Are Flat and Jump horses trained differently?

Typically, Flat horses are bred and trained for speed, while National Hunt, or Jump, horses are bred and trained for stamina and jumping proficiency. However, regardless of the discipline in which horses compete, they must be brought gradually to peak fitness in order to do so, such that there is a degree of commonality in training methods.

National Hunt horses are typically older and more mature than their Flat counterparts and, as such, require more work, but the basic principles of fitness training remain the same. Horses typically start with a month or two of road work or, in other words, walking, which builds strength in their bones, muscles and tendons and increases their cardiovascular fitness. Patience is the key to training any horse, but starting steadily and slowly incrementing duration and gradient helps to build increase endurance and prevent injuries. Once horses has reached a satisfactory level of fitness, their workload can be increased with trotting, cantering and galloping, in the case of the latter usually twice a week, according to a training rota.

The gallops used by National Hunt trainers are generally much steeper and more demanding than those used by Flat trainers. National Hunt horses, too, require specialist training, a.k.a. schooling, such that they can successfully jump hurdles and/or steeplechase fences under racing conditions. Of course, the vast majority of Flat races are started from starting stalls, so Flat horses are trained to enter stalls without incident and leave them without delay.