on her and make her walk trot and canter in the round pen. once she is comfortable put poles on the ground and have her trot over them. since she is a mini they should be about 2ft apart. once she goes over these nicely, make a small jump, it best to start out at half a foot. let her find her own timing of when to jump. over time increase it little by little. i would go more then a foot and a half. once she jumps fine give her a break for a few weeks and just concentrate on riding. ground drive her to teach her the rein cues first and make sure she understands all of them. then rub the saddle and lean over her. pull on the stirrups and see how she does. if shes good with this put some of your weight on her back. next lean all your weight on her. when you have done this a few times and she is good with it. sit on her and let her stand. then sit on her and have someone walk her around. next ride her around by yourself. and see how she responds. spend alot of time riding her around and let her get used to use and learn to trust you. this may take some time. once she rides good and understands all the cues ( rein and leg) start to trot her over the poles. then build up her confidence to jump. she is still young so don't push her to much. she still needs time to grow. this training process will take you a while. have patients with her and remember shes still a baby. the entire process can take anywhere from 3-6 months. so don't be mad if you don't get much done in a month. its all normal. if you have any other questions don't be shy to ask. i can help with anything. good luck and let me know show shes doing.
amanda groff