Analysis Of The Math Behind Horse Jumping

The Math Behind Horse Jumping

Picture 1: Rider with horse going over a fence

Source:https://www.an-eventful-life.com.au/eventing-news/other-international-events/2014-eventing-year

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Horse jumping is a competitive sport that requires mental and physical skill. If a rider or horse’s timing is off, the results can be dangerous. The math behind this sport requires knowledge of how a horse moves, as well as how the movement and momentum of the horse are affected by physics and math.

A good horse jumping trainer will always stress the importance of the horse’s take-off position. It is the last thing a rider can control on the ground, and the key to a successful jump. An improper take-off can lead to a horse hitting the fence, knocking down the rail, or worse, it could lead to a rider’s fall. If the take-off position is not correct, the horse can lack the

Angle of Depression: this simplifies to… if I then take the inverse cosine, I discover that the measure of angle d, also known as the angle of depression is equal to .

Since I now know the measure of two angles I can simply subtract both angles from 180.

Angle of Elevation: this tells me that the measure of angle h, the angle of elevation, is .

Now that I have determined how a horse and rider should be positioned throughout take-off, I can look at how the horse should be positioned throughout the actual jump. I decided to determine the equation of the parabola of a horse’s jump. I was able to find this photo from a video that perfectly shows how a horses body forms a parabola over a the fence.

Picture 4: A sequence of the stages throughout a horse’s jump

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