How to Walk a Jump Course

the ring. 
Walk the Course 
When you walk the course plan your track to each fence and find out the distance between any related fences. While having a plan for every fence and track is essential you should also have a backup plan and be flexible depending on what might happen while on course. We all know that when it comes to horses things dont always go as planned so be prepared for multiple possibilities and for whatever ride your horse may give you. This might mean walking multiple tracks so you can avoid surprises. Keep an eye out for anything that might be spooky or challenging for you or your horse but dont overanticipate problems. Be quietly aware of things your horse might look at so you are prepared and have a plan just in case but make sure you dont spook at something before your horse does!
dont typically worry about any two jumps spaced more than seven strides apart instead I ride off my eye and based on how I jump in but every rider will have a different preference on this. As far as walking the distances between related jumps and combinations ensure that your human step is around three feet or just under a metre. At a horse show distances are usually set for a horses twelvefoot stride allowing about six feet each for takeoff and landing. That means you would walk two human steps for the takeoff four steps for each horse stride followed by two more steps for takeoff. I walk two steps for landing then every four steps after that I count as one stride and then two final steps for the takeoff and I use my fingers to keep count of each horse stride along the way four of my steps. Just like there is no shame in grabbing mane over a fence there is no shame in using your fingers to keep count of strides! Doing so will save you from getting to the second jump when walking a related line and realizing youve completely lost count.
Keep in mind that the height of the jump and type of fence will affect the distances between and how the course will ride. As the jumps get bigger room for error gets smaller. Consider the footing as well if the footing is deep the distances will ride a little longer. Also some horses tend