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A key element in horse jumping competetions are the fences. If you look at jumping competitions, both local and professional, we see horse jumping fencens in many variations, colors, ... Basically all these horse jumping fences can be classified in a couple of categories:
Verticals
These are horse jumps that mainly consist of poles or planks which are placed above each other in the same vertical plane. In verticals there is no spread.
Oxers
This is a spread fence. It is build by placing two verticals close to each other (from +/- 6 inches up to 5 feet). In horse jumping their are four different kind of oxers:
Square oxers: the top poles of both verticals are of an equal length.
Ascending oxers: The second top pole is higher then the first one. (also called a ramped oxer)
Descending oxers: The first top pole is higher then the first one. (also called an offset oxer)
Swedish oxers: an oxer of which the two verticals are at different crossed angles.
Triple bar
Just like the oxer the triple bar is a spread fence consisting of of graduating heights. Tiple bars look difficult but most horse jump triple bar fairly easy.
Crossrail
A crossrail consists of two poles crossed on jump standards so that the center is lower than the sides. This is a typical fence for beginners and is not often used in horse jumping competitions.
Wall
Just like the vertical the wall is a fence without spread. This fence consist of a lightweight material that is painted to look like a wall.
Water jump
Also called the 'open water' this is the widest (up to 16 feet) fence used in horse jumping competitions. The water jump usually causes a lot of trouble for a lot of horse-rider combinations.
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