Cross country obstacle © Willmen

Ditches

When jumping off-road, open or built over ditches can be queried as obstacles. The ditches can be dry or filled with water. Water ditches are usually built over during cross-country riding, so that the horses jump over and not in.
If the horse is used to jumping ditches, it should not be placed in front of the ditch and let it look into it, this can reduce the horse's self-confidence. It is better to ride the horse parallel to the ditch, so that the horse can see the task visually but does not look at it. A special obstacle with a ditch is the so-called "Coffin" or also called "Pulvermann's grave". In quick succession, a downhill jump, a ditch and an uphill jump have to be completed here.