page_title: Horse jumping obstacles
section_title: Coffin
hierarchical_section_title: Horse jumping obstacles / Coffin
context_page_description: Various obstacles are found in competitive sports involving horse jumping. These include show jumping, hunter, and the cross-country phase of the equestrian discipline of eventing. The size and type of obstacles vary depending on the course and the level of the horse and rider, but all horses must successfully negotiate these obstacles in order to complete a competition. Fences used in hunter and eventing are generally made to look relatively rustic and natural.
  In jumping competition, they are often brightly colored and creatively designed. In hunter and jumper competition, obstacles are constructed to fall down if struck by the horse. In eventing, they are built to be solid, though for safety and to prevent rotational falls, certain elements may be designed to break away if hit.
context_section_description: Also called the rails-ditch-rails, the coffin is a combination fence where the horse jumps a set of rails, moves one or several strides downhill to a ditch, then goes back uphill to another jump.  In the past, coffins were more pronounced, with up and down banks leading to the ditch in the middle. However, today only the former type with the rails is seen. The coffin is intended to be jumped in a slow, impulsive canter (known to eventers as a "coffin canter" for that reason). This canter gives the horse the power and agility to negotiate the obstacle, and also allows him the time needed to assess what question is being asked, so that he may better complete the combination without problem. Approaching in a fast, flat gallop will cause miss striding and may entice a refusal from the horse. Going too fast may also result in a fall, if the horse cannot physically make a stride between the obstacles.
caption: Horse and rider negotiating the ditch element of a coffin
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