Jumping plays a major role in many equestrian sports, such as show jumping, fox hunting, steeplechasing, and eventing. The biomechanics of jumping, the influence of the rider, and the heritability of jumping prowess have all been the focus of research.
The airborne phase of the jumping process occurs between stance phases of the fore and hind limbs and is therefore biomechanically equivalent to a highly suspended or elevated canter stride.[citation needed]For this reason, horses typically approach obstacles at the canter. The jumping process can be broken down into five phase.
