traing my 3 years and 3 month old gelding

Question
I have just bought a new horse and i have had him for just over 1 month and i dont know  how to train him i have got loads of books, but none of them seem to help.hes never jumped but i have got him  over jumps but all he does is walk over it i get him trotting towards it  and i dont stop kicking him on  and tickle him with my crop as we go over it .how can i get him more forward going but not just over jumps flat work aswell.also how can i keep him excited  asawell wat can stimulate him so we can both have fun .im only 13 and i want to become a sj plz help me x from bella ,wotsit (my horse) and sally (my minuture shetland whos in foal for her 2nd time but hopefully this foal survives)

Answer
Hi Bella, thank you for the question! :)

The very first thing I'm going to say, but don't want you to get upset over, is about the jumping. Horse's legs develop very slowly, and much of the time the knee joints are not completely "fused" by the age of three. While they may be mostly solid, jumping really isn't a great idea until the horse is about 4. However, that being said, I don't mean you shouldn't jump at all. Once a week over little cavelleti would be great, but don't push him or he may go permanently lame at a very young age.

As for getting more forward movement out of him. You say he is young, so I am guessing he is newly trained as well. The best thing for you to do with him at this point is to do lots of ground lunging. This will help you to get him into a better frame with more impulsion, without having to worry about your own riding position. A lot of horses learn much quicker with the handler on the ground, than in the saddle.

I would recommend doing some lunging with him before each ride. As well, if you are an experienced rider you might try using rounded, gentle spurs on him as slight encouragement to pick up the pace.

One last thing. If there are any instructors in your area and you are in a position to be able to take lessons, please do so! The best world show jumpers could not have gotten there without their riding coaches!

Good luck with your new horse and your show jumping dream!