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ShowJumpingRabbit
Up, up, and away

About
Rabbit Jumping is a great fun for anyone with a pet rabbits, children and adults alike. The practice and diligence needed to excel at this sport ultimately makes for a special bond between you and your rabbit. By training as little as once or twice a week your rabbit will quickly get the idea, and enjoy jumping. In fact one of our rabbits, Hayden (Tan), enjoys show jumping so much that we often get tired out before he does.

At the moment Rabbit Show Jumping in Australia is in its infancy. In New South Wales it is competed for at the Rabbit Fanciers Society of NSW in their pet section. The course consists of four jumps at 15cm high; time is deducted for each bar knocked over. The fastest rabbit over the jumps is the one to win on the day. As the rabbits and handlers become more proficient at Show Jumping, more classes will be added, with higher and longer jumps soon to be added to the schedule.

History
Rabbit Show Jumping had its origins in Sweden during the 1970's, from where it was taken to Denmark in 1993. Greeted with pessimism by breeders initially, who thought it was only a novelty and phase; it now has the support of many rabbit clubs throughout the world. In Australia, Rabbit Show Jumping is still relatively new, with only a few clubs having a Show Jumping event.

Training
When training a rabbit remember that it must be a positive experience for the rabbit. When your rabbit is tired or frustrated with the practice, end the session and come back to it the next day. Rabbits are best trained from 8 weeks of age, although many older rabbits can also quickly get the idea. At the start it is simply a case of getting them used to the harness. Use a harness that fits securely around the neck of the rabbit, and around the body just behind the back legs. Only use the harness on the one rabbit, if it smells of another rabbit they will bite at the harness. The rabbit should always have a positive experience while on the harness; limit anything in the environment that may initially scare them. Once the rabbit is used to the harness, start to teach the rabbit to walk/hop in one direction by controlling the length of the lead, and picking the rabbit up and placing it back in the right direction when it goes off course. Tickling or tapping their bottom may help to get them to learn to move forward.

Once you have basic control over your rabbit you can teach them to jump. Train on a flat surface with no distractions, such as a concrete drive. Start with small jumps, between 0-5cm high, at 0cm the bar is lying on the ground. Rabbits under 4 months should not be made to jump any higher than 5cm. Train as often as possible and slowly increase the height, length and number or jumps. Only ever jump over your course in the one direction, this will train the rabbit to jump as will be required in competition.  Most importantly remember to practice regularly, your rabbit will do better at competitions and more importantly your both be bonding with each other.

The above YouTube video is from www.kaninhop.dk/uk/ in Denmark
We hope to have our own pictures and videos from Australia on the site soon