# jumping hurdles



## patches2593 (Apr 29, 2012)

does anyone have their rabbits jump hurdles?

i've benn going on youtube watching bunnys jump them and i want t ostart to train my rabbit to do this. i actually think he'd be good at it and easy to catch onto jumping over the beam things.

any opinions or experiences or tips?

also, where can i buy the whole hurdle-beaM THING? sorry caps. how much does it cost?


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## Kizza (Apr 29, 2012)

Hi, I would also like to start Rocky doing this just for some exercise, but I have no idea what I am doing so I am interested in what people have to say. 

I am sure you could knock some hurdles together with some pieces of wood and some wooden dowels I have heard this suggested before.


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## woahlookitsme (Apr 29, 2012)

I actually set something up for my tans. I bought some cheap dowels from a hard ware store. Spraypainted them and cut them to the width i needed. Then used some carrying cages as the sides. 

Heres some pictures. 











I did it the very cheap way but i would recommend the cheap way before spending tons of money and finding out he doesnt even like it. I didnt use treats but diesel just wanted to follow me so I would jump over and so would he. 

I hear the bought jumps can be too pricey


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Apr 29, 2012)

For jumps, it is much cheaper an pretty easy to make them yourself. A short jump can cost about $10-15, taller jumps will cost more though. It is important that the poles can fall off easily to prevent injuries. Here is a link to how to build equipment. http://canadianrabbithoppingclub.com/HTML/equipment.html 

When training, start small. Some rabbit might only do a pole on the ground at first. Focus on getting them to go over first and not how high they are going. As they understand what is expected, then raise the bar up by a couple inches. Many rabbits do like to have a run, so having a couple jumps in a row ( a few feet apart) can help too. 
To get them to go over, put them in front of the jump and see what they will go. If they don't want to go, you can tickle along the sides or where ever you rabbit responds to. Some rabbits might respond to food, but my won't and seem offended by the idea of doing something for food (other than looking cute of course). Once they do understand what you want, most will do it on their own too much fuss and it is getting them to stop that is the problem.


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## LakeCondo (Apr 29, 2012)

Sarah, I'd be careful about your setup because the dowels can't fall off if your rabbit hits one & could be hurt.


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## patches2593 (Apr 29, 2012)

where can i get the dowels and wood and that stuff to make them? also since the poles need to fall off easily, how can i make them do that? and if i paint them , can i use acrylic? can the paint harm them even if its dry?


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Apr 29, 2012)

Any hardware store will have building supplies. Most will cut things for you if needed as well. 1/2" thick wooden dowels are good and 2-3 ft long. 
I use film canisters that are cut in half as the jumps cups. They will break off sometimes, so get extra. Other people will us small pieces of wood with a groove to hold the pole or wire bent into a U shape. 
I use craft paint. Try to get non toxic paint, but still try to keep your rabbit from chewing it.


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## woahlookitsme (Apr 29, 2012)

*LakeCondo wrote: *


> Sarah, I'd be careful about your setup because the dowels can't fall off if your rabbit hits one & could be hurt.


I think the highest jump was only 6-8 inches high. Tans do higher than that in binkies lol But thank you for the info

I just tried it out to see if he even liked it.

EDIT: I forgot they actually could


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## wendymac (Apr 30, 2012)

You can also make them out of PVC pipe, which is what we do for the horses. Here's a "how-to" for dog agility jumps (which would be like rabbit hurdles):

http://www.ehow.com/how_6514511_build-jumps-pvc-pipes.html


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## Bunnylova4eva (Apr 30, 2012)

I'd like to build some for Ripley (I don't think our other bunny Taffy would go near it).. I"m looking into getting the supplies and making some. I'm excited.


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